Mastering Resource Management Using Microsoft® Project and Project Server 2010

Collin Quiring

• Publisher: J. Ross Publishing
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9781604270655
• eBook ISBN: 9781604277173
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Project Management
• Index: Business

In the new economy, organizations in a myriad of sizes and industries are now more than ever seeking a better understanding of how to best utilize and manage the scarce resources devoted to their project portfolios. Microsoft Project and Project Server are the most widely used and one of the top-rated enterprise project management software packages in the marketplace today and understanding how to properly use it allows an organization to cut costs, share information, and increase efficiency and effectiveness. However, due to the size and complexity of the software, covering all the numerous features, within a single text, may not meet the needs of those specifically involved with resource management. Mastering Resource Management Using Microsoft Project and Project Server 2010 provides the guidance needed to master resource management and exploit the full potential of Microsoft Project and Project Server as it pertains to this critical function. It will also serve as a great companion to practical guides demonstrating the breadth of features and functionality available in this software.

Resource Management:
What Is It Good For?

Resource management is an area of project management that is often overlooked. However, it is a critical part of the process of providing value to customers. Whether your projects are for internal or external customers, the ability to understand resource needs is critical.

Consider this example, when a manufacturing company gets a one million dollar sale for 1000 widgets, they should know the costs, how long it will take to produce the widgets, what the profit margins will be, and numerous other variables. This is because they know the costing variables, the machine production rates, the capacity of each machine in the plant, the number of other jobs in the queue, and they have tracked these variables over time to gain a perspective of what the numbers should be for a normal production run. However, this is not always the case when an organization gets a one million dollar sale that involves human resources. Most organizations that rely on their human resources to produce an end product usually do not have a great tracking method, and therefore do not have a historical perspective of the timelines and costs involved in producing the deliverables for a new sale.

In the manufacturing example, a key variable that is usually known is what effect a new job will have on existing jobs if it is given a higher priority. This is not the case when dealing with work that involves people. For some reason, there seems to be an assumption that capacity is always available and that all work gets done on the original timeline, even as new work is added or as priorities shift.

While there is a myriad of reasons why some projects fail, it is our experience that resource management is a key factor. Failing to realize the effects of changing priorities on existing work or on additional work will almost always result in a failed project, whether by missing the deadline, in costing more than estimated, or through poorer results.

This book is about human resources and how Microsoft Project helps to better manage and understand an organization’s ability to utilize them. This book does not assume that people and their productivity are just as easily quantified as a machine that makes widgets. In fact, it is this very distinction of people vs. machines that makes resource management so difficult.

When executives or other stakeholders need to know the capacity of the workforce, they should be able to easily obtain an answer. In fact, they should be able to ask a number of questions and get answers very quickly. For example, they should be able to ask:

♦What is the resource capacity?

♦What is the capacity for a given skill set?

♦What are our available skill sets?

♦What is the existing utilization of our capacity?

♦What is the utilization of our specific skill sets?

♦How long does it normally take to do this type of project?

♦What is the existing portfolio of our projects?

♦How does the portfolio of projects affect our resources?

♦What types of skill sets do we need for proposed projects?

♦How will existing projects be affected by a new project?

♦If we take on a new project, when can we realistically tell the customer we can complete it?

♦What will our resource costs be for a new project?

♦What are the costs for our existing projects?

♦What existing projects are on track?

♦What projects are late or costing us more due to lack of resources?

♦How can we resolve resource issues?

♦Does the resource know what work they are expected to do this week?

♦Does the resource know what work they are expected to do next week, or next month?

♦Does the project manager know how much capacity and utilization a resource has to help on their project?

Resource management is a valuable tool that can answer these questions, and in the level of detail that you want in order to track and understand the answers. In other words, it is possible to know what every resource in your organization is doing every minute of the day. Although, you would have to be willing to track at a level that would be burdensome on resources and make reporting so voluminous as to be meaningless. However, it is possible to track at a level that gives the detailed information desired without being burdensome.

It isn’t that difficult to track detailed information, but it does require a level of discipline and a desire to use the information. At this point, saying “it isn’t that difficult” doesn’t always agree with experience. And, that statement is not taken lightly.

Think of it this way: starting a project with any new tactic can be difficult, but the authors contend that you are already doing this at one level or another. Let’s start at the end. How do you know when a project is complete? There is a deliverable or task that is completed, and then the original intent of the project is done; however, how do you know that the work is done? Does the resource manager or project manager ask the resource responsible regarding when the work is done? Does the resource tell you it is done? There is some method that you know to call the project complete when the work is done. So start there, and build on that foundation.

When a task is assigned, how do you know how long it will take? Does the resource give you the number of days it will take? Great, we have some information with which to start. As we track durations over time, the ability (and that of the resource) will get better and at some point we will know how long it takes to do a job. That new knowledge will give us a better ability to assign resources and understand their capacity and utilization.

There are lots of opportunities to set up Microsoft Project Server and Microsoft Project Professional to gain better information about resources so that managers can be better schedulers. Like many programs produced by Microsoft, there are numerous configurations and options available. The authors do not advocate using every option and feature on the first day, but, rather, developing the ability to set up more and more of the options, so that information is available that provides real value.

Resource management should be about making information available to those that need it in a timely manner, so that better business decisions can be made. Better decisions can become a competitive advantage over other businesses or can become a center of excellence within an organization. This ability can also avert lots of frustration.

When a customer is told that their organization will receive a product or service from you on a certain date, he or she will expect it on that date. If you can’t deliver it on time, the customer may not have a choice but to stay with you this time. However, if a competitor can explain to the customer how long it will take them and give some sort of data to back it up, then the competitor will probably get the business next time. How many times can a project be late before the market in general takes notice and stops dealing with your organization? There are some customers that have other commitments that are based upon yours, and the cost to them of your being late can be huge. Resource management alone is not the sole cause for being late, nor is it the sole answer to being on time, but it does seem to be a substantial cause. There seems to be an assumption that human capacity is unlimited in our organizations, and another sale is always a good thing or another internal project is acceptable. Generally, this leads to issues if relying on resource skill sets in short supply.

We have seen numerous lawsuits that have roots in poor resource management. One involved bidding against another company for some work that involved a large number of people over a period of a few years. We produced a few reports based on experience and also showed the customer a schedule in Microsoft Project. Our competitor promised the same deliverables at a slightly...

Table of contents

• COVER
• TITLE
• COPYRIGHT
• CONTENTS
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• ABOUT THE AUTHORS
• INTRODUCTION
• WEB ADDED VALUE
• CHAPTER 1 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?
• CHAPTER 2 MICROSOFT PROJECT 2010: WHY USE IT?
• CHAPTER 3 THINGS TO THINK ABOUT: RESOURCE CALENDARS, TASKS, AND SECURITY
• CHAPTER 4 WHO CAN WORK WHEN: PROJECT CALENDARS
• CHAPTER 5 RESOURCES IN THE POOL
• CHAPTER 6 WHO IS WORKING WHEN: RESOURCE CALENDARS
• CHAPTER 7 ASSIGNING A RESOURCE
• CHAPTER 8 UPDATE CYCLE AND APPROVALS
• CHAPTER 9 TIMESHEETS
• CHAPTER 10 LEVELING RESOURCE ASSIGNMENTS
• CHAPTER 11 UTILIZING RESOURCES
• CHAPTER 12 INFORMATION IS EVERYWHERE
• CHAPTER 13 A PORTFOLIO PERSPECTIVE
• CHAPTER 14 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
• CHAPTER 15 CONCLUSION
• APPENDIX A RESOURCE PLANNING
• APPENDIX B RESOURCE MANAGER GUIDE