Assigning Project Resources

Assigning Project Resources

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Assigning Project Resources

In the fast-paced industry of today, every task demands to be done with a high rate of accuracy within the given time and availability of resources. To achieve the objectives of any organization, within the limitations of time and resources the tasks are divided into projects, which are handed over to capable people who can understand and handle the project efficiently, called project managers. The process of breaking down these objectives and tasks into projects is known as Project Management. Project management Project management refers to organizing, planning, and managing tasks along with resources in order to achieve a well-defined goal, with the constraints of time and money (Turner, 2014).

Project managers are well-learned and experienced individuals who understand the nature of projects and have a firm grip on the distribution of resources and time. A project manager acts as the mastermind of the project, and he or she can steer the project in any direction in order to achieve the desired goal or objective, in the most efficient manner within the minimum cost. In order to make sure that the project is receiving adequate support, a project manager should make sure that all the objectives have been made at the end of the project duration. And effective project management ensures that all the objectives of the project have been met within time. Following steps can be taken by the project manager to make sure that the project is receiving enough support and backing from the side of stakeholder:

Clarifying the objectives and the risks involved in the project.

Planning proper schedules, risks, and distribution of resources and time.

Having a proper and clear communication line with the stakeholders and keeping them informed on regular intervals regarding the progress and hindrances in the project.

Assigning resources to the project requires a careful analysis of the details that the project carries with it. A project manager needs to scan the availability of resources and disperse and use them accordingly so that they may prove to be of maximum benefit for the project and the organization (Burke, 2013). A similar situation can be seen in the case of human resources or human capital, which can be divided and allocated specific duties as per the area of their skills so that they can perform their task and use their expertise at a place and time where it is most fruitful.

A project manager should take the decision to “level-load” the project once it has reached the stage of maturity or it has become independent. The term "level-loading" refers to the phase of the project when it has reached a certain point where it has just recovered its cost and not started adding any value in the project (Kerzner, & Kerzner, 2017). So the project manager should let the project “level-load” or run independently, or with the minimum interference by the management so that the results and capacity of the project can be inferred.

As it has been already established that both time and resources are limited in a project, with the condition to manage everything in a minimal budget, sometimes it happens that the resources necessary for the project are not available or the team working on the project runs short of those resources. As soon as a project manager realizes that the needed resources for the project are not available or they have run short of the resources, he or she should follow the below-mentioned steps to ensure the smooth running of the project:

Immediately inform the stakeholders and the higher management about the entire situation.

Arrange for alternate resources within the allocated budget and the given time.

Make clear and understandable planning’s and communicate the outcomes of this non-availability or shortage of resources to the higher management, so that the project may not go in delay.

References

Burke, R. (2013). Project management: planning and control techniques. New Jersey, USA.

Kerzner, H., & Kerzner, H. R. (2017). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.

Turner, J. R. (2014). Handbook of project-based management (Vol. 92). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.