Topic 9 — Project Resource Management

Definition: Project Resource Management is the process of making the most effective use of the people involved with a project.

The four main processes:

1. Planning Human Resource Management — identifying and documenting project roles, responsibilities, and reporting relationships. Output: Human resource / staffing management plan.
2. Acquiring the Project Team — getting the needed personnel assigned to and working on the project. Output: Project staff assignments, resource calendars.
3. Developing the Project Team — building individual and group skills to enhance project performance. Output: Team performance assessments.
4. Managing the Project Team — tracking team member performance, motivating team members, providing timely feedback, resolving issues and conflicts, and coordinating changes to enhance project performance.

A Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) is a matrix that maps the work of the project, as described in the WBS, to the people/units responsible for performing the work, as described in the OBS (Organizational Breakdown Structure). It can be created in different ways (e.g. using "R" for Responsible and "P" for Performing) to suit each project's needs.

A RACI chart is a special type of RAM used to define general roles/responsibilities of stakeholders using four categories:

Resource loading refers to the amount of individual resources an existing schedule requires during specific time periods. It helps project managers understand the demands a project places on the organization's resources and on individual people's schedules. A resource histogram (a column chart of resources assigned over time) is commonly used to visualize this.

Overallocation means more resources than are actually available are assigned to perform work at a given time (e.g. a person scheduled at 300% capacity) — this leads to overtime and burnout.

Resource leveling is a technique for resolving resource conflicts by delaying tasks (within their available slack), aiming to create a smoother, more constant distribution of resource use and reduce overallocation.

Benefits of resource leveling:

• Resources used on a more constant basis require less management.
• Enables a just-in-time approach for using subcontractors or expensive resources.
• Results in fewer problems for project personnel and the accounting department.
• Often improves team morale.

The Tuckman Model describes five stages a project team typically passes through as it develops:

1. Forming — the project team initiation phase; members are introduced and get to know each other.
2. Storming — various ideas compete, often fiercely, for consideration; conflicts about roles and approach may surface.
3. Norming — rules, values, behaviors, methods, and tools for the project become established and accepted.
4. Performing — the team's interpersonal structure becomes the tool for task activities; roles become flexible and functional, and group energy is channeled into the task.
5. Adjourning — the tasks are completed and the team disbands.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Maslow argued that people's behavior is guided by a sequence of needs, from lowest to highest: Physiological → Safety → Social → Esteem → Self-Actualization. The bottom four are "deficiency needs"; self-actualization is a "growth need." A satisfied need is no longer a motivator — once a lower need is met, people seek to satisfy the next higher one. A project manager must therefore understand each team member's personal goals, not just project goals, to motivate them effectively (e.g. offering challenging, creative work to satisfy self-actualization needs).

McClelland's Achievement, Power, and Affiliation Needs:

• Achievement — people seek to excel and want regular, frequent feedback; managers should give them challenging projects with achievable goals.
• Affiliation — people desire harmonious relationships and want to feel accepted; managers should create a cooperative work environment.
• Power — people desire personal power (to direct others) or institutional power (to organize others toward organizational goals); managers should give them opportunities to manage others while emphasizing organizational goals.