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Resource Allocation

Resource leveling and smoothing are techniques used to optimize resource utilization in projects. Resource leveling aims to evenly distribute resource demand over time while maintaining the project deadline, which may require extending activity durations and changing the critical path. Resource smoothing maintains resource utilization within set limits by serially allocating resources over time in a way that does not impact the critical path. Both techniques balance resource supply and demand to effectively manage scarce project resources.

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Pratik Samal
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105 views12 pages

Resource Allocation

Resource leveling and smoothing are techniques used to optimize resource utilization in projects. Resource leveling aims to evenly distribute resource demand over time while maintaining the project deadline, which may require extending activity durations and changing the critical path. Resource smoothing maintains resource utilization within set limits by serially allocating resources over time in a way that does not impact the critical path. Both techniques balance resource supply and demand to effectively manage scarce project resources.

Uploaded by

Pratik Samal
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© © All Rights Reserved
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UNIT - VI

RESOURCE OPTIMIZATION
TECHNIQUES:
RESOURCE LEVELLING VS
RESOURCE SMOOTHING
RESOURCE ALLOCATION
• Resource allocation is the process of assigning and scheduling available
resources in the most effective and economical manner.
• Projects will always need resources and resources are scarce. The task
therefore lies with the project manager to determine the proper timing
of those resources within the project schedule.
• The resources of an organization consist of people, materials, equipment,
knowledge and time.
• Organizations typically have limited resources; therefore, tradeoffs on
what project resources are expended and when are made every day
within organizations.
• A resource allocation plan is an important tool in effective management
of scarce resources.
RESOURCE ALLOCATION
• With regard to resource constrains, a project manager may face one of
the following two situations, these two techniques known as Resource
optimization techniques-

1. Resource Leveling
2. Resource Smoothing
RESOURCE LEVELING
• In Resource levelling, the objective of the project manager is to level as
far as possible the demand for resources through out the project
execution time.
• By keeping in mind the constraint that the specified project completion
time should not be exceeded.
• The specified project completion time may be minimum possible time by
which the project can be completed a ascertained by identifying the
critical path.
RESOURCE LEVELING
• This technique is used when sharing of critical resources is required
between different projects in an organization, or have been over
allocated to some activities, which are being performed concurrently
within a project, or in other projects in an organization.
• Thus the resource demand exceeds the supply of resources.
• This technique ensures balance between resources demand and their
supply.
• For example, resource A is assigned to an activity on Project XYZ on a day,
for 8 hours. This resource is also allocated to Project LMN for 8 hours in a
day. By resource leveling, resource A is allocated to Project XYZ for 4
hours and to Project LMN for 4 hours a day. By resource leveling, the
duration of Project XYZ will increase. Resource leveling increases the
duration of an activity, and may also change the critical path.
RESOURCE LEVELING
• There are different methods for levelling a resource. Depending on activity
requirements, their priorities, availability of resources, time duration or
considering other constraints we level a resource.
1. Increase activity duration
By increasing the activity duration, the resource's hours will be split on more days,
resulting in lesser hours per day.

2. Assign another resource to take some hours of over allocated resource.


Assign another resource to activities where you have the over allocated resource.
Decrease hours per day of the over allocated resource and give those hours to the
newly assigned resource.

3. Remove the resource from one or more activities.


If you have assigned the resource on more than one activities, which are scheduled
on the same dates, this will also over allocate the resource.
So remove the resource from one of the activities that has lesser priority, it will
reduce resource's hours resulting in leveled resource.
RESOURCE LEVELING
4. Perform some part of activity on a day when resource is available for more hours.
• A resource may not only overallocated because you have allocated more than
the maximum hours to resource but this situation can also happen if the
resource was available for lesser hours on a particular day (e.g he has half day
off on a specific day).
• So by letting the resource work the same number of hours he is available for on
that day and doing that part of the activity on some other day will level the
resource.
5. Make the overallocated resource to work more.
• If none of the above options is feasible then convince the resource to stay
overallocated and work more hours day.
• You will then have to increase this resource's availability in calendar or using
Max Units/time, so that he is no longer shown as overallocated.
RESOURCE LEVELING
6. Combination of one or more options mentioned above.
• You can do several things together to level a resource i.e remove him from one
activity, give his some of the hours to another resource, increase his hours on
a specific day, stagger his working times, increase the activity duration to level
the resource in the best possible way.
• The goal should be to level the resource such that the work is also not affected
too much and the resource also gets leveled. You will also make sure that critical
path is not affected and you are leveling the resource withing any constraint.
RESOURCE SMOOTHING
• This technique is used to maintain the utilization of project resources at
particular limits. For example, if Resource ABC is assigned to a project
activity and the project is being executed in a functional organization and
the resource is available for only 5 hours in a day.

• Then, resource smoothing technique will be employed to allocate the


resources according to the specific limits.
Furthermore, in Resource Smoothing, it is also ensured that while
modifying resource allocation, the Critical Path is not effected.
RESOURCE SMOOTHING
A simple hypothetical rule that applied will give reasonably good
solutions. The essential rules are-

a) The resources are to be allocated serially in the time, i.e


resource allocation should start on the first day, all possible
jobs are to be scheduled for first day before moving to second
day and so on.
b) When more jobs compete for the same resources, preference
is to begiven to the job with least float.
c) Jobs once started should continue till they are finished ,
breaking the job is not allowed.
d) Whenever possible, non-critical jobs are to be postponed so
that critical jobs can scheduled without increasing the project
completion time.
CONCLUSION
• Both the techniques of resource levelling and resource smoothing are
employed to optimize the utilization of resources.
• However, resource smoothing is applied only on activities that have
float, and thus the critical path is not influenced, whereas resource
levelling may cause the critical path to be changed.
• Resource smoothing is only employed for activities that are not on critical
path.
• Employment of both the techniques is for same purpose, for
management of the resource demands and their supply.
THANK YOU

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