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Resource Allocation in Project Management

The document discusses key concepts in project management resource allocation and scheduling, including: 1) Resource allocation involves assigning available resources like people, equipment, and funding to tasks in an effective and economical way. 2) Resource scheduling refers to efficiently allocating resources to projects based on their capacity and availability to complete tasks on time. 3) The critical path method identifies the longest sequence of tasks that must be completed on schedule for the entire project to finish on time.

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Athithya R
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184 views12 pages

Resource Allocation in Project Management

The document discusses key concepts in project management resource allocation and scheduling, including: 1) Resource allocation involves assigning available resources like people, equipment, and funding to tasks in an effective and economical way. 2) Resource scheduling refers to efficiently allocating resources to projects based on their capacity and availability to complete tasks on time. 3) The critical path method identifies the longest sequence of tasks that must be completed on schedule for the entire project to finish on time.

Uploaded by

Athithya R
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Resource Allocation in Project

Management?

BY
ATHITHYA R
20PIT002
What is Resource Allocation in Project Management?

 Resource allocation is the process of assigning and scheduling


available resources in the most effective and economical way
possible. ...

 It is the management and delegation of resources throughout a


project to ensure that it runs as smoothly and successfully as possible
Why is resource allocation important in project
management?

 Resource allocation in project management is so important


because it gives a clear picture on the amount of work that has to
be done.

 It also helps to schedule ahead and have an insight into the team's
progress, including allocating the right amount of time to everyone
on the team
Using Resource Scheduling in Project Management

 Resource scheduling refers to the process used by organizations to efficiently


allocate their resources to tasks or projects they need to complete.

 It also includes scheduling the start and end dates for each task or project based on
resource capacity and availability. Depending on the industry, resources can be
people (either employees or vendors), equipment, materials, funding or facilities.

 Resource scheduling incorporates decisions about capacity into the scheduling


process using two methods: time-constrained and resource-constrained.

 Time-constrained scheduling uses the time factor as its critical variable. On the
other hand, resource-constrained focuses on the limited capacity of resources,
emphasizing resolving capacity overload problems.
Resource scheduling can be used to:

✅ Assign and monitor projects from start to finish

✅ Schedule people based on skills and availability

✅ Assess time delays and speed bumps so you can reshuffle tasks and
deadlines to stop a project from going off the rails

✅ Analyze how well resources are being utilized and reassign tasks to
people who are not working to their full utilization rates

✅ Track project estimations and outcomes to make future scheduling


easier
What Is the Critical Path?

 In project management, the critical path is the longest sequence of tasks


that must be completed to successfully conclude a project, from start to
finish. 

 The tasks on the critical path are known as critical activities because if they’re
delayed, the whole project will be delayed. By identifying the critical path, you
can determine the total duration of a project, and you’ll have a clear picture of the
project’s actual schedule.

 To find the critical path, project managers use the critical path method (CPM)
algorithm to define the least amount of time necessary to complete each task with
the least amount of slack.
 Once done by hand, nowadays the 
critical path can be calculated automatically with project scheduling softwa
re
, which makes the whole method much easier.

The critical path method includes:

• Identifying every task necessary to complete the project and the


dependencies between them

• Estimating the duration of the project tasks


• Calculating the critical path based on the tasks’ duration and dependencies to
identify the critical activities

• Focusing on planning, scheduling and controlling critical activities

• Setting project milestones and deliverables

• Setting stakeholder expectations related to deadlines

 After making these considerations, you gain insight into which activities must be
prioritized. Then, you can allocate the necessary resources to get these important
tasks done.

 Tasks you discover that aren’t on the critical path are of a lesser priority in your 
project plan, and can be delayed if they’re causing the project team to become
overallocated.
How to Calculate the Critical Path

Now that you know the key definitions of CPM, here are the steps to calculate the
critical path in project management:

1.Collect Activities: Use a work breakdown structure to collect all the project


activities that lead to the final deliverable.

2.Identify Dependencies: Figure out which tasks are dependent on other tasks before
they can begin.

3.Create a Network Diagram: A critical path analysis chart, or network diagram,


depicts the order of activities.

4.Estimate Timeline: Determine the duration of each activity.

5.Use the Critical Path Algorithm: The algorithm has two parts; a forward pass and a
backwards pass.
6. Forward Pass:  Use the network diagram and the duration of each activity to determine their earliest
start (ES) and earliest finish (EF).

The ES of an activity is equal to the EF of its predecessor, and its EF is determined by the formula EF =
ES + t (t is the activity duration).

7.Backward Pass: Begins by assigning the last activity’s earliest finish as its latest finish. Then the
formula to find the LS is LS = LF – t (t is the activity duration).

8. Identify the Float of Each Activity: The float is the length of time an activity can be delayed without
increasing the total project completion time. Since the critical path has no float, the float formula reveals
the critical path: Float = LS – ES

9.Identify the Critical Path: The activities with 0 float make up the critical path.

10.Revise During Execution: Continue to update the critical path network diagram as you go through the
execution phase.
What Is Critical Path Software?

 Critical path software is used to automatically calculate the critical path in your
project schedule. Without using software, managers would have to manually calculate
the time-consuming and complicated equation.

 Time is one of the triple constraints of a project, so it’s understandable why critical
path software has become popular in project management.

 Since critical path is a very specific technique, critical path software is usually
associated with a larger project planning tool that organizes tasks, prioritizes the
sequence of activities and other features that go into creating the schedule.

 One of the most commonly used project management software to identify the
critical path is Microsoft Project. However, it has major drawbacks that make 
ProjectManager a better choice.

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