Project Management

THE MANAGERIAL PROCESS

Clifford F. Gray

Eric W. Larson

Chapter 8

Scheduling Resources
Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin 8–2
 The Resource Problem
• Resources and Priorities
–Project network times are not a schedule until
resources have been assigned.
• The implicit assumption is that resources will be available in
the required amounts when needed.
• Adding new projects requires making realistic judgments of
resource availability and project durations.
• Resource-Constrained Scheduling
–Resource leveling (or smoothing) involves attempting
to even out demands on resources by using slack
(delaying noncritical activities) to manage resource
utilization.

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 Types of Project Constraints
• Technical or Logic Constraints
–Constraints related to the networked sequence in
which project activities must occur.
• Physical Constraints
–Activities that cannot occur in parallel or are affected
by contractual or environmental conditions.
• Resource Constraints
–The absence, shortage, or unique interrelationship
and interaction characteristics of resources that
require a particular sequencing of project activities.

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 Constraint Examples

FIGURE 8.1

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 Kinds of Resource Constraints

• People
• Materials
• Equipment
• Working Capital

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 Classification of A Scheduling Problem
• Classification of Problem
–Using a priority matrix will help determine if the project
is time or resource constrained.
• Time Constrained Project
–A project that must be completed by an imposed date.
• Time is fixed, resources are flexible: additional resources are
required to ensure project meets schedule.
• Resource Constrained Project
–A project in which the level of resources available
cannot be exceeded.
• Resources are fixed, time is flexible: inadequate resources will
delay the project.

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 Resource Allocation Methods
• Limiting Assumptions
–Splitting activities is not allowed—once an activity is
start, it is carried to completion.
–Level of resource used for an activity cannot be
changed.
–Activities with the most slack pose the least risk.
–Reduction of flexibility does not increase risk.
–The nature of an activity (easy, complex) doesn’t
increase risk.

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 Resource Allocation Methods (cont’d)
• Time-Constrained Projects
–Projects that must be completed by an imposed date.
–Require the use of leveling techniques that focus on
balancing or smoothing resource demands by using
positive slack (delaying noncritical activities) to
manage resource utilization over the duration of the
project.
• Peak resource demands are reduced.
• Resources over the life of the project are reduced.
• Fluctuation in resource demand is minimized.

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 Botanical Garden

FIGURE 8.2

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 Botanical Garden (cont’d)

FIGURE 8.2 (cont’d)

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 Resource Allocation Methods (cont’d)
• Resource Demand Leveling Techniques for
Time-Constrained Projects
–Advantages
• Peak resource demands are reduced.
• Resources over the life of the project are reduced.
• Fluctuation in resource demand is minimized.

–Disadvantages
• Loss of flexibility that occurs from reducing slack.
• Increases in the criticality of all activities.

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin 8–12
 Resource Allocation Methods (cont’d)
• Resource-Constrained Projects
– Projects that involve resources that are limited in
quantity or by their availability.
– Scheduling of activities requires the use of heuristics
(rules-of-thumb) that focus on:
1. Minimum slack
2. Smallest (least) duration
3. Lowest activity identification number
– The parallel method is used to apply heuristics
• An iterative process that starts at the first time period of
the project and schedules period-by-period any activities
scheduled to start using the three priority rules.

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 Resource-Constrained Schedule through Period 2–3

FIGURE 8.3

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 Resource-Constrained Schedule through Period 2–3

ES resource load chart

FIGURE 8.3 (cont’d)

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 Resource-Constrained Schedule through Period 2–3

Resource-constrained schedule through period 2–3

FIGURE 8.3 (cont’d)

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 Resource-Constrained Schedule through Period 5–6

Resource-constrained schedule through period 5–6

FIGURE 8.4

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 Resource-Constrained Schedule through Period 5–6

Final resource-constrained schedule

FIGURE 8.4 (cont’d)

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 Resource-Constrained Schedule through Period 5–6

New, resource-constrained network

FIGURE 8.4 (cont’d)

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 Computer Demonstration of Resource-
Constrained Scheduling

• EMR Project
–The development of a handheld electronic medical
reference guide to be used by emergency medical
technicians and paramedics.
• Problem
–There are only eight design engineers who can be
assigned to the project due to a shortage of design
engineers and commitments to other projects.

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 EMR Project:
Network View of
Schedule before
Resources Leveled

FIGURE 8.5

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 EMR Project before Resources Added

FIGURE 8.6

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 EMR Project—Time Constrained Resource Usage View,
January 15–23, 2005

FIGURE 8.7A

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 Resource Loading Chart for EMR Project,
January 15–23, 2005

FIGURE 8.A7B

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 EMR Project
Network View
Schedule
after Resources
Leveled

FIGURE 8.8

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 EMR Project Resources Leveled

FIGURE 8.9

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 The Impacts of Resource-Constrained
Scheduling

• Reduces delay but reduces flexibility.

• Increases criticality of events.
• Increases scheduling complexity.
• May make traditional critical path no longer
meaningful.
• Can break sequence of events.
• May cause parallel activities to become
sequential and critical activities with slack to
become noncritical.
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 Splitting/Multitasking
• Splitting/Multitasking
–A scheduling technique use to get a better project
schedule and/or increase resource utilization.
• Involves interrupting work on an activity to employ the
resource on another activity, then returning the resource to
finish the interrupted work.
• Is feasible when startup and shutdown costs are low.
• Is considered the major reason why projects fail to meet
schedule.

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 Splitting/Multitasking

FIGURE 8.10

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 Assigning Project Work
• Factors to Consider in Assigning Work:
–Don’t always pick the same people for the toughest
assignments.
–Choose people with an eye to fostering their
development through participation on the project.
–Pick people with compatible work habits and
personalities but who complement each other.
–Team-up veterans with new hires to share experience
and socialize newcomers into the organization.
–Select people who may need to learn work together
on later stages of the project or other projects.

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 Multiproject Resource Schedules
• Multiproject Scheduling Problems
–Overall project slippage
• Delay on one project create delays for other projects

–Inefficient resource application

• The peaks and valleys of resource demands create scheduling
problems and delays for projects.

–Resource bottlenecks
• Shortages of critical resources required for multiple projects
cause delays and schedule extensions.

Copyright © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin 8–31
 Multiproject Resource Schedules
• Managing Multiproject Scheduling
–Create project offices or departments to oversee the
scheduling of resources across projects.
–Use a project priority queuing system: first come, first
served for resources.
–Centralize project management: treat all projects as a
part of a “megaproject.”
–Outsource projects to reduce the number of projects
handled internally.

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 Key Terms

Heuristic
Leveling/smoothing
Multitasking
Resource-constrained projects
Resource profile
Splitting
Time-constrained projects

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