Reference no: EM132348425

Resource Loading and Leveling

Concept 1) The typical resource managed in most projects is people's time.

Additional resources that may need to be considered are:

Machine time/capacity - Does the project require time on a specific machine, particularly one that is a scarce resource?

Facility availability - Are facilities physically large enough to serve the needs of the project? In labor-intensive projects this could be the facility of office space including desks, chairs, phones, and computers.

Transportation - Some projects, such as a major demolition or a large convention, may put unusual strains on the transportation capacity of an area.

Concept 2) Resource loading is the level of demand placed upon individual resources during a specific time interval in a project schedule.

Concept 3) Resource leveling seeks to minimize fluctuations in the resource demand created by a project.

Concept 4) The activity slope, associated with "crashing" a project, identifies the trade-off between time and money when duration is reduced to expedite a project. Generally, the cost to perform an activity goes up as its duration is reduced.

Why is it important for a project manager to resource load their project schedule? What problems may arise if a project manager does not resource load their project schedule?