Allocating and Managing Constrained Resources
Limitless material resources are not only unavailable most of the time, they may actually be a hindrance. And remaining lean and mean can often be a blessing.
– Michael Gibbert, Martin Hoegl, and Liisa Välikangas
Objectives
After reading this lesson, you will be able to
- Discuss basic concepts related to resource management, including over-commitment and over-allocation
- Explain some geometric-order resource optimization techniques, including resource leveling, resource smoothing, and the critical chain approach
- Describe challenges related to resource allocation in Agile
- Discuss ideas related to sustainability and the triple bottom line
- Identify issues affecting resource management at the portfolio level
- List some advantages of resources constraints
The Big Ideas in this Lesson
- You have to have the right resources at the right time. This involves staying flexible and making changes as necessary, rather than hewing to a predefined structure that might not be useful as conditions change.
- Constraints on resources are inevitable, but by combining geometric-order techniques such as resource leveling and resource smoothing with an adaptive, living order approach, you can prevent project crises.
- Project managers have to look outside their projects to find the resources they need. Somehow, within their organizations, they have to secure the resources they need. Meanwhile, on the portfolio-level, executives have to manage resources to ensure
that they are available for many projects over the long term.
Source: Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, https://wisc.pb.unizin.org/technicalpm/chapter/allocating-and-managing-constrained-resources/
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