University of The Cumberlands Responsibility Assignment Matrix Essay Question Essay Question #9: What is a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM)? Describe

University of The Cumberlands Responsibility Assignment Matrix Essay Question Essay Question #9: What is a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM)? Describe how you might use a responsibility assignment matrix to manage the resources assigned to your project.The assignment is to answer the question provided above in essay form. This is to be in narrative form. Bullet points should not to be used. The paper should be at least 1.5 – 2 pages in length, Times New Roman 12-pt font, double-spaced, 1 inch margins and utilizing at least one outside scholarly or professional source related to project management. This does not mean blogs or websites. This source should be a published article in a scholarly journal (Journal of Project Management) or a professional journal (such as PMI’s Project Management Journal). This source should provide substance and not just be mentioned briefly to fulfill this criteria. The textbook should also be utilized. Do not use quotes. Do not insert excess line spacing. APA formatting and citiation should be used. CONTEMPORARY PROJECT MANAGEMENT, 4E
Timothy J. Kloppenborg
Vittal Anantatmula
Kathryn N. Wells
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duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed
with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website
for classroom use.
1
Chapter 9
Resourcing Projects
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2
Chapter 9 Core Objectives:
• Show resource assignments on a RACI chart, Gantt chart, & resource histogram
• Develop an effective project schedule, considering resource constraints
• Describe methods of resolving resource overloads
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whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or
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Chapter 9 Behavioral Objectives:
• Create a Human Resources Management Plan including role descriptions & staffing
management plan
• Assign roles & responsibilities based on strengths
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whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or
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Chapter 9 Technical Objectives:
• Compress a project schedule using crashing and fast tracking & describe
advantages and disadvantages of each
• Compare various alternative scheduling methods
• Using MS Project, assign resources, pinpoint overloads, & describe methods of
dealing with them
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or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
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From manufacturer to service provider
“We identify and help remove process bottlenecks, offer online
collaborative project management tools, and provide
knowledgeable human talent to deliver what we call brand point
management. Brand point management helps companies create
compelling and consistent brand experiences across brand touch
points.”
Patti A. Soldavini, director, Corporate Marketing, Schawk, Inc.
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whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or
service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Successful projects balance…
Technical
Abilities
Behavioral
Abilities
Must
complement each other to develop a workable resource-based schedule that people will accept
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use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website
for classroom use.
Technical Abilities Needed when Resourcing Projects
Create a staffing
management plan
Assign
person(s) to
each activity
Compress a
project
schedule
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in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Schedule a
project with
limited
resources
Behavioral Abilities Needed when Resourcing Projects
• Select the right people
• Identify needs to be accomplished
• Ensure performance capability
• Deal with work schedules
• Schedule overtime
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whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product
or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Behavioral Abilities Needed when Resourcing Projects
• Estimate amount of work per activity
• Assemble effective team
• Deal with people from diverse backgrounds
• Decide where each person will work
• Establish effective virtual relationships
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in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
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Key Resourcing Considerations
Personnel skill
development
Project tradeoffs
and priorities
People cost
Project cost
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part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a
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Resource
limitations
Activity vs. Resource Dominated Schedule Basis Comparison
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in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
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Activity vs. Resource Dominated Schedule Basis Comparison
•
•
•
•
Use when client does not understand their needs
Rapid rate of change expected on projects
Team members should remain on project for at least one iteration
Budget is set based on people, and product is produced at pace
team can maintain
• Agile team is cross-functional with general expertise
• Develop skills as needed
• Work flows to the team rather than vice versa
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whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or
service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Estimate Resource Needs
• How many resources of each type & skill or knowledge level are needed?
• Consider support needs such as information systems & human resources
• Consider constraints placed upon how people are hired, scheduled, & released
Estimating activity resources– a process of assessing all types of resources—people, materials,
tools, & equipment (along with quantities)—required for each activity to complete it as specified
in project scope.
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or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Plan Resource Management
Plan Resource Management – the process of identifying resources and required skills
for a project, defining and assigning roles and responsibilities to all resources,
developing a reporting hierarchy, and communicating expectations.
• Identify potential resources
• Determine resource availability
• Decide timing issues
Staffing management plan – a proposal focused on acquiring, developing, and retaining
human resources for as long as you need them on the project.
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or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Plan Resource Management
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whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or
service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Identify Potential Resources
Work functions

job titles and range of
responsibilities
degrees and professional
certifications
Professional discipline
Skill level
Physical location
experience and performance ratings
willingness to relocate and travel
Organizational/administrative unit
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costs &
contractual issues
Identify Potential Resources
Available People
Specific skill
gaps
Resource needs
Available vs.
needed
• Identify an adequate number and mix of people
• Core team should participate in chartering the project
Resource Breakdown structure (RBS)– grouping all resources into main categories in
level one and populating each main category with resources based on either function
or skill
level….see Exhibit 9.3 in textbook
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part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a
Identify Potential Resources
Key subject
matter experts
(SMEs)
Make
opportunities
equally available to
qualified
candidates
Diversity allows
for more
perspectives
You may not get the specific people you want for your project, so it
makes sense to identify all possible resources!
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part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on
Determine Resource Availability
• Identify availability of desired people
• Secure commitment
Full and part time
resources
Internal vs.
external resources
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part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on
a password-protected website for classroom use.
Decide Timing Issues when Resourcing Projects
•
•
•
•
•
When to bring people on board
Get team functioning effectively
Plan for keeping team motivated & on schedule
When to reward & recognize the project team
When & how to release project participants
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in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Staffing Management Plan Issues
How will they
determine which
people are available
& secure their
services?
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part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on
a password-protected website for classroom use.
Project Team Composition Issues
Outsourced?
Cross-functional?
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in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Assign a Resource to each Activity
• Show resource responsibilities on RACI chart
• Show resource assignments on Gantt Chart
• Summarize resource responsibilities with histogram
WBS
The work
breakdown
structure
Activity
Project activities
that correspond to
the WBS
Who 1?
Who will be
involved
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Who 2?
May be more than
one person
Show Resource Responsibilities on RACI Chart
RACI is a form of RAM
Responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) – a matrix depicting work packages &
assigned resources for completing activities required to produce work packages
RACI – a popular form of RAM that presents roles of key stakeholders and their
roles defined as responsible (R), accountable (A), consult (C), and inform (I) for
project activities in a matrix form
Agile team members decide among themselves who will do
each work activity; when finished, they begin nexthighest-priority work
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part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a
Partial RACI Chart Example
Only one person accountable
for each task
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use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website
Breakout session!
Create a RACI chart for your project. Each row may have
several people involved, but be sure there in only 1 person
Accountable (A) for each task
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part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a
password-protected website for classroom use.
Show Resource Assignments on Gantt Chart
Person responsible for each
activity is listed next to the
activity in the Gantt Chart
Schedule
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in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
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Summarize Resource Responsibilities by Time Period With Histogram
Add up demands for each
worker at each time period
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in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Dealing with Resource Overloads
• Identify which activities are involved
• Compare resource histogram to Gantt Chart Schedule
• Project scheduling software pinpoints when overloads occur for each worker
• Management decisions required to solve the problem
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part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a
password-protected website for classroom use.
Partial Schedule and Resource Histogram Example
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whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or
service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Methods of Resolving Resource Overloads
➢
Reorder activities
➢
Acquire or borrow additional resources
➢
Reduce project scope or extend project schedule
➢
Inform sponsor of severe overloads
➢
Resource- level the overloaded person’s schedule
➢
Assign certain activities to other workers
➢
Split an activity into two activities
➢ Perform 1st part as scheduled
➢ Delay 2nd part of activity
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whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or
service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Resource Leveling
• Delay activities so person doesn’t perform as many activities at the same time (most
common)
• Delay noncritical activities by an amount no more than their slack
• Allow project to slip
• If non-critical activities must be completed at rate of effort in original schedule,
reassign activities to another worker
• Resource leveling is a combination of art & science
Resource Leveling – a project execution technique of adjusting the use of resources based
on availability and the amount of float on activities to accomplish work as soon as
possible, given the limited resource availability.
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whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or
service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Resource Leveling Example
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in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
Partially Leveled Resource Schedule
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in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Breakout session!
Practice Scheduling & Resource Leveling by hand (without software),
using either Exercise 5 or another provided by your instructor
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in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
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Compress the Project Schedule
• Actions to reduce the critical path
• Crashing
• Fast tracking
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duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed
with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for
classroom use.
Actions to Reduce the Critical Path
• Reduce project scope and/or quality.
• Overlap sequential activities
• Partially overlap sequential activities
• Increase number of work hours/days
• Schedule activities at same time.
• Shorten activities by assigning more resources.
• Shorten activities that cost least to speed up.
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part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on
a password-protected website for classroom use.
Compress the project schedule
• Crashing may cost more money to speed up the schedule
• Fast tracking may increase the risk to speed up the schedule
Crashing – speeding up the critical path often by adding additional resources or employing
existing resources for longer hours and/or more days per week
Fast Tracking – a method to expedite a project by executing activities at the same time that
would ordinarily be done one after the other
• In agile, crashing is called “swarming,” since team members swarm on a problem to
help get back on track
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or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
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Crashing
Certain activities are performed at a faster than normal pace
Which activities are
on the critical path?
Which critical path
activity costs the least
on a per day basis to
speed up?
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Crashing

The enumeration
method was used to
identify each path and
its duration.
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