50 Top IT Project Management Challenges

CHALLENGE 17: RESOURCE UTILISATION

Overloading of resources is one of the potential challenges that impacts project delivery. It is where a resource is assigned more work than they have the capacity to complete. For example, a resource works an eight-hour day and is assigned two tasks, each worth eight hours of effort, and scheduled to occur on the same day, as shown below.

As the resource cannot complete both tasks at the same time, a resource overallocation occurs.

When overallocation of resources occurs in the project schedule, the project effort will remain the same, as the resources complete Task 1 and move on to Task 2 the next day. However, ...