Chapter 7
Looking At Staff Resources
In This Chapter
Understanding the dynamics of staff scheduling
Focusing first on people’s abilities
Accurately planning your project’s staff needs
Striking a balance among all your resource commitments
Stan Portny remembers reading the following from a stressed-out Project Manager: ‘We’ve done so much with so little for so long, they now expect us to do everything with nothing!’
The truth is, of course, you can’t accomplish anything with nothing, and in the context of project resource planning, you need people as well as money. Getting the people planning right is essential both in terms of getting the right staff onto your project in the first place and then using the project staff in the best possible way. Although staff resourcing can be tricky – and many Project Managers tend to underestimate this resourcing – don’t be daunted by it, but instead allow time to think it through and plan thoroughly. By the way, using project staff well isn’t selfish either. Good project management includes giving team members opportunities to succeed and develop alongside you getting a successful project, and that needs careful thought and planning too.
This chapter covers the first part of the resource planning: the staff. It helps you understand the dynamics of scheduling and includes areas such as availability to show that full-time staff aren’t really full time. The chapter also covers topics such as individual performance, multi-tasking and the working ...
