How to make a project resource plan: recommendations
A resource plan is a document that captures all of the processes involved in accomplishing a task, as well as the methods for securing the resources used to do so. In this case, the resources are the people who work on the project, as well as the necessary equipment, programs, and other components. Their number may be limited in each particular company.
A simple example of a resource plan is a list of the specialists involved and the time of their employment:
- two developers who program in java – 32 hours;
- one tester who uses manual testing methods – 16 hours;
- a project manager – 24 hours.
The document can have a different format – the main thing is that the team and all the people interested in performing the task understand what components are needed for successful work. In addition, the plan gives the opportunity to find out the problems, to see the lack of one or another resource, and promptly compensate for it. For large projects, it is better to create a detailed resource plan that will clearly indicate the deadlines, tasks, and the need to hire outside specialists or lack thereof. And the document should not contain a list of responsibilities of the whole department, but only those employees who are directly involved in the implementation of the project, only those of their actions that are needed to perform a specific task.
There is also a calendar and resource plan for the project, in this case, it is important to determine the timing of implementation, and it is desirable to schedule deadlines for each individual item and employee. In this way, you can control the timing of the task and thereby reduce the likelihood of failing to meet the deadline. This version of the document is also called a resource schedule plan.
The first thing a resource plan begins with is a list of all the tasks that need to be done to implement the project. Next, based on this, the components and resources that should be brought in are determined. It is not only about the number of specialists, but also about their skills, software, and equipment. And the best option will be based not on the available resources, but on the tasks and peculiarities of their implementation.
The resources outlined above are compared to the schedule plan to understand the workload and the period for which each specialist needs to be involved. If it is not possible to get the necessary resources in full, then a careful analysis of the list of tasks should be carried out to understand which of them can be combined or abandoned altogether. Another option is to bring in resources from outside, such as an intermediary company or freelancer/s.
The main advantage of the resource plan is the structuring of all items, which allows you to clearly see the amount of work, its complexity, and timing. In this case, there are no clear rules for drafting the document, everything depends on the convenience of those who will be guided by the recorded information.
