Mastering Project Resource Management

In the last few years, there's been a shift. Projects are no longer focused on this idea of the triple constraint delivery model. PMOs are now starting to think more about benefit, the idea of focusing on outcomes, not outputs. Projects are no longer done because we need to have a new product delivered on a certain date for a fixed budget and with specific features, it's because we expect that product, that service, that efficiency, that system, whatever it might be to improve the quality of the business, to make us more effective, more efficient, to satisfy our customers more. The focus in on achieving business benefits.

That business benefit isn't stable either. We may find that we have to shift what is necessary. We may find that what we thought was going to be required on day one is not actually going to be required later on. Or we may find that what we thought was going to be relevant is no longer relevant at all. So we have to be prepared to adjust and evolve what we're doing. And that concept of change, of evolution is a constant. It's driven from our customers, it's driven from our competitors. And of course, technology is always evolving, and that's causing us to really think about how things may change.

All of this means that projects themselves are changing. Our resources, our teams need to be more autonomous. They need to become change drivers. They need a whole new set of skills and accountabilities. With an increasing focus on business outcomes, not project outcomes, we're not able to just plan a year's worth of projects and then forget about them. We're going to see a lot more adaptive planning, evolutionary planning, not just forced fixed rigid plans.

The Impact of Change on Project Resource Management

So what is the impact of these changes to projects on resource management. We're not just talking about a new way of doing projects, we're talking about a new way of doing business. Organizations don't approve projects because they think it would be a great idea to have lots of projects going on. They approve projects because they want to change that business as a whole. So that's what we have to think about when we're talking about resource management, not the management of projects, the management of the business, the way we do business. That means that project and resource management has to become strategic. It has to be focused on delivering the goals and objectives that those projects are approved to achieve. In doing that, we have to recognize that appointing the right resources to our projects becomes an enabler of success. It's not just about doing a task or completing a piece of work. It's about making sure that our resources are assigned in such a way that we have the best possible chance of achieving the business goals and objectives that we have to deliver against.

To achieve this we need to have the right skills. We need to have the right people, in the right place, focused on the right kind of work, and it's going to be delivered in the right way. That means that project resource management itself has to be integrated, not just integrated across projects, but integrated across the way the business operates. We have to recognize that we've only got one resource pool. It's the employees of the organization. If we add people to projects, they have to come from support or from operations. If we need more people in operations, it's going to come away from support or from projects. Yes, over time, we can add to the number of people we have through recruitment and training and skills development. But that's not a quick fix solution. It takes a while, so we have to make sure that we're managing everything cohesively across the entire organization. All business areas, all functions. And that means that our resources are the most critical part of value delivery. Without the right people, in the right place, at the right time, we're not going to be able to achieve the results that we need to deliver.

5 Concepts for Effective Project and Resource Management

There are five different factors to consider that will impact the effectiveness of your project and resource management.

1. Philosophy and Approach

2. Skills and Accountability

3. Development, Recruitment and Procurement

4. The Operating Environment

5. Leadership Expectations and Roles

Making it Happen

Understanding modern resource management is not going to happen overnight. These are dramatic changes in most of your organizations. This idea of empowering project teams to deliver and managing those resources to deliver on that accountability is something that is dramatic for a lot of organizations. It's only going to succeed if you've got ongoing commitment supported by practical investment. You also need to recognize that you're never done. There is never a single point in time where you can sit back and go, well, that's it. We're done. The organization is going to be operating in an environment that is continuously evolving, and that means that your process has to continually evolve to support those changing business needs. Otherwise, you're not going to succeed.

Support Infrastructure

To suceed you need a strong support infrastruture. An organization that says that they don't have the budget to invest in development of people is never going to succeed. It's the most important critical investment you can make. You have to support that with the right software. A platform like KeyedIn is vitally important to be able to manage this process, to be able to track what's happening in your organizations, to be able to plan effectively. And that software also has to integrate with everything else that's happening in your organization. All organizations are driven by enterprise level software these days. You have to make sure that all of that different software is talking to one another. It's integrated effectively. Only then will you achieve success.