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Does your project or program have a resource management strategy (RMS)? While they are mainly used in program management, you can also find an RMS useful in a project environment. This is especially the case if your project is not affiliated to a program and you have to work it out how to handle resources yourself.
An RMS sets out how the project or program will get and manage the resources it needs to achieve the change required – after all, projects are about delivering change and you need resources to do that. “Resources” is not just an unfriendly word to describe people. Resources can be:
- Money;
- Buildings;
- Equipment;
- Technology;
- Services, and of course;
- People.
The people element can include temporary staff, permanent staff, contractors or part-time employees.
An RMS helps you manage the approach to using these. Not convinced? Here are 7 reasons why you need a resource management strategy.
1. It describes how the human resources requirements will be managed. This includes internal and external resources. How will you keep their line manager informed? Will they be part of a matrix organisation and if so how will this work in practice? Will you have the people reporting directly to you instead?
2. It describes how you will manage the transfer of knowledge and skills back to operations when the project has finished. This part of the RMS can be an input into the training and communications strategies.
3. It defines the dispute resolution process for when resource conflicts happen. And they will! Having this documented in advance will help you deal with issues as they arise. You will already have plans for how to fix problems, for example, when resources are called on to business as usual work or other projects. Who will arbitrate? Will it be the program manager or a board member? Can you solve conflicts yourself or do you need someone else to look at the overall priorities of the project portfolio?
4. It sets out how you will resource business as usual activity when you are using project staff for your project. The company still needs to operate, even when project resourcing demands are high. The RMS acts as a prompt for discussions with line managers. You can use it as a basis to ensure that they have plans in place for when they need to resource the ongoing commitments for their departments.
5. It defines an approval process for getting people and money.Don’t underestimate this! It really does help to know in advance about how to get resources for your project. It will save a lot of time and negotiation if you have already talked to the process owners and other people involved and already have this written down.
6. It defines the accounting and financial reporting procedures for the project. An RMS can also be used to determine how you will get financial resources, how you will spend it and how you will monitor it.
7. It defines the procurement strategy. You might not need an entire procurement strategy for your project or program, so you may find that this section of the RMS just references your corporate procurement process. This explains how you go about buying things and what arrangements or contracts need to be in place.
Remember that resources are not just people! A resource management strategy can help you be a helicopter project manager and see the big picture for all the resource needs on your project or program.
Have you used one or got any tips? Let us know in the comments.
Posted on: August 06, 2011 10:17 AM |
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