From the course: Project Management Foundations

Create a resource management plan

From the course: Project Management Foundations

Create a resource management plan

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- [Presenter] Part of planning is to identify and document project roles and responsibilities. Who reports to whom and the skills needed to do the project work. That's where the resource management plan comes into play. This plan also includes a staffing plan which describes everything about how you'll staff the project. You start with a responsibility matrix. This document spells out who can make or approve decisions, the group's performing work, and which groups need to be consulted or informed about what's going on. A responsibility matrix includes four categories of responsibility. R means a group is responsible for performing work. I represents inform, which means a group gets information. C means that you consult a group about decisions. However, they aren't accountable for the decision that's made. A is for accountable, which means the group makes or approves decisions and delegates work. During planning, review the responsibility matrix with stakeholders and work out any disagreements. If part of your project doesn't have an owner, meaning someone accountable for that area, talk to the stakeholders and your project sponsor to identify who is accountable for that area. You might have outsourcing, subcontracting, and partnering arrangements. Don't forget to add these groups and how they contribute to the responsibility matrix. The second part of a resource management plan is a project organization chart. It's like a regular org chart except it shows the hierarchy and reporting structure for people involved with the project. That way, you know who to talk to if you need to escalate a request or decision. Third, identify the skills the project requires and how many people you need with those skills. A skills matrix helps you figure this out. To build one, take a look at your work packages and identify the skills each package requires. Then create a matrix with your project tasks in rows and the skills you need in the columns. Add check boxes in the matrix when tasks require a specific skill, then you estimate the number of resources you need with each skill. You can even multiply that number by the average pay rate to estimate the labor cost. Finally, it's time to develop the detailed staffing plan. Identify where you plan to get resources. Are they in house, outsourced or contracted? When do you need resources? Identify any training they need and document resource related processes. Getting team members on board, handing out assignments, getting status updates and releasing them from the project when their work is done. A resource management plan documents who does what, who reports to whom, the resources you need, and how you'll manage them. As an exercise, use what you know about the project so far to complete the responsibility matrix in the exercise files. Then using your responsibility matrix, draw up a project organization chart.

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