Managing Shared Resources

Managing shared resources on programs

In my experience this is a critical risk factor that must be managed with a “laser-like” focus. How many times have you put together a program and had dedicated resources that didn’t have another job to do? Not in this day and age.   Many times the individuals assigned to the program have a full time job and are told to support the program to their best ability. These resources may be assigned to production type tasks that require them to jump on the production issue when there is a problem. Production always trumps programs in terms of priority.   It’s important to recognize that fact and manage the risk appropriately.

Another complicating factor is that you may have multiple locations where your program resources are located and/or they may work from home. Regardless, you need to have the appropriate risk mitigation plans in place to deal with the realities of the work place when the resources are not dedicated to the program.

Use this checklist to help manage your resources.

Skill sets identified

Based on your scope checklist you should already have a good idea of the types of resources you’ll need to support your program.

Do you have trained project managers in your company? Do they have the experience to manage your program or will you need to bring a short-term resource in who has the skills to perform the job. Program managers need to be skilled in the technical management of the program, but they also need to be able to think strategically about the program and know how to solve short-term problems creatively.

You’ll need a resource that can manage the financials on the program. Will you be using Earned Value to capture your costs? In most cases, the program manager will perform the financial management, but in some cases additional support may be required. You don’t want to get to the end of the program and not know what it cost or what the value of the effort was to complete.

Scheduling support is critical and may be performed by the program manager. It’s something that the resource assigned needs to understand so that the program can be structured at the right level with the right level of granularity. I’ve seen schedules developed that are so detailed that there is more work than value provided based on the amount of time spent providing status. Scheduling is as much an art as it is a science, so finding the right resource to perform this task will be critical to the success and flexibility of the schedule.

Does your program require outside vendor support to complete the schedule? How do you manage those resources and how do they support the program. You need a well-defined plan if your program requires those resources. On many programs I used outside vendors to provide resources to support the program. Whether it was technical talent or hardware/software resources, you should identify those requirements and treat them as partners.

Technical skills

Technical skills are usually required on most information technology programs. Whether it’s engineering, software or infrastructure resources, you’ll need to identify the type and skill level (junior, senior) needed on your program. These resources are usually gainfully employed on another full time job, but have been identified as the resources that you can use to support your efforts. There are tools and metrics that can help as you proceed with the program, but it’s critical to be on top of this issue from day one.

Resource Plan Development

You will need to develop a resource plan in conjunction with the resources assigned to the program and their management. It should specify a commitment in hours each week they will support the program. If you can’t meet your requirements with the commitment provided, then you will need to go back to your stakeholders and obtain more resources (increase in budget), move your schedule (triple constraint) or get a commitment for those resources to be more creative (cross train, balance resources, short term contractors, overtime, etc.).

You will need to incorporate vacation time into the plan as well.

Budget Estimate for resource plan

Once your resource plan is completed and agreed upon, you will have the labor cost component identified. It’s important that you manage this cost since it’s one of your largest variable costs on the program. Productivity is a primary driver for your costs on technical work. Since people tend to be so constantly interrupted, you will notice an impact on your work being completed in the hours estimated based on the events that are consuming the resources such as production outages, audits, etc.

It’s a good idea to develop productivity factors that can be used when you develop future programs so that you’ll be more accurate in your estimates.

Operational support plan that supports the program efforts

This effort is important since it will identify any major operational impacts that might affect your program. If there is a major software release planned and your program is focused on completing an infrastructure upgrade, then having it identified up front will help you plan to mitigate any fallout. Incorporate vacation schedules and any other office events that can impact your efforts.

Mitigation plan for shared resources

Document the resource plan and identify the process that will be used to resolve issues with those resources. This identifies the person responsible and the appropriate escalation path that all parties agree on when there are problems. Trust me, this document will be used to resolve issues and will save you the headaches of trying to resolve it on the fly.

Next week I"ll post some tips for improving your communications.