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Enterprise Resource Pool
- Thread starter StevoPM
- Start date
Small question (13 words); *really* big answer.
There are two major issues:
1. Determine who owns the resource pool (i.e. who is responsible for keeping it current). This person and only this person adds resources and updates the pool with names, vacation schedules, etc.
2. Enforce a rule that all projects must use resources from the resource pool and cannot assign resources uniquely. This is particularly difficult when a project is being first defined because the assignments are tentative and attaching to the resource pool may show an overloaded resource.
(The "creative" PM will "invent" his/her own resource names and use local resources ... which breaks the rule you just imposed.)
There is a work-around: create generic resources ("#Programmer", "#Manager", etc.), put them in the resource pool and then allocate those to the project while it is under development. When the schedule is approved, you go back to the resource assignments and change "#Manager" to a specific resource.
3. Over-allocations. The resource pool owner (see 1) needs to monitor resource over-allocations. When an overallocation is detected then you need a defined process to determine who gets the resource and who has to do with someone else. Now see item 4.
4. You may (and probably should) have an approval process before a resource is actually assigned to a project. The resource owner should have to approve the request for a specific resource before the requirement can be changed from a generic resource to a specific resource. Re-read item 3.
It's been a while since I last worked with large pools and numerous projects but I recall some people complaining about very slow response while others never mentioned the problem. I have no recollection why there were differences.
The biggest issue is enforcement ... ALL projects, ALL project managers, ALL schedulers *must* follow the rules. There is definite administrative overhead to doing this well.
You don't give numbers (resources, projects, budget total) but you *might* want to consider Project Server. It isn't the answer to every situation (in fact it's really the answer to only a very select subset of situations) but if it is the answer, it's certainly the better answer (though, beware, there is admin overhead in the project department as well as in the IT department).
There are two major issues:
1. Determine who owns the resource pool (i.e. who is responsible for keeping it current). This person and only this person adds resources and updates the pool with names, vacation schedules, etc.
2. Enforce a rule that all projects must use resources from the resource pool and cannot assign resources uniquely. This is particularly difficult when a project is being first defined because the assignments are tentative and attaching to the resource pool may show an overloaded resource.
(The "creative" PM will "invent" his/her own resource names and use local resources ... which breaks the rule you just imposed.)
There is a work-around: create generic resources ("#Programmer", "#Manager", etc.), put them in the resource pool and then allocate those to the project while it is under development. When the schedule is approved, you go back to the resource assignments and change "#Manager" to a specific resource.
3. Over-allocations. The resource pool owner (see 1) needs to monitor resource over-allocations. When an overallocation is detected then you need a defined process to determine who gets the resource and who has to do with someone else. Now see item 4.
4. You may (and probably should) have an approval process before a resource is actually assigned to a project. The resource owner should have to approve the request for a specific resource before the requirement can be changed from a generic resource to a specific resource. Re-read item 3.
It's been a while since I last worked with large pools and numerous projects but I recall some people complaining about very slow response while others never mentioned the problem. I have no recollection why there were differences.
The biggest issue is enforcement ... ALL projects, ALL project managers, ALL schedulers *must* follow the rules. There is definite administrative overhead to doing this well.
You don't give numbers (resources, projects, budget total) but you *might* want to consider Project Server. It isn't the answer to every situation (in fact it's really the answer to only a very select subset of situations) but if it is the answer, it's certainly the better answer (though, beware, there is admin overhead in the project department as well as in the IT department).
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