PLANNING PROJECT HUMAN RESOURCES

Produced for LEARNSMART by

LearnSmartTM

LearnSmartTM
© 2013 LearnSmart, LLC

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 2
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
Chapter 1: Overview of Project Human Resources Management

Part 1: Course Overview

As a project manager, you will take on a variety of activities that

will ensure the successful completion of the project. Among the most

important activities that you will undertake is the management of

resources that you will need to accomplish the tasks within the

project plan. Typically resources come in two forms, raw materials

that are developed into components of a project and human resources

that will perform the development work upon the raw materials.

Welcome to “Planning Project Human Resources.” This course will take

you through the processes that pertain to the Project Human Resource

Management Knowledge Area. Planning Human Resource Management is the

process of identifying and detailing roles and responsibilities,

skills and relationships within a project. Based upon determining the

needs relevant to the project, a staff management plan can be

developed. This is an important component of project management

because it establishes the organizational process assets that will be

used to guide the project team. Roles and responsibilities can be

detailed within organization charts and staff management plans can be

used to organize resources to ensure that you have the right level of

skills and expertise available when needed within the project.

Within this course you will learn about the need to effectively plan

and manage human resources; the relationship between the project team

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 3
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
participants and the functional areas that provide and directly

manage human resources as well as tools and techniques that will

support the management of human resources. All of which will cumulate

into the projects Human Resources Management Plan.

As a project manager, it is imperative to acquire the ability to plan

for resources within a project. It is a skill that you will hone and

apply lessons learned through your career. Based upon the varying

size, scale and nature of projects, the human resource plan may

differ relative to the manner in which you determine the resource

need and then proceed to collect resources for time bound

deliverables. For example, a small scale project may require a team

of less than 10 individuals to carry out the necessary steps to

fulfill the project’s requirements. In cases like these, the project

team participants may wear different hats based upon the need to

apply economies of scale and maintain project equilibrium as it

pertains to constraints such as budget. For larger scale, multi-year

project engagements, the human resource plan may look and feel

entirely different as some components may not be able to determine

the human resource need because the deliverable is too far out in the

future to plan for. Other concern with large scale projects is the

need to time events and raw materials in such a way as to ensure that

the people that are expected to develop materials into a finished

project are readily available when their work is expected to be

performed – and when the raw materials are made available for

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 4
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
consumption. This level of planning not only requires the interaction

with the project team but the interaction with organization process

assets such as schedules of other projects so the project manager can

work and negotiate resources that may be required on other projects

during the timeframes that he requires work to be completed within.

So you can see there is a great deal to cover when it comes to human

resource planning for project activities. Let’s start off by taking a

look at the project Team’s responsibilities.

Part 2: Project Team Responsibilities

The project management team is a subset of the overall project team.

They are responsible for providing leadership as project activities

are driven through the various phases and lifecycles. The project

management team may also be known as the Core Team or the Executive

leadership Team. Their role provides support within project

activities such as funding the project, detailing the project’s size

& scope, overseeing productivity & progress and managing and

influencing project stakeholders.

As mentioned, planning project human resource management involves

setting the stage for activities that will drive the project staff

management plan. It involves processes that organize, manage and

drive the project team. Depending on the size, scale and scope of the

project, the project team is typically comprised of individuals from

functional areas within a firm that have specific competencies or

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 5
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
levels of subject matter expertise. The team participants are aligned

to specific roles and responsibilities for completing tasks or

activities within a project. Skill sets among team members can vary

as well as the level or degree of experience the team participants

may have. This is important to consider when facilitating a team

because you want to ensure that you have the right mix of seasoned

professionals with the experience, expertise and knowledge to drive

activities; while at the same time you want to ensure that you have

the right blend of experience relative to those team participants

that may be just starting out. This way knowledge transfer can take

place between those with more tenure and those that maybe new to

project management activities. If managed effectively, mentoring

relationships and networking takes place seamlessly which are a

positive by-product of human resource processes. Additionally,

project team members can be full or part time and can be added or

removed based upon the project’s need. For example, if a subject

matter expert is required for scheduled work that is expected to take

place three weeks into the project, you may not want to bring the

expert into the project earlier than the scheduled activity,

otherwise you would end up paying the expert rate for unused time.

Another example of setting up the right resources can be seen in the

administrative details required of a project. If a project team were

to be made up of only high level experts, the project manager would

be paying a premium for team members to perform administrative

activities, something that more junior members of the team could

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 6
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
better afford to do in order to gain experience and deliver required

administrative work at a lower rate. While roles and responsibilities

find their way to project team participants in the form of

assignments, a good practice for a project manager is to ensure

proper levels of involvement within project planning and decision

making activities as decision making becomes more robust when tenured

experts and additional staff take part in the process. It also gives

the project team participants a “skin in the game” relative to owning

components of an overall decision. In essence, it serves to

strengthen the bond of the project team. Like all other knowledge

area processes, the processes within planning project human resources

interact with one and other which in turn may require additional

planning steps such as: a review and revision of the project Work

Breakdown Structure; Addressing impacts to the project risk plan as

human resources with varying degrees of background and experience are

added to or taken from a project; activity levels and durations are

dependent upon project team members based upon their degree of

competency. If the project team changes, the activity durations may

require reviews to ensure timing impacts are taken into

consideration.

While it is safe to assume that the project manager is accountable

for all aspects of a project, human resources assigned to work within

a project are typically managed by their functional or resource

manager with a “dotted line” to the project manager. The project

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 7
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
manager can contribute to reviews of resources relevant to their

experience within the project but the overall management of project

resources remains with the resource manager. That being said, let’s

have a look at some of the human resource responsibilities of a

project manager.

A project manager typically negotiates for project resources with

respective resource managers. The resource manager will review the

project deliverables and determine the skill set necessary and the

proper individual to develop the required project components.

Negotiation points could be based upon the overall volume of projects

the resource manager is engaged within. It may also consider the

amount of time on a weekly basis that the resource can be made

available. For instance, if there are multiple projects in the works,

the project manager may negotiate for a resource to work on their

specific project for four hours a day for three consecutive weeks,

based upon the scheduling and requirements of the project. This way

the resource manager could utilize their resource not only for this

one project but for other activities that they may be responsible

for. Another area that project managers typically cover is the

assignment of roles and responsibilities within the project. A

Project manager can use tools such as a Responsibility Assignment

Matrix or a RACI diagram whereby the specific activities assigned to

a person are detailed by the level of work expected. RACI is an

acronym that stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 8
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
and individuals can be identified relative to the level of work

expected of them.

As the project manager works to determine human resource needs, they

should confer with organizational process assets to determine if job

descriptions relevant to project needs are in place. If they are, the

PM should use those descriptions to ensure that consistency exists at

the firm-wide level in regard to the type of work described and the

level of work required to perform the task. This is important because

if supports compensation concerns and serves to ensure that the right

resources are in place at the expected rate of pay. For example, the

project may require a one senior level computer programmer and three

junior level programmers. By having a distinction between the levels

of programmers, the PM has the ability to specify the type of work

performed and the level of pay provided for that work. If a job

description does not exist, then it would be the responsibility of

the Project Manager to create one based upon the firm’s job

description template, which would be an organizational process asset.

In most cases, project managers need to “mine the gaps” when it comes

to ensuring all stakeholders are in sync with project deliverables.

This is often the case within technology based projects. In order to

ensure that all stakeholders understand the details associated with

project activities and deliverables, the Project Manager should work

to identify training needs for the project stakeholders and create a

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 9
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
plan to implement and schedule training activities to ensure that all

parties are engaged at a level to meet expectations.

In addition to negotiating and training activities, the project

manager should work to visualize project team participants by

generating an organization chart which details all participants and

the project management team lead that their activities will be

covered by. A team directory that contains logistical details such as

contact information, regional coverage, e-mail address, phone

numbers, roles and responsibilities, and any other pertinent

information should also be a part of the human resource

responsibilities that will contribute to the projects staffing

management plan.

Part 3: Human Resource Management and the Process Groups

Within the Human Resource Knowledge Area there are four processes

that take place across the Planning and Executing process groups.

Within the Planning process group the Plan Human Resource Management

process takes place. Within the Execution process group the project

manager will work to acquire the project team, develop the project

plan and manage the project team.

Within the Planning process group, process inputs along with tools &

techniques such as Organizational Charts, Networking, Organizational

Theory alignment and Team Meetings will serve to produce the

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 10
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
project’s human resource management plan. This plan will be the go to

guide for all Human Resource activities that pertain to the project

and will become a subsidiary plan to within the projects project

management plan.

The remaining processes take place within the Execution process group

where the project manager will work to ensure that his project has

the appropriate levels of resources when needed according to the

project schedule. In addition to acquiring resources, the project

manager should ensure that development activities take place to

provide time for adequate learning and development for the project

team while, at the same time, managing project team resources to

ensure that their time bound deliverables are being delivered within

the constraints of the project. Let’s have a look at the three

additional processes in greater detail.

The first Human Resources process within the Execution process group

is the Acquire Project Team process where the project manager works

to confirm human resource availability and ensure that the project

team is in place to complete planned activities. This process

outlines the selected team participants and their respective

responsibilities assigned. It uses the Human Resource Management Plan

completed within the Planning phase along with enterprise

Environmental Factors and Organizational Process Assets to determine

the optimal number of team participants along with designated roles

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 11
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
and responsibilities.

The Acquire Team Process uses tools such as Pre-Assignment where by

team participants are selected in advance of the execution phase.

This technique is applicable when a project is the result of specific

people being required based upon experience or expertise or when

individuals are part of a competitive bid where an individual’s

expertise is recognized and in demand. Staff assignments can be a

product of negotiation as previously stated where functional managers

would have a say in regard to the resources made available and the

amount of their time that can be scheduled. Additionally, the project

manager may find it necessary to negotiate with external competencies

or organizations such as vendors or suppliers.

In some instances, when the performing organization is not able to

provide needed staff, the project manager may consider outside

resources on a contractual basis to cover the need through

acquisition of resources. Another alternative available to the

project manager is virtual teams where a group of people with shared

goals but limited face time to interact on project deliverables. Such

would be the case with off-shore resources. Decisions to incorporate

resources are bolstered by the availability for skilled resources as

a substantially reduced rate and the ability to use e-mail and video

conferencing at affordable rates. While attractive, there can be

disadvantages to virtual teams as well due to limitations in

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 12
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
knowledge sharing, cultural issues and communications which may

require enhanced communications planning to facilitate effective

virtual team utilization.

A Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis tool can be used to optimize the

resource acquisition process where a weighted score is applied to

criteria determined by the project team. Criteria such as:

Ability to work within the time constraints and adherence to cost

within a project. Experience levels, availability, knowledge levels,

skills and attitude also factor into resource acquisition decisions.

The outputs of the process are staff assignments where all project

team participants are identified within core teams and project

documents are updated to reflect details such as roles and

responsibilities as they pertain to each staff member. Resource

Calendar’s provide documented details relative to resource

availability aligned to the project schedule. Logistics such as time

zones, work hours, vacation or time away and commitments to other

project activities are also part of the resource calendar details.

Project management plan updates incorporate subsidiary management

plans impacted by HR activities along with document revisions or

updates as required to keep all pertinent details up to date.

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 13
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
The Develop Project Team process takes the Human Resource management

plan along with Project Staff Assignments and Resources Calendar’s as

inputs to help build, motivate, inspire and lead the project team. In

order for a team to be productive, team work becomes a critical

factor that requires a concentrated effort by the project manager.

Project managers should work to keep their team motivated and

inspired through their leadership. By creating challenges and

opportunities, along with feedback and support a project manager can

optimize the effectiveness of their team and recognize that

collaborative efforts become easier and more manageable as the team

matures and evolves. A good practice for a project manager to follow

is to strive to develop team participants, provide feedback often and

permit time for communications. Additionally, the project manager

should seek support from senior management and that of influential

stakeholders in a manner that is visible to the team as it will

illustrate the project manager’s ability to escalate concerns or

issues on behalf of the team.

As project activities become more global in nature, today’s project

manager needs to become accustomed to the concept of diversity within

a project team and permit cultural differences to influence

activities within a project to ensure a holistic approach. For

instance, a North America based project manager may seek assistance

from an off shore resource that may be more in tune with the needs of

off shore resources. By taking those needs into consideration, the

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 14
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
overall project could benefit by either minimizing risk or by

enhancing the collaborative capabilities of the project team. Human

Resource Development activities should concentrate on creating a

dynamic, cohesive and collaborative project team that permits cross

training and mentoring while capitalizing on cultural diversity.

Chapter 2: Develop Human Resources Plan

Part 1: Human Resource Planning Influences

The Human Resource Management Plan is made up of four inputs that

combine with Organization Charts, Organizational Theory, Expert

Judgment and Team Meetings. The inputs are not uncommon and have been

developed from prior process activities. Let’s have a look at each of

the four inputs.

The project management plan is used to provide guidance on how

project human resources should be defined, staffed, managed and

discharged upon completion of the project. The details used for the

development of a human resource management plan include the project

life cycle and processes applicable to each phase. Keep in mind that

the project lifecycle is similar in to but different from the project

process groups. While similar in name, the lifecycle applies to work

actually performed. The project management plan also details how work

will be executed in regard to objectives and how the change

management plan and processes will be managed. It also details the

projects configuration management plan. Both change and configuration

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 15
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
management plans provide insight in regard to the manner in which

those processes will be sourced with staff. In other words, the

project manager would look to these plans to determine the right

resources required to carry out the process. The project management

plan also covers project baseline details and methods for

communications to the project team and stakeholders. Again, these

details assist the project manager in determining resources required

to carry out intended activities.

Activity Resource Requirements help determine human resource needs

for a project. Progressive elaboration, as a tool, is applied to gain

dimensional details at the activity level. These details in turn can

be used to calculate and estimate durations. Estimates are applied to

the project schedule to determine project workload which feeds into

the Human Resources Plan.

Enterprise environmental factors, as usual, influence project

activities and relevant plans. Let’s take a look to see how

enterprise environmental factors play a role within the development

of a Human Resource Plan. First factor in consideration is the firm’s

culture or structure. For example, if a firm is one that chooses not

to use consultants, the Human resource Plan would reflect a resource

utilization inherently made up of employees within the ranks of the

firm. While this sort of corporate culture may be an exception to

current norms, it is a constraint and influencer on your project

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 16
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
plans. This identified risk could pose resource constraints,

especially if the skill set desired does not reside currently within

the talent pool or not enough of that resource to go around.

In such cases where only existing internal human resources may be

used – and the duration warrants – selected resources can be trained

and scheduled to join the project team while the project is under way

or trained while they work on project activities. There can be

benefits – also known as “positive risks” – to working in this manner

as it provides opportunities for staff that may not otherwise have

the ability to gain skills or additional knowledge. It can contribute

to career mobility.

Geographical dispersion of team members can serve to add diversity

and possibly complexity to a project. In order for it to work

effectively the project manager needs to choose the right project

methodology that would support a project team that is collocated

across various regions. For example, the Agile methodology works very

well when the project team can assemble in person in one specific

location. A project that is global in nature with participants from

all regions may choose not to use the agile project methodology for

this purpose. Another concern relevant to dispersed staff is that

they typically “follow the sun” from a time perspective so those in

the United States either have to start work very early or leave work

very late to accommodate time constraints of workers located in

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 17
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
Europe or Asia.

Personnel administration policies and marketplace conditions can also

influence the Human Resource Plan by virtue of constraints to staff

or budget. If a firm’s personnel policies or the project

organizational structure limit the project manager’s ability to

source resources, it could impact the project. If marketplace

conditions indicate a robust economy with low unemployment, the

project manager may find it difficult to source resources without

paying a premium or vice versa.

Organizational Process Assets, like enterprise environmental factors,

can factor into an organization’s human resource plan. Organizational

processes such as standard policies and role descriptions could serve

to limit human resource plan activities as there could be monetary

constraints aligned to certain roles or there may be requirements

aligned to roles that are structured by a firm’s organizational

policies. For example, a project that involves construction may

require that union electricians are hired to perform electrical work.

Organizational process assets can serve to enforce the use of

template based organization charts so that there are consistent

visualizations of project teams going from project to project.

Lessons learned are organizational process assets that can also

contribute to Human Resource Management Plans where staffing concerns

that surfaced in prior projects maybe documented for future

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 18
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
avoidance. Organizational process assets may also provide for

escalation procedures that could be used to cover issues in the event

that human resources planning activities introduces an unplanned risk

into the project.

On an iterative basis, these four inputs should come as no surprise

and the net benefit to the project manager and team is that this

information is readily available for analysis and the project team

can apply the inputs to project activities as needed. Keep in mind

that based upon size and scale, not every input is required for every

human resource management plan.

Part 2: Assigning Project Team Roles and Responsibilities

Let’s think about the project team for a few minutes. You have your

sponsor approval; you vetted the project requirements and have buy-in

among the project stakeholders. So basically you are ready to go –

right? Not really! One very important component that you are missing

is the manner in which the project team will participate to work on

the project requirements and ultimately deliver a product of some

sort. When it comes to acquiring or establishing a project team there

is typically more than meets the eye in regard to getting the right

resources, at the right time and then ensuring that all have the

competency and capabilities to deliver the work of the project, not

to mention the interactive nature of the project teams with one and

other AND the motivators that inspire one to perform a task. Before

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 19
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
we delve into those aspects, we need to start with roles and

responsibilities. In some ways, the project management plan that you

will be developing a story needs to reflect on how a project’s

product will be developed and delivered. In order to do so, the

project manager will need to utilize some tools and techniques that

help illustrate the organizational functions of the team, the

responsibilities inherent to the roles that the team members will be

assuming and details pertaining to the role. For example, in order to

show how the project team is managed and who within the team is

responsible for certain areas, the project manager may choose to use

an organizational chart. This is a typical chart used in business,

but in our case for specific project alignment, that provides a

hierarchical view of the project team from Project Manager on top,

down through the Core Management Team and respective Team members.

The organizational chart may also illustrate how a vendor or third

party may be engaged and the person that their services would be

managed by. Often times, vendor or third party relationships are

illustrated with a dotted line connection within the hierarchy simply

to illustrate that the resources aligned may not be firm based

resources. Because of the Top-down view that a hierarchical chart

illustrates, it correlates nicely with a projects Work Breakdown

Structure which illustrates project deliverables. From a human

resource perspective, a similar view called the Organizational

Breakdown Structure, or OBS, illustrates the organization or the

project team according to existing departments or teams. In this type

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 20
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
of chart, work package information (remember that a work package

details activities at the lowest level of a Work Breakdown Structure)

would be listed under the department or team expected to perform the

work. This way, a specific department can detail their level of work

or participation within a project. To illustrate, the IT Dept. would

see all the IT activities relevant to a project by looking under IT

within the organizational breakdown structure (OBS). The Resource

breakdown structure (RBS) is another hierarchical view that lists

resources related by category and resource type used to facilitate

project work. As levels descend toward activities within Work

Packages, the RBS can be used to tie in resources to the activities

work package detailed within the WBS. So you see, there are various

breakdown structures that contribute a hierarchical perspective in

support of visualizing not only human resources but also the

organization that the resources reside within and the anticipated

activities within work packages that will performed by the resources.

Another added benefit of hierarchical visualizations is that they can

be tied into financial systems by virtue of control accounts which

are used to account for resource consumption throughout the

lifecycles of the project.

The next type of chart that provides details that pertain to roles

and responsibilities is a matrix based report call the Responsibility

Assignment Matrix or RAM for short. The responsibility assignment

matrix is a simple grid that may be developed within a spreadsheet,

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 21
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
or there may be an organizational process asset template available

for the project manager to use. It details the project resources that

are required for activities at the work package level. Remember, work

packages are made up of specific activities that are measurable by

project constraints such as time, cost, and resources to perform the

work and quality. The Responsibility assignment matrix illustrates

all levels of work aligned to one person and it does the same for all

people aligned to one activity. It also serve to illustrate the one

person accountable for each and every task so the opportunities for

confusion in regard to who does what is minimized. Within a

Responsibility Assignment Matrix, resources may be visualized as

individuals or as groups and additional options are available to the

project manager like “Responsible” “Accountable”, Consultative or

Informed. When using these options, a RACI diagram or matrix can be

developed to illustrate on one page the activities per work package

and the project team members that will collaborate within those

activities. At the activity level, an individual’s degree or

participation can be designated as one of the aforementioned options:

Accountable, Responsible, Consultative, Informed; thereby providing a

clear view of the roles and responsibilities of each individual

within the project team relative to activities within work packages.

The final format for review is Text-oriented formats such as job

descriptions. Job descriptions may need to be developed at the onset

of a project, especially if the role is new to the organization,

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 22
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
otherwise, the project manager should look to see if there is a job

description already in place that fits the requirements of the

project. Job descriptions are typically template based documents that

have fields in which details such as responsibilities; authority,

qualifications and competency are detailed. Required certifications,

experience or education may also factor into a job description. Job

descriptions will become project artifacts and will also serve as

updates to organizational process assets for the firm.

An interpersonal skill worth developing for project managers is the

ability to network. So what is networking and how does it serve

project management? Networking involves interactions with people,

organizations, communities, social media, vendors, stakeholders,

professional organizations, educational institutions, religious

organizations or basically any type of communications that could

serve to benefit project activities. By doing so, the project manager

enhances their own personal knowledge and develops skills and the

ability to market their capabilities, expertise and competencies. So

how does one start out in networking? Simply put – make a friend.

By creating an alliance through friendship and acquiring new

connections the project manager can gain insight and better

understand bureaucratic and interpersonal impacts to their projects.

Additionally, successful networking can serve to improve access to

human resources assets. For example, when seeking expertise and core

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 23
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
competencies to drive a project, this skill can be used to pitch open

positions within a project team to prospective team members and

inspire them to join in the team effort. Networking can also serve to

position the project work in regard to other projects to ensure that

the project gets prioritized or approved for funding. Networking can

also help determine the manner in which a project’s deliverables are

developed. Often times a project manager or team maybe set in their

ways to develop products and manage projects simply because their

style of work is accepted and the team is regarded as functional.

While there is nothing wrong with that, the project manager may end

up losing the team members by attrition as the team will seek

innovative projects and activities. Networking permits not only

project managers but the project team to reach out and investigate

strategies and practices that may be outside their comfort zone. From

there, possibly develop new and intriguing approaches to common

project requests. Networking may also serve to optimize project

activities as there will be times where smaller, faster or better

activities will come to light by virtue of simply communicating with

others. Additionally, networking can serve to expand a project team’s

sphere of influence. For example, if a project that takes place in

North America can provide a similar benefit in other parts of the

world, networking can serve to syndicate details about the project to

others that may be unaware but interested.

A good practice that project managers should consider is to add

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 24
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
networking to their standing team agenda at least once a month and

challenge each project team member to reach out and network with

people and organizations alike. They should then be prepared to

discuss their networking activities and highlight their top three

experiences as they relate to the current project. This type of

activity will drive the team activity away from the typical project

team update grind and will infuse new and exciting opportunities that

the team can take in and expand upon. As activities are uncovered,

the project manager can determine if there is anything worth pursuing

to benefit the project at hand and if so develop actions items to

follow up upon. It’s a fun way to infuse information into a project

team while challenging the team participants to interact, not only

for the sake of the project but also for their own knowledge and

benefit.

In addition to networking, Organization Theory plays a significant

role in developing a Human Resource Plan for a project.

Organizational theory provides details in regard to the manner in

which people, teams and functional units within an organization

interact. The Project management Institute has identified that the

use of common themes in organizational theory can serve to benefit

project by reducing the amount of time, costs and effort required to

develop human resources plans and create Plan Human Resource process

outputs, which in turn enhances a project's efficiency. The important

aspect for the project manager to realize is that different

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 25
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
organizations structures will have different individual responses

along with different levels of performance and different personal

relationship characteristics. Let’s take a quick look at some of the

different organizational structures, but first we’ll key in on

organizational influences in general.

A project can and will be influenced by an organization’s culture,

style and structure. Systems used for project management, as well as

an organizations project management maturity level, also factor into

the manner by which a project is measured. Additionally, projects

with external entities such as joint ventures or partnerships can be

further influences by a compound effect of organizational influences.

Organization cultures and styles are typically identified by cultural

norms that tend to develop over periods of time. Cultural norms

include organizational assets that provide processes and procedures

for initiating and driving project activities along with details

pertaining to recognized authorities, project influencers and

decision makers (otherwise known as stakeholders). Norms are shaped

by common experience of members of the firm or team and include:

Shared vision, mission, values and beliefs; Regulations, policies and

methods; Motivations and rewards; Risks and degrees of tolerance;

Views of leadership and authority, work ethic and operating

environment. While organizational process assets may be used as a

part of an organization’s culture, the culture itself is an

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 26
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
Enterprise Environmental Factor which is learned and share. Because

of this, it is important for a project manager to be aware of the

different organizational styles and cultures that could impact their

projects. The project manager needs to know which individuals are the

decision makers and which the influencers are in order to collaborate

effectively to enhance the project’s probability of a successful

outcome.

Organizational structure is another Enterprise Environmental Factor

that can impact human resource availability and influence the manner

by which projects are conducted. Organizational Structures range from

the extremes of Functional to Projectized with a matrix of structures

between the two extremes.

A classic functional organization is a hierarchy where each employee

has a direct superior and staff is typically grouped by specialty,

such as Marketing, Accounting, HR, et cetera. Those specialties can

then be further decomposed into functional groups. For example,

Accounting can have accounts receivable and accounts payable

departments; while Engineering may consist of IT and electrical. Each

department will carry out their respective project activities

independently.

Matrix organizations reflect a blend of functional and projectized

organizational structures in that the degree of power and influence

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 27
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
will vary between the project and functional managers. They are

typically categorized as weak, balanced and strong matrices. Weak

Matrix organizations are most like functional organizations and the

project manager’s role is akin to that of an expeditor where decision

making and decision enforcement capabilities are limited. Within a

balanced matrix, the functional managers and project managers share

authority and decision making capabilities. Strong matrix

organizations lean more toward projectized organizations where full

time project managers have considerable authority and administration

over the project staff.

Projectized organizations drive activities as if they are projects.

In this type of organizational structure most of the resources are

involved in project work and project managers exercise autonomy and

authority over project decisions.

As you can see, there is a great deal of detail to cover in regard to

the nature of the organization and the manner by which a human

resource plan is made up based upon the type of organization that

exists. It is imperative for the project manager to fit their

activities in line with the type of culture within the organization.

For example, A project manager that attempts to drive activities

using a projectized approach within a firm that is recognized as a

functional organization would be most likely looking for a new

project to manage within a very short period of time.

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 28
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
Part 3: The Human Resource Plan

This process is used to identify and document roles and

responsibilities, the necessary skills and overall reporting

relationships within the project. It leads to the only output which

is the Human Resource Management Plan which is a subsidiary plan of

the project management plan. By establishing roles and

responsibilities the project manager can develop an organization

chart that illustrates the core team and the reporting hierarchy

within which they will be expected to work. The details pertaining to

those expectations are developed within the staffing management plan.

The staffing management plan lays out the roles and responsibilities

required for the project along with the timeframes required for the

work and details covering all lifecycle phases from inception to

closure. Like all processes the Project Human Resources Management

Plan has inputs that are made up of outputs from previously developed

processes along with tools and techniques applied that will deliver

the Human Resource Management Plan. Keep in mind that the size, scale

and scope of the project have a great deal to do with the inputs,

tools and techniques that a project manager will need to manage human

resources. Obviously, the more sophisticated the project may be or

the longer its duration, grater details would be required and the

project manager may need to employ all the process inputs to ensure

the process is effective. For projects that are smaller and more

repetitive in nature, the number if inputs required could be less.

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 29
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
Let’s have a look at the details.

The project management plan is the first input a project manager has

at their disposal to glean information from in support determining

human resource requirements. While this plan can be all encompassing

by virtue of the project subsidiary plans the details that the

project manager will be using within the project management plan

refer to the following:

The project’s lifecycle will provide details relevant to the

processes applied to each phase of the project. Based upon the

details within the plan, the project manager can draw resource

assumptions. For example, In most project lifecycles there are

initiating, planning, executing and closing phases; not to be

confused with the project management process groups that go by the

same name. As the project manager reviews life cycle requirements for

the project, he can determine the number of resources required to

successfully complete phased activities within pre-determined

timeframes. This information is important for the project manager to

have as it draws a direct correlation to the timeframes he will

develop within the Human Resources Management Plan. The project

management plan also provides details relevant to change management,

configuration management, project baselines and communications; all

of which could have implications on resources within a project team.

For example, if a change is required within a project, it could

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 30
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
generate the need for additional subject matter expertise or staff to

accommodate the change activities within the project’s critical path

time line. Details pertaining to the project baselines will serve to

determine the number of resources required for the project while

communications to all stakeholders relevant to human resources is a

necessity as communications ensures project transparency.

The next input is Activity Resource Requirements which helps

determine the resource need based upon work package details and the

activities inherent to those work packages. Progressive elaboration

is the tool used to determine activity requirements and it is based

upon expertise, experience and the project team’s ability to apply

historical information and lessons learned to current project work.

Remember that the project’s work breakdown structure provides a

hierarchal view of the project broken down by tasks into features and

ultimately work packages which are the lowest elements of a work

breakdown structure. Specific activities within the Work Package

detail what needs to be done at this level of the work breakdown

structure. Those details provide insight on the raw materials needed,

the number of people required to perform work, the degree of quality

expected and duration anticipated to complete the work. Similar to

the work breakdown structure, the Resource breakdown structure can

provide visualization of resources required for each work package.

Collectively these two processes contribute to determining Activity

Resource Requirements for a project.

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 31
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
The next input is enterprise environmental factors that need to be

taken into consideration by the project manager and team at all times

throughout the project. They are often high level details that

represent the firm’s culture or structure and should be carefully

considered as part of any decision made in regard to human resources

and project activities. A project manager, especially one that works

on a contractual basis should make themselves aware of the type of

organization they are working in or for and ensure that they adapt

their processes in conjunction with the processes standards of the

firm they are working for. For example, an organization that has a

structured functional culture may not appreciate a project that

facilitates activities from a projectized process perspective. The

project manager needs to respect the culture of the firm and organize

activities in alignment with cultural norms. Additional factors such

as market conditions and geographical dispersion of the project teams

will also factor into project planning as globalization continues to

progress through corporations and resources and expertise may not

need to be co-located to the origin of a project. Resources

considered being off-shore (India or Asia) or near shore (Mexico or

Central America) provide comparable performance at reduced costs,

often part of enterprise wide agreements. The project manager needs

to be aware of these types of agreements and facilitate the

acquisition of resources based upon the firms resource contracts in

place and competencies required for the project. The project manager

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 32
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
should also work to ensure that project activities are in compliance

with a firm’s personnel administration policies.

Organizational Process Assets are the last input relevant to the

Human Resource Plan development and they provide process guidance to

the project manager and team. Using Organizational Process Assets is

a constructive approach to conforming the a firm’s culture and

structure as the details pertaining to a firm are most likely

incorporated into the documents kept as artifacts or Process assets.

Anything that has been completed as far as work is concerned becomes

an asset of the firm that initiated the project. All documents

pertaining to developing the project are also considered to be

organizational assets as they are retained as artifacts in support of

project activities. Those artifacts in the form of historic project

information and lessons learned are among all the organizational

process assets that can be used at the discretion of the project

manager. In addition to historic details and lessons learned, the

project manager can find documentation pertaining to standards,

protocols and processes used by the firm across all project

activities. These types of documents, details or artifacts are often

stored in a data repository or library. Sometimes called a process

asset library. Within this type of repository are manuals,

procedures, checklists, audit forms or any type of formal

documentation used to conduct business. Additionally, this type of

data repository will contains templates used for a variety of

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 33
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
processes ranging from project management, legal activities, request

forms and reporting formats. The overall benefit to the project

manager is that they have a single repository to access documents,

templates and processes that will be used within a project. By having

a single repository in place, a firm can work to ensure consistency

in performing work activities by requiring the processes noted are

adhered to. Additionally, as new projects are worked and new

processes are developed, these details are updated once within the

existing process assets for all to benefit by. Having these details

in one location supports a consistent project management approach

while ensuring that project activities are in conformance with

enterprise environmental factors to meet sponsor and stakeholder

expectations.

The tools and techniques applied to process inputs serve to provide

visualization and alignment of resources to planned activities. In

addition, the techniques will also promote methods that a project

manager will develop as skills in order to ensure the proper level of

competencies are available when needed for project activities.

Starting with organizational charts, the types of assignments

required for the project are detailed in a hierarchal, top down, view

starting with the project manager and then disseminating down to co-

managers and functional managers which make up the project’s core

team. Below the core team are project team participants organized by

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 34
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
competency or the type of work required under a core team leader

responsible for the specific type of work. The Project’s

organizational chart provides clear visualization of all participants

within the project team and who they report to. A project

Responsibility Assignment Matrix is used to illustrate who is

responsible for work at the work package and activity level. A matrix

can be used within various levels of a project depending on its size.

In other works, the project manager should use the tool based upon

the size, scale and scope of a project and can have multiple RAM’s in

place specific to group activities. The matrix is effective in

illustrating work associated to one person and all other people

associated with one activity. It also serves to identify the ONE

person accountable for the activity which helps to avoid confusion

relative to overall responsibility. An often used version of a

Responsibility Assignment Matrix is the RACI diagram which is an

acronym that stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and

Informed. Within this type of diagram, the individual can be assigned

one or more of the four types of work activities.

The next tool for consideration is simple text based documentation

that will most likely be in the form of an organizational process

asset template whereby standard fields are used to describe roles and

responsibilities inherent to project requirements. The project team

should look to see if existing roles and responsibilities are readily

available based on prior project activities and use those details

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 35
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
that are relevant to the existing project. Any updates can then be

appended to the existing job description and the revision becomes a

new process asset.

The next set of tools or techniques capitalize on the social aspects

of project management which can be both fun and challenging. Let’s

tackle the fun part first, that is if you like interacting with

people. But then again, if you don’t like interacting with people,

perhaps project management is not for you.

As we mentioned earlier and we remind you here is the importance of

networking. Your interactions – both formal and informal – with

stakeholders and those outside your project organization are valuable

to the project at hand, as well as future projects. Remember,

networking is a technique that requires constant nurturing.

Organizational theory is the next technique and it pertains to the

idea that organizations are structured in certain ways based upon

their culture, management and governance. It is important for the

project manager and team to be aware of the various types of

organizational structures and ensure that their efforts conform to

the structure in place relative to developing project deliverables.

There should be a degree of subtlety applied by the project manager

while working to determine the best approach to use while determining

an organization’s structure. The best approach would be to talk with

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 36
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
the project’s sponsor and also review historic details from prior

projects that were successful. Those two activities alone should help

to provide a baseline that the project manager can use for discussion

purposes and for planning human resource work.

The Roles and Responsibilities section of a Human Resource plan

should be used to describe the requirements within positions that

members of the project team will assume. The detail within the Roles

and responsibilities section will serve to: Define team member and

stakeholder roles, enhance communications, identify gaps relative to

assignments or accountability, detail project dependencies on other

project resources and help clarify cross functional activities within

the project team.

Additional pertinent information such as rank or level within the

organization, grade, compensation, work week expectations,

certifications, licenses, languages required, abilities, experience,

education, project relevance and subject matter expertise are among

the types of information that should be incorporated within human

resource plan artifacts.

The output of the Plan Human Resource Management Plan is the Human

resource management Plan itself. While being a subsidiary plan of the

project management plan, this plan provides guidance relative to

defining, staffing, managing and ultimately releasing project

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 37
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
resources. Because this is a subsidiary plan, it also serves the

develop project management plan process. The human resource

management plan includes: Roles and responsibilities that detail the

function assigned or assumed; the level of authority and autonomy

that the project manager and team is expected to work by; the degree

of responsibility for assigned duties and tasks allocate to team

members and the skills and competencies required to complete assigned

activities. The plan will also have within it, copies of the project

organization charts and the project responsibility assignment matrix.

These documents can be formal or informal depending on the size,

scale and scope of the project.

Additionally, the human resources plan will include a staff

management plan that details when and how project team members will

be acquired and where the resources will perform their work. It will

also detail the type of employee relevant to internal verses external

or contract resources. The plan can detail cost relative to types of

resources required, the level of expertise necessary for project work

and the degree of support required by a firm’s human resources

department. It may also include a resource calendar that identifies

shift work or work days anticipated for the project. This detail

could coincide with a raw material deliver schedule to help ensure

that all resources are in place to develop components of a project. A

resource histogram is an example of a tool used to provide visual

representation of resource allocations based upon the calendar or

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 38
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
project schedule. A histogram is simply a bar chart that represents

resource needs in terms of time. It illustrates the number of hours a

person, department or group will need to work over the course of the

project. Typically this chart has a bar that illustrates a maximum

number of available hours for a given resources. Any hours above that

bar would indicate the need for supplemental or incremental

resources, or a modification to the project schedule.

The human resources plan also helps drive resource activities as a

project draws to a close. The staff release plan details the method

and timing that a project manager will deploy when it comes to

releasing project team participants. The release plan helps ensure

transparency as resources are aligned to new project activities and

project administration activities commence to close contracts and

deliver final project artifacts such as documents, lessons learned

and contractually required details such as invoices or project

audits.

And while on the topic of audits, the plan should also serve to

accommodate compliance and safety strategies applicable to

regulations, union contracts or firm based human resource policies.

Safety initiatives, especially in regard to projects handling hazard

materials, should be incorporated into the staff management plan and

the project risk register.

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 39
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
The human resource plan can also incorporate training activities for

the project as well as post implementation hand off to ensure that

operational competencies have the knowledge to carry project

activities into a production environment. Training activities should

be carefully planned and budgeted to ensure that less experienced

team participants have both the time and funding required for

developing competencies based upon project requirements.

The final component of a human resource plan is to recognize the

accomplishments and efforts of the project team upon the successful

completion of project activities. Recognition should be predicated

upon performance levels within the control of the team participant

and should call out activities that went above and beyond the

standard or expected deliverable. Timely delivery of recognition and

rewards helps support the morale of the project team and serves as a

motivator for tam participants. Satisfied team participants will most

likely want to join future project teams, so it is important that

you, as a project manager express thanks and appreciation often

throughout the project and especially at its completion.

Chapter 3: Acquire Project Team

Part 1: Techniques for Acquiring Human Resources

Acquiring a project team is the process of ensuring resources are

available for your project and determining the overall project team

that will work to complete project activities. This process assists

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 40
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
with the overall project team selection.

Keep in mind, depending on the type of organizational culture and

structure, the project manager may, or may not, have specific control

over selecting a project team. Some functional organizations are

known to have competencies in place specifically for project work.

Other situations such as: union agreements, collective bargaining,

specific project expertise requirements, special relationships, and

contractual requirements can all factor into how project resources

are acquired; although thankfully – not all of these at the same

time!  Regardless of all extenuating circumstances, the project

manager should always: effectively negotiate and influence

stakeholders and others that are in a position to support or provide

required resources for a project.

A project manager should recognize that the failure to acquire the

right resources for a project can and most often will impact a

project’s critical path, schedule, budget, quality, risk, and

ultimately the client’s degree of satisfaction; not to mention the

integrity of the project manager and team. Overall the risk of an

unsuccessful project increases which could lead to cancellation. If a

project manager cannot acquire the necessary resources for project

activities, that detail should be immediately communicated to the

project sponsor and key stakeholders so THEY can consider

RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE PROJECT MANAGER WILL MAKE based upon risk

analysis performed that provides mitigation scenarios. Activities in

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 41
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
consideration could include moving forward with less experienced

staff, determining opportunities to buy project components rather

than build them or even stop the project in consideration of

restarting it once the resource constraint is lifted. One thing a

project manager should not do is proceed with project activities and

hope the problem simply goes away! It never will. A project manager

is always better off stopping a project as compared to permitting

risk based activities to proceed outside of the project plan.

In order to acquire a project team, the project manager will look to

the Human resource management Plan for details in regard to roles and

responsibilities, skills and competencies required of the project.

The team will review organization charts to get an aggregate view of

all the project’s resource needs and will use the staff management

plan to determine the time periods for which specific resources are

needed to ensure that resources are available when expected to

develop raw materials into products.

Enterprise environmental factors can provide the project manager with

details pertaining to any existing information relating to resource

availability, capabilities, experience, desire to be part of the

project team and relevant costs. Enterprise environmental factors can

also provide pertinent personnel administration details such as

vendor related sourcing and outsourcing and details relative to

logistics for project resources.

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 42
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
In conjunction with enterprise environmental factors, organizational

process assets are used to ensure that team acquisitions are in

conformance with corporate policies, processes and procedures.

There are a variety of techniques available to acquire a project

team. Depending on the project, a project manager may employ one or

more of them to ensure that his project needs are met. Let’s take a

look at them in greater detail:

Pre-assignment is the process by which team members are chosen in

advance. This is sometimes called “cherry picking” as the resources

required more often than not have a specific relationship or level of

expertise that the project manager deems to be necessary for project

activities. In some instances the resource can be identified as part

of a contractual agreement or competitive bid.

Next technique is negotiation, something that a project manager will

gain in competency from experience over time but one that is

paramount in the process of acquiring resources. Negotiations can

take place between vendors and the project manager, between the

project manager and the project management office, between the

project manager and the sponsor, the project manager and stakeholders

and also between the project manager and the functional managers that

directly oversee resources that could be allocated to a project team.

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 43
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
Negotiation can also take place between project managers as often is

the time when one specific resource is needed by multiple projects

within the same timeframe. The project manager needs to realize that

there can be a degree of bureaucracy in regard to negotiations and

that mediocre alternatives are often offered by functional managers

as a potential solution to staffing requirements. It is essential for

the project manager to work to ensure that the right resources are in

place to develop and deliver to meet expectations. One aspect of

negotiations that the project manager should take advantage of is the

power of the project management team to influence others in regard to

negotiation. A project manage should not bear the brunt of the weight

of acquiring a project team. Any supporter that can add influence

should be tapped as a resource to ensure project resource

requirements are met.

Acquisition is a technique used when the organization or project team

is unable to sources resources needed to complete a project. The

project manager may choose to hiring individual contractors or

contracting out the work to a sub-contracting firm.

Virtual teams are another technique for acquiring resources when the

project activities support such a concept. Virtual teams are a group

of individuals with a common shared goal that can achieve project

deliverables without a physical presence. Modern technology enablers

permit activities such as telecommuting where individuals can

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 44
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
actually work from home as compared to the need to occupy
space within an office. Virtual teams permit: individuals
from disparate geographic locations the ability to
collaborate on project activities; provide for subject
matter experts in the event that an expert may not be
readily available on site; permits work activities to
“follow the sun” by employing global resources that can
pick up work around the clock; eliminate certain travel
expenses where dispersed teams would need to convene
periodically to progress a project. While virtual teams are
all the rage, there can be down sides associated with them.
For instance: technology costs could be prohibitive,
knowledge sharing may be difficult unless processes and
procedures are in place with the proper level of training,
there may be language differences and the ability to
escalate or resolve conflicts may be more difficult than
traditional techniques.

Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis is the last technique

identified by the PMBOK ® Guide. With this technique, a
rating tool is used to score potential team members. The
criterion for the score is determined by the project team.
Scores can be determined by criteria such as: knowledge,
experience, costs, ability, prior project work, subject
matter expertise, certification and desire to participate,
attitude and diversity.

Part 2: Recording Human Resource Assignments

Like all project plans, the Human Resource Plan is a living

document

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 45
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
and a subsidiary plan of the project’s overall project management

plan. To that end, any change to project activities should be checked

against the human resources plan to ensure that any impact, either

actual or perceived, is reviewed and addressed. Because project

processes permit for assumptions and risk, there is always the

potential for impacts that may require resources as part of a plan.

However, the increase, or decrease, in resource activities should be

predicated on an increase or decrease of project deliverables which

in turn should be the product of an approved change in the project.

In other words, there should be no surprises.

If we refer back to risk management, most changes are due to a defect

found, a proactive or reactive type of responses to risks that have

already been identified. These are risks where contingencies are

already planned. For unplanned risks that materialize and require

resources, changes may be required that tap the project’s management

reserve. In both cases updates to the human resources plan would be

required to ensure that the resource costs and other required details

are recorded.

Another event that could impact the human resource plan is a change

in scope where the sponsor has determined to either add to or take

away project deliverables. In either case, the number of resources

required would be different as would the overall project plan.

Additionally, changes in schedule could cause a human resource plan

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 46
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
to change as key resources required may no longer be available based

on schedule change activities. It is important for the project

manager and team to watch scheduled activities very closely as the

people component of the change and respective plan may require

updating.

External events may also have an impact on resource availability.

Suppose a key project team member wins the lottery or takes on a job

with a different company. The human resource plan would require

updates relevant to the replacement.

Make vs. buy changes can also have an impact on the human resource

plan. If a component of a project is determined to be defective, one

possible alternative would be to rebuild it or to purchase a similar

component from a third party. If the choice is to rebuild, the

project team may require additional resources due to a shortened time

frame based upon this decision. If the choice is to buy, the project

tam may need to release resources due to the reduced need. What if

project requirements were understated? In a case like this,

additional resources may be needed to accommodate any additional

changes required of the project. Suppose the company that is

sponsoring the project merges with another company and their client

base doubles overnight. What implications may this have on a project?

It could require additional resources to accommodate unplanned

changes. What if a company is in a location prone to earthquakes and

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 47
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
their plant is impacted by a major quake? In such a case, the project

activities may need to quickly relocate in order to keep the project

alive. Again, updates to the human resource plan would be needed to

reflect the change in project resources.

These are just a few examples of activities that could trigger a

required update to the human resources plan. One could argue that

across all process groups and even all knowledge areas there can be

events identified that would impact the human resource plan among all

other subsidiary plans. The take away here is to realize that changes

to project impacts all plan activities which is why it is imperative

to manage and minimize change activities within a project. The less

change, the better.

The outputs of this process lead to project staff assignments where

the appropriate individuals are included in the team directory and

all project artifacts pertaining to required work and deliverables.

Resource calendars are updated to reflect the resources available to

work and the time frames within which their participation is

expected. Schedule constraints such as time zone differences, work

hours, time off, holidays and other project commitments should be

duly noted.

Project management plan updates are the final output to this process

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 48
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
where the human resource plan is reviewed and updated as resource

changes that impact project deliverables are recognized.

Part 3: Closing

As you can see, the project manager and team will put an extensive

amount of work into human resource planning for project activities.

Within this session we covered a great amount of detail that supports

the processes required for planning project human resources. Here is

a recap:

We began with a discussion that covered the responsibilities of the

project manager and the project management team when it comes to

human resource management. We identified the Core team and detailed

the work relevant to sourcing resources, determine competencies

required and driving the processes of identifying and documenting

roles and responsibilities, skills, reporting relationships and

developing a staff management plan. We also reviewed to activities

relevant to acquiring a project management team.

We covered the process groups that incorporate human resource

management planning as well as inputs, tools & Techniques and outputs

for developing a human resource plan.

We reviewed the process for assigning team roles and responsibilities

and matched the formats used for the presentation of roles and

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 49
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.
responsibilities such as organization charts and resource

accountability matrix charts. We also covered the concepts of

networking and organizational theory and their relevance to human

resource planning.

We covered the types of organizations that exist from functional to

projectized and addressed the need for project managers to be able to

identify the type of organization and align processes against

enterprise environmental factors and organizational process assets.

We covered the Human resources plan in detail and reviewed examples

of information that should be included within the human resource and

staff management plans.

We covered techniques for acquiring human resources and reviewed

examples of events that could trigger updates or changes to the human

resources plan.

The next steps in regard to Human Resource management will be to

develop the project team and manage their activities, all of which

will be covered in out next course entitled managing Project Human

Resources. I thank you for your participation and look forward to

seeing you in the next session.

© 2013 LearnSmart PMP, CAPM, PMBOK, PMI, PMI-ACP and the PMI Registered Education 50
Provider logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc.