There’s no singular PPM approach, method, or theory that can guarantee project or organizational success. However, research reveals three distinct features of successful resource management. Each of them offers a way to help organizations optimize resource allocation and increase chances for overall project success.
“Studies reveal that firms undertake too many projects based on their available resources, that these projects are not easy to abandon and that few projects turn out to be successful.”
– “Project Baseline Scheduling” by Mario Vanhoucke
The first principle is dynamic scheduling with a set baseline schedule to support decisions that need to be made along the life of the project.
Next, organizations need an integrated method for resource allocation that balances and optimizes resources across multiple projects.
And finally, you need a real options approach that gives PMOs opportunities to increase benefits or limit losses or costs by expanding the range of strategies considered.
Here are just a few of the potential benefits of following these three principles:
- Minimizing total project lead time
- Reducing the cost of resource availability
- Preventing over-allocations of resources
- Optimizing timing of cash flows to maximize net present value
- Minimizing idle time of bottleneck resources
- Ensuring uninterrupted usage of resources
“In a multiple-project situation the vast majority of projects share resources with other projects and thus the major issue is to find a way of handling resource scarcity according to the overall strategic direction of the corporation.”
–“Project Portfolio Management” by Zohar Laslo
Download the full white paper, “Scenarios Hold the Key to Strategic Flexibility,” for in-depth analysis on these 3 key principles that all resource managers need to practice if they want to help their organization achieve strategic flexibility.
Abstract: Overwhelming research indicates that Strategic Flexibility is the gold standard for Project Portfolio Management, equipping organizations to respond effectively to a changing, competitive environment with strategic options and flexible resources. To achieve Strategic Flexibility, organizations must have optimized resource planning that balances resources against operational risks and avoids wasteful investments. Without resource and capacity planning, even the most visionary strategy cannot be executed. The following white paper presents multiple principles from the current research on how to achieve Strategic Flexibility via resource management scenario building.
ProSymmetry was founded in 2007 by passionate resource management experts. Since then we have continually strived to solve the resource management challenges that slow down, damage, and overwhelm organizations. We do this through our flagship product, Tempus Resource, which is used by Fortune 500 companies like Siemens, Airbus, Qualcomm and DELL, and was labeled a “resource management solution accessible to the masses” and was awarded the 2016 Cool Vendor by Gartner.
