Maggie Jones / CIS 550 / Week 6

Chapter 8 Review Questions and Exercises

8-R1 How does resource scheduling tie to project priority?
Resource scheduling is tied to project priority because of the limited number of available resources. The
priority system needs to select projects that best contribute to the organizations objectives, within the
constraints of the resources available (p. 233). That is, limited resources should be assigned to the
highest priority projects.
8-R2 How does resource scheduling reduce flexibility in managing projects?
Resource-constrained scheduling including leveling and the limited resource schedule reduce flexibility in
managing projects by reducing slack in increasing the number of critical and near-critical activities.
Additionally, scheduling complexity increases due to the fact that resource constraints are added to
technical constraints.
8-R3 Present six reasons scheduling resources is an important task.
Resource scheduling is an important task because:
1. It allows the project manager to assess the availability of resource.
2. It allows the project manager to considering possible alternatives should limited resources not be
available before the project begins.
3. It allows multiple projects to be worked on concurrently if they share some or all of the same
resources.
4. It provides the information needed to prepare time-phased work-package budgets with dates.
5. It provides project managers a quick means to gauge the impact of unforeseen events such as
turnover, equipment breakdowns, or transfer of project personnel.
6. It allows project managers to assess how much flexibility they have over certain resources.
8-R4 How can outsourcing project work alleviate the three most common problems associated
with multi-project resource scheduling?
The three most common problems associated with multi project resource scheduling are overall schedule
slippage, inefficient resource allocation and resource bottlenecks. Outsourcing can alleviate the problems
in the following ways by allowing companies to hire temporary workers to expedite certain activities that
are falling behind schedule or to overcome internal resource deficiencies. The latter can include peak
periods when there are insufficient internal resources are not available to meet the demands of all
projects.
8-R5 Explain the risks associated with leveling resources, compressing or crashing projects, and
imposed durations or catch-up as the project is being implemented.
Leveling resources, compressing or crashing projects, and imposed durations or catch-up are project
scheduling tools that carry risk.
Leveling resources attempts to even out demand for resources by delaying non-critical activities
using slack to increase resource utilization. Delaying non-critical activities carries the potential to
delay the overall project since delayed activities may affect critical path activities.
Compressing is a technique in which the previously determined schedule is shortened in a
manner which does not reduce the project scope. The risks of schedule compressing are time
overrun and the possibility that one or more activities in the network may have to be eliminated.
Crashing entails adding more resources to activities on the critical path with the objective of
completing the project earlier. Shifting resources can lead to reduction of time so that the critical
path is as short as possible. Crashing carries the risk of budget overruns and poor quality.
Imposed duration is a top down decision to reach a milestone by a specific date that is often not
supported by bottom-up planning. The risks of this approach are cost overruns and possibility that
some tasks will not be completed.

Maggie Jones / CIS 550 / Week 6

Catch-up refers to instances in which the schedule falls behind and resources are asked to
improve efficiency and catch-up. This is a very short term measure and works only if the
schedule deviation is resolvable. The risk of catch up time is loss of employee motivation and
burnout.

8-R6 Why is it critical to develop a time-phased baseline?

It is critical to develop a time-phased budget because they are necessary for good project schedule and
cost control. Other systems dont measure the amount of work accomplished for the money spent. Timephasing cost to match project schedule is a prerequisite to having reliable information for control
purposes.
8-E2

E
1

10

10

E
2

10

10

12

10

12

Loading Schedule
1

Carpenter

6
5

Electrician
0

4
7

10

11

12

13

Resource Activity Schedule

ID/RES
1-C
2-C
3-C
4-E
5-2-E
6-C

ES
0
4
3
9
4
12

LS
0
5
3
9
4
12

EF
3
8
4
12
9
14

LF
3
9
4
12
9
14

SL
0
1
0
0
0
0

Original CP was 1, 2, 4, 6; all activities 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are now critical.

Project duration was 12 days and is now 14 days.

14

Maggie Jones / CIS 550 / Week 6

Maggie Jones / CIS 550 / Week 6

8-E4
4
2

4
0
1
1

1
1
4

0
0

2
2
5

8
2

10

10

10

1
5

5
4

0
0

5
0

10

8
10

10

10

0
10

6
2
2

12
0
12

2
7

2
3

10

2
10

Order in which activities are scheduled: 2 / 1 / 4 / 3 / 5 / 6

ID
RES DUR
1
1
4
2
2
5
3
2
4
4
1
5
5
2
3
6
2
2
Resources Scheduled
Resources Available

ES
0
0
5
5
9
12

LF
5
5
10
10
10
12

SL
1
0
1
0
-2
-2

0
1
2

3
3

1
1
2

3
3

2
1
2

3
3

3
1
2

3
3

Schedule slack: 1=1, 2=0, 4=2

Activities that are critical now are 2, 3, 5, and 6

2
1

2
1

2
1

2
1

10

11

1
2

3
3

2
3

2
3

12

13

14

2
2
3

2
2
3

2
3

3
3

3
3

3
3

3
3

15

Maggie Jones / CIS 550 / Week 6

8-E5
ID
RES DUR
1
1
1
2
1
2
3
1
3
4
1
2
5
2
4
6
2
2
Resources Scheduled
Resources Available

ES
2
0
0
7
3
9

LF
5
3
3
7
7
9

SL
2
1
0
-2
0
-2

1
1

1
1

2
2

2
2

2
1

2
2

2
2

2
2

2
2

1
2

1
2

10

11

12

2
2
2

2
2
2

13

2
2

I will be able to complete the project in 11 months so I can loan Booker the backhoe.

8-E8
5

0
0
0

Design
Prototype
2

2
0
2

Build
Prototype
3

Order
Parts
9

Prepare
Productio
n

10

11

Assemble
& Test
2

11

11
0
11

Budget
24
30
5
64
30
36
12
206

0
12

12
12

1
12

12
24

Launch
1

12

11

10

10

10

10
34

12

Prepare
Marketing

Design
Build Prototype
Order Parts
Prepare Production
Prepare Marketing
Assemble and Test
Launch
Total
Cumulative

10
44

10
54

5
16
6

5
10
6

22
0

16
6

27
81

21
102

22
124

22
146

10

12
18

18

30
176

18
194

11

12
12
206

12