Project Management

Why do project managers want to ensure the project schedule is appropriately resource leveled prior to project execution? What are some of the potential problems using automatic resource leveling in Microsoft Project?

Identify and cite 3 sources in APA format to support your answer

When it comes to managing a project, a key task of the plan is to make certain that all project team resources are assigned to the right tasks with the right amount of work. Resource leveling is the process of "reducing the peaks of demand and filling in the valleys of resources."(Larson, 2011) The biggest reason for project leveling prior to the beginning of a project is to make certain that the project has the critical resources that are needed to complete the project. Resource leveling allows the project managers to balance the resources over the course of a project and try to eliminate any conflicts between resources.

One problem with using automatic resource leveling is that automatic leveling "will make the leveling changes it sees without asking for input and without telling you what it's doing." (Kennemer, 2003) According to Ronda Roberts, "MS Project will adjust all the tasks when one change is made in MS Project, throwing the project off its expected course."(2009) IT is easy to see how using the MS Project automatic process could be very detrimental to a project.

References

Kennemer, B. (2003, January 17). Deciding when to use resource leveling in Microsoft Project. Retrieved September 23, 2011, from TechRepublic.com website: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/deciding-when-to-use-resource-leveling-in-microsoft-project/1058521

Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2011). Project managment the managerial process (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Roberts, R. (2009, July