Overview

Every project needs resources: people, equipment, materials, time, information, power, travel expenses. All resources have a cost attached. Therefore, implicit in managing a project's resources is being able to manage the financial implications of using resources.

In this section we look at:

• the importance of resources

• types of resources

• pressures on resources

• specifying and prioritizing resources

• estimating resource requirements.

The Importance of Resources

Everyday process management is often represented by a simple diagram:

• Inputs ? Process ? Outputs

The inputs are materials, people, equipment, premises, energy and other resources which are needed for the process to take place. The process is how you go about doing it. The outputs are what you are manufacturing or producing.

A market gardener, for example, might apply the diagram like this: