Resources
Cost
Resource is often considered purely as personnel but it naturally includes equipment, finance and facility requirements.
You need to consider what has been agreed to support the project and record the details in the Project Notebook.
Equipment
The purchase of significant items should be noted.
It is worth while talking to the finance department to clarify whether these will be classified as revenue expenditure (and thus paid for immediately) or as capital expenditure (and thus paid for over a period of time in terms of depreciation).
This may have a big impact on the budget and cash flow.
You need to consider the lead times of equipment and the potential impact.
In addition, the reliability of the equipment source needs to be ascertained and if necessary a back up plan put in place.
Personnel
Record what commitment each department has made to the project.
Remember that resource is only available for about 80% of the time as holidays, sickness and the inability to work flat out tends to reduce it from 100%.
You need to think about potential problems later in the project and record any decisions of significance.
Finance
Record any significant aspects and the agreed budget.
Approval procedures could be recorded here or in a separate section.
Although budget control can be carried out in theory via software within the schedule this is difficult to do in practice.
Facilities
What extra facilities will you require to manage the project?
What happens to these once the project is finished?
What cost will be involved?
Will there be any regulatory or environmental considerations?
Also, consider the service and maintenance of the facility as well as telecommunications and any requirements for transport.
Don’t forget to consider associated technical and administrative support.
Other aspects of resource are discussed later.