Resource Loading & Leveling Flashcards

What is 'resource contention' in project scheduling?

Answer: Two or more activities competing for the same limited resource simultaneously

Resource contention occurs when multiple activities require the same resource at the same time, exceeding its available capacity.

Which of the following best describes 'resource pooling' as a leveling strategy?

Answer: Sharing interchangeable resources across activities to balance demand

Resource pooling uses interchangeable resources flexibly across activities to balance workloads and reduce over-allocation.

In a resource-loaded schedule, which document type shows each resource's assigned hours broken down by time period?

Answer: Resource usage spreadsheet or time-phased resource plan

A time-phased resource plan or resource usage spreadsheet shows hours per resource per time period across the schedule.

A project has a resource with 120 hours of work assigned in a 80-hour (two-week) period. What is the over-allocation percentage?

Answer: 50%

120 hours assigned against 80 hours available equals 150% utilization, or 50% over-allocation above the 100% baseline.

When leveling resources across multiple projects in a portfolio, what is the primary complexity that single-project leveling does not face?

Answer: Resources must be shared across competing project priorities simultaneously

Portfolio-level leveling must balance competing priorities across projects, requiring decisions about which project's activities get resource access first.

What scheduling output provides the most direct input for creating a resource loading chart?

Answer: Activity list with resource assignments and time-phased schedule

The time-phased schedule with resource assignments shows which resources are needed at which times, directly driving the loading chart.

Which technique involves adding resources to an over-allocated activity to shorten its duration and reduce the contention period?

Answer: Crashing

Crashing adds resources to shorten activity duration, potentially reducing or eliminating the over-allocation window.