What is Project Resource Management
Project resource management is a critical part of any project, Agile or otherwise. Project resource management encompasses the processes that ensure a project has all the physical and human resources it requires and uses them in the most efficient ways [1].
Fluid Project Requirements and Their Impact on Resource Management
One of the key tenets of Agile is to encourage and adapt to change at every stage of the project's development. You can probably see how it could be tricky to allocate and manage resources effectively for a project whose resource requirements fluctuate frequently [2].
Given the dynamic nature of Agile, effective resource management requires you as a project manager to have a comprehensive understanding of the project and frequent revaluation to make sure resources are being directed to critical aspects of the project [2].
If you've been looking into Agile you may already be asking how you are supposed to accurately estimate what a project's resource requirements are when the requirements of an Agile project are likely to change and evolve throughout the project?
Due to Agile's iterative nature, Agile resource planning and allocation is primarily done on an iteration-by-iteration basis.
At the start of each iteration, you and your team discuss and plan out how resources should be allocated for that iteration, and then at the end of the iteration discuss any changes or improvements that should be made for future iterations.
This iterative cycle helps minimize the impact fluctuating project requirements have on resource management as resources are only allocated on an iteration-by-iteration basis where the scope will be fixed for the duration of the iteration.
Agile Capacity Planning at the Iteration Level
For many projects, the planning and allocation of time and energy is often the trickiest part of resource management. This is where capacity planning can come in.
You may already be familiar with capacity planning as a traditional resource management technique but it can also be adapted to work effectively for Agile projects. For Agile projects, capacity planning is done on an iteration-by-iteration basis at the beginning of each iteration.
Capacity planning for Agile works very similarly to traditional capacity planning. The availability of team members for the duration of the iteration is calculated, taking into account time off, time they might need to spend on other projects, and a buffer to account for unforeseen time obligations and let's be honest, a little bit of distraction as well.
Then work can be prioritized and you and your team can estimate how much work can be completed within the allotted iteration time [3].
Difficulty Estimating Resource Needs Accurately
Estimating resource needs accurately can pose a significant challenge for Agile projects as unlike traditional waterfall approaches that rely on detailed upfront planning, Agile projects prioritize flexibility and adapting to feedback and requirement changes at every stage of development.
This topic is closely linked to what we just discussed in the section above about the fluidity of project requirements in Agile projects and the challenge they can pose when planning how to allocate resources [4].
As we already went over, Agile methodologies are not meant to produce long-term estimations from the start of the project the way waterfall methodologies are but the truth of the matter is that resource predictions at a project level are something product owners and stakeholders often want.
Longer-term resource predictions and estimations can still be made for Agile projects but it is important to understand that they will be less detailed and exact than those you might develop using a waterfall methodology.
Another important thing to note is that at the beginning of the project, just like with waterfall, your estimations are based on past experience and semi-educated guesswork, and as the project progresses will become more accurate.
Capacity planning can once again be a good way to tackle this challenge of Agile resource management [4].
Agile Capacity Planning at the Project Level
Capacity planning at the project level is nearly the same as it is at the iteration level. The main difference it is critical you, your product owner, and any stakeholders understand is that at this level the scope is not fixed, and therefore any predictions will be subject to change [4].
The bottom line is the further out the prediction, the less accurate it is likely to be.
If the capacity planning is being done after several iterations have already been completed, the quantitative data on how much work can be completed per iteration from something such as a Burndown chart can be used to increase the accuracy when estimating the future resource needs of the project.
This still does not account for future changes in the project's requirements which should be taken into account when assessing the accuracy of such estimations [4].
Common Pitfalls of Human Resource Management
When people think of Agile development, they often think that means faster development, and especially if your team is new to Agile this can easily lead to burnout from team members pushing themselves too hard to try and speed up development.
Another possible pitfall is one you as a project manager may fall into. It may be your first instinct to directly assign tasks to your team but this can lead to a less efficient utilization of resources and ultimately hinder the team's ability to adapt to changing project requirements [5].
As an Agile project manager, your role is instead to provide guidance and work collaboratively with your team who also are expected to step up and self-organize and make decisions collectively.
The best way to address and avoid these pitfalls is to focus on facilitating communication and collaboration and to make sure both you and your team have a comprehensive understanding of the underlying principles your Agile methodology is meant to implement [2] [5].
Summary
Resource management is critical to the success of Agile projects but can be challenging, especially for project managers new to Agile.
Fluid project requirements can pose challenges for planning and allocating resources and for making resource requirement predictions. Agile capacity planning can be a helpful tool in addressing both of these challenges but is still somewhat limited when it comes to accurate long-term predictions.
Other more human-related challenges can arise from misunderstandings of how Agile is meant to be implemented leading to overwork and burnout, causing resources to be allocated inefficiently, or interfering with the team's ability to adapt to changes in the project's requirements.
The best way to deal with these challenges is through comprehensive education on the underlying principles of Agile and through the facilitation of frequent and open communication.
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