The case for a central source to oversee project resource scheduling is well known by practitioners.

The case for a central source to oversee project resource
scheduling is well known by practitioners. Here is a synopsis of a conversation
with one middle manager.

Interviewer: Congratulations on acceptance of your
multiproject scheduling proposal. Everyone tells me you were very convincing.

 Middle Manager: Thanks. Gaining acceptance was easy this
time. The board quickly recognized we have no choice if we are to keep ahead of
competition by placing our resources on the right projects.

 Interviewer: Have you presented this to the board before?

 Middle Manager: Yes, but not
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The case for a central source to oversee project resource
scheduling is well known by practitioners. Here is a synopsis of a conversation
with one middle manager.

Interviewer: Congratulations on acceptance of your
multiproject scheduling proposal. Everyone tells me you were very convincing.

 Middle Manager: Thanks. Gaining acceptance was easy this
time. The board quickly recognized we have no choice if we are to keep ahead of
competition by placing our resources on the right projects.

 Interviewer: Have you presented this to the board before?

 Middle Manager: Yes, but not this company. I presented the
same spiel to the firm I worked for two years ago. For their annual review
meeting I was charged to present a proposal suggesting the need and benefits of
central capacity resource planning for managing the projects of the firm.

 I tried to build a case for bringing projects under one
umbrella to standardize practices and to forecast and assign key people to
mission critical projects. I explained how benefits such as resource demands
will be aligned with mission critical projects, proactive resource planning,
and a tool for catching resource bottlenecks and resolving conflicts.

Almost everyone agreed the idea was a good one. I felt good
about the presentation and felt confident something was going to happen. But
the idea never really got off the ground; it just faded into the sunset.

With hindsight, managers really did not trust colleagues in
other departments, so they only gave half-hearted support to central resource
planning. Managers wanted to protect their turf and ensure that they would not
have to give up power. The culture there was simply too inflexible for the
world we live in today. They are still struggling with constant conflicts among
projects.

I’m glad I made the switch to this firm. The culture here is
much more team-oriented. Management is committed to improving performance.

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