now that we have our network diagram and from our activity list we are aware of which activities require what resources it's time to assign/allocate those resources throughout our project and identify any resource constraints we may have. up to now we haven't considered resources availability, we've just identified required resources but now that we have a network diagram of our project we can identify resource bottlenecks for example if two activities.
Our aim is to create a smooth resource distribution throughout the project as well as identify any resource over or under allocations.
Resource Smoothing
is a technique that is used to adjust activities within the constraint of the project duration to evenly distribute resources throughout the project it is done by establishing usage limits for each resource to ensure that resources are note over or under utilized. The float of non critical items is used to reschedule activities to smooth out the use of resources.
Resource Leveling
is used when resource smoothing is not sufficient to distribute resources without elongating the project. It's a technique that involves adjusting the start and finish dates with the intent of balancing demand with availability of resources. leveling will defer activities until required resources are available, this may very well elongate the project. That is leveling doesn't factor in activity float.
in the event that resource smoothing is not enough and we need to utilize resource leveling odds are that we have to either adjust our project deliver date or we need to allocate more resources to the project, either way we must return to the sponsor and align either we add resources or increase the schedule. if we add resources we must ensure that these are captured in the resources activity list
