{"id":69742,"date":"2024-03-12T14:00:17","date_gmt":"2024-03-12T19:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.projectmanager.com\/?p=69742"},"modified":"2026-04-28T14:35:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T19:35:23","slug":"resource-requirements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.projectmanager.com\/blog\/resource-requirements","title":{"rendered":"Resource Requirements in Project Management: A Quick Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

When a project is planned, a set of steps is outlined to deliver a product or service. Resource requirements need to be identified and allocated for those steps to be executed. Think of resource requirements as the fuel that drives all project activities.<\/p>\n

Once one understands what resource requirements are in project management, next there is estimating what those resources will be and managing them. To help with this process, we\u2019ll define resource requirements and link to a free resource plan template.<\/p>\n

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Get your free<\/p>\n

Resource Plan Template<\/h3>\n

\n\tUse this free Resource Plan Template to manage your projects better.<\/p>\n\tGet the Template<\/a>\n<\/div> \n\n

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What Are Resource Requirements in Project Management?<\/h2>\n

Resources are anything you need to complete a project, including teams, equipment, raw materials and so on. These are called the resource requirements. Being able to know ahead of initiating the project which resources you\u2019ll need is essential.<\/p>\n

Resource requirements in project management allow project managers to know what they\u2019ll need to execute their tasks and deliver the project on time and within their budget. Knowing one\u2019s resource requirements will also help project managers to get the most out of their resources.<\/p>\n

This can be done more effectively with project management software. ProjectManager<\/a> is award-winning project and portfolio management software that allocates and schedules project resources through multiple views. Managers can use our robust Gantt charts to schedule resources and their costs. The sheet view gives you a customizable grid to track individual project resources or a portfolio of projects. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.<\/p>\n

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ProjectManager\u2019s sheet view lets you schedule and track resources. Learn more<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How to Estimate & Manage Project Resource Requirements<\/h2>\n

Resource requirements differ from project to project, of course, but also on how productive your team can be and even project switching, which is as team members pass tasks to one another. There\u2019s also the feedback loop as comments or changes come from stakeholders, clients, etc. That\u2019s a lot of variables. The following steps will help you narrow the forecast to be as accurate as possible.<\/p>\n

1. Define Your Project Scope<\/h3>\n

The first step is to understand the scope of your project.<\/a> That is knowing the project\u2019s goals, deadlines and deliverables. There are many ways to determine the scope of a project. Using the project teams to mine their knowledge of the work and historical data can also play a role in estimating the project scope. More time-consuming, but accurate, is a work breakdown structure, or a hierarchical tree diagram that helps you to identify the project deliverables and tasks.<\/p>\n

2. Write a Scope of Work<\/h3>\n

The scope of work<\/a> is a project document that defines all the work that’s done over the project’s life cycle. That includes the project deliverables, timeline, milestones, how reporting will be done and more. The importance of this step goes beyond estimating your project resource requirements and helps manage them to avoid scope creep, such as adding tasks to the project during its execution. A scope of work document will help you have a more accurate idea of the project and, in so doing, its resource requirements.<\/p>\n

3. Make a Resource Breakdown Structure<\/h3>\n

Just as you use a work breakdown structure<\/a> to identify deliverables, a resource breakdown structure can help you identify the project resource requirements. It’ll help you to identify resource types, such as people and tangible and intangible assets before the start of the project. This will not only help estimate your resource requirements but also help with scheduling and managing them, such as resource allocation.<\/p>\n

4. Estimate the Costs Related to Your Project Resources<\/h3>\n

Resources aren\u2019t just team members, raw materials, equipment and so forth. It\u2019s also money. One must consider costs<\/a> when estimating and managing project resource requirements. This means you must forecast the cost for each resource that will be used in your project. This will also inform your budget. Accurately forecasting the related costs for your project resources helps to save money without negatively affecting the project quality of your deliverables.<\/p>\n

5. Create a Resource Schedule<\/h3>\n

Identify resource requirements for the project and allocate them on a timeline to create a resource schedule<\/a>. To do this, you\u2019ll need to know the availability of your team members and the start and end dates of their assigned tasks. This will make your project more efficient and save money by having the right resources allocated at the right time.<\/p>\n

6. Create a Resource Management Plan<\/h3>\n

The next step is to develop a resource management plan<\/a> that details the acquisition, development, usage, management, control and release of the project resources. This will provide a guide or roadmap for the project manager and project team to allocate, manage and control resources needed to complete the project as efficiently as possible.<\/p>\n

7. Use Resource Tracking Tools<\/h3>\n

Anyone who\u2019s made a resource management plan knows that there will be changes during execution. Therefore, a project manager must use resource-tracking tools<\/a> to monitor and control resource requirements. Whatever resource tracking tool you use should provide a clear view of where and how those resources are being used. This will enhance the resource management plan and allocation of those resources as you can adjust to respond to changes in your project.<\/p>\n\"PPM<\/a>\n

Types of Resource Requirements in Project Management<\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve mentioned resource requirements and have briefly written about what project resources are, but to better understand them and their place in project management<\/a> it\u2019s important to define what we\u2019ve been talking about. Below we list the main categories that make up resource requirements in project management and define each with examples.<\/p>\n