DİPLOMATİK YAZIŞMA VE PROTOKOL - Deneme Sınavı - 1

The first step of resource management is the estimating of resources. In this step, the project managers estimate the type and amount of human resources, materials, machines, or any resources needed to accomplish each activity. The main aim of this step is to identify the types, amount, and characteristics of the resources needed to accomplish the activities, and it allows to estimate the costs and the duration more accurately. According to Bpayne and Adrienne Watt, there are five techniques and tools to estimate the resources for each activity in the project schedule. These are;

• Expert judgment

• Published estimating data

• Project management software

• Bottom-upestimating

• Alternative analysis

Among these five; project management software, an intelligent resource management software, which lets you analyze the “what-if” scenarios, can be very useful to estimate the resources required for future projects. The answer is C.

Even though it has several advantages, the resource allocation has several challenges that a project manager must be aware of. In their website, Paweł Hałabuda summarizes these challenges as follows: 

• Client Changes: Any changes in the scope, the due date or the budget can easily affect the current resource allocations. Hence, a good project manager must always be ready to adjust the resources with respect to the possible changes. 

• Availability of Resources: Having multiple projects that share the same resources, broken machines, or sick workers force a project manager to monitor the resources all the time since availability of resources can suddenly change.

• Activity Predecessors: A project manager must pay great attention to the activity predecessors while allocating the resources. In most cases, there exist some activities in the project which cannot be started before some other activities are completed. In such cases, the resources to be used in these activities do not need to be prepared in advance. 

• Changes in Priorities: Changes in the priorities among the projects is a common problem for a company if multiple projects run at the same time. In this situation, the resources, which a project manager has already allocated, may be needed by the other project that has a high priority for the company.

The answer is E.

As many managers have said, among all the resources, people are the most important asset of the companies.Success or failure of projects is highly related with the performance of the workers. The human resources management aims to set up an environment in a company that enables project managers to use workers more efficiently. Project human resources management gives the project manager the ability of leading and managing the project teams. The answer is D.

Even though there are different models to describe the responsibilities, RACI model is the most widely used model in the literature, which is derived from the key responsibilities: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. In RACI model;

• Responsible (R) refers to the person who does the activity, 

• Accountable (A) is the person who is ultimately answerable for the activity. 

• Consulted (C) is the adviser for the given activity or the entire project. 

• Informed (I) is the person who needs to be notified about the activity or the project.

The answer is A.

Although everyone agrees upon the necessity of software, there is great uncertainty about which software to use for resource management. A wide range of software options, such as Microsoft Project and Hub Planner, are available on the market. Therefore, determining which of the available software should be selected and which is the most suitable for the company is a big problem. In order to evaluate the resource
management software, the following criteria can be used. 

• User Interface (UI): Does the design of the software maximize the usability and the user experience? Is the user’s interaction simpler and efficient enough to accomplish the user’s goals? 

• Usability: Is it easy to use and learn? Are there comprehensive tutorials and training about the software? Do they provide necessary technical support? 

• Features & Functionality: Do the functions and features of the software meet the demand of the company? How powerful are they? Especially the following features are very important. 

      - Scheduling and allocation tools: Is it easy to assigning the resource to the right activities? Does the software provide necessary data for possible allocation strategies? Does it include an auto-scheduling feature?

      - Skills tracking: Does it have a feature to filter workers based on their skills and availability? Is it easy to search by skill? Does it provide you feedback about necessary skills? 

        - Forecasting: Does it have a resource forecasting tool to predict the upcoming resource requirements of the company? Does it collect data on sales, schedules, activities, progress of the project, and launches? How long does the forecasting tool cover? 

       - Utilization management tools: Does it provide necessary data about the utilization of the resources? Does it offer you alternative ways of utilizing resources throughout the project lifecycle?

      - Reporting: Does it have a reporting tool? Is it easy to use? Does the reporting tool allow you to extract and present data in charts, tables, and other visualizations? How well does the sharing option of these reports work?

• Integrations: Does it work in an integrated and compatible way with other software recently used in the company? Does the data transmission options fit with the available management systems in the company? 

• Price-performance ratio: Are there any buying options for different requirements when compared with the similar software, how appropriate is the price? Does the price cover possible system upgrades? Is there a time-based usage fee, such as an annual usage fee or annual licensing fee?

The answer is B.