Project Human Resource Management - Plan Human Resource Management

This process identifies and documents project roles, responsibilities, required skills, reporting relationships, and creating a staffing management plan. It establishes project roles and responsibilities, project organization charts, and the star management plan including the timetable for staff acquisition and release. It's best to plan for the availability or competition for scare resources.

Lets take a look at the Inputs, Tools and Techniques, and Outputs of this process.

1) Project Management Plan

• Used to develop the human resource management plan and may include:
• The project life cycle
• How work will be executed 
• Change management plan
• Configuration management plan
• How integrity of the project baselines will be maintained
• Needs and methods of communication among stakeholders

2) Activity Resource Requirements

• This is used to determine the human resources needs for the project. 

3) Enterprise Environmental Factors

• May include:
• Organizational culture and structure
• Existing human resources
• Geographical dispersion of team members
• Personnel administration polices
• Marketplace conditions

4) Organizational Process Assets

• May include:
• Organizational standard processes, policies, and role descriptions
• Templates
• Lessons learned
• Escalating procedures for handling issues

5) Organization Charts and Position Descriptions

• In order to make sure that each work package has an unambiguous owner and that all team members have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities you have to document it using one of the following:
• Hierarchical-type charts - top down format
• Organizational breakdown structure (OBS) - arranged according to an organizations department, unit, team with project activities or work packages listed under each department
• Resource breakdown structure (RBS) - hierarchical list of resources related by category and resource type that is used to facilitate planning and controlling of project work. 
• Click here for an example
• Matrix-based charts
• Responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) - grid that shows the project resources assigned to each work package and shows the connection between them and project team members. 
• RACI Matrix - Responsible, Accountable, Consult, Inform
• Click here for an example
• Text-oriented formats
• detailed descriptions of team member responsibilities. Usually in outline form. 
• Also known as position descriptions and role-responsibility-authority forms

6) Networking

• Formal or informal interaction with others in an organization, industry, or professional environment. 
• Can be a luncheon, informal conversation, proactive correspondence, trade conferences, symposia and meetings 
• Networking provides you with access to the right people with the right skills

7) Organizational Theory

• Provides information regarding the way in which people, teams and organizational units behave. 

8) Expert Judgement

• Experts are used to:
• List the preliminary requirements for the required skills
• Assess the roles required for the project based on standardized role descriptions within the organization
• Determine the preliminary effort level and number of resources needed to meet project objectives
• Determine reporting relationships
• Provide guidelines on lead time with required staffing
• Identify risks associated with staff acquisition, retention, and release plans
• Identify and recommend programs for complying with government and union contracts

9) Meetings

• Project management team will hold planning meetings to plan HR management

10) Human Resource Management Plan

• Provides guidance on how project human resources should be defined, staffed, managed, and eventually released. It includes:
• Roles and responsibilities
• Role - function assigned to a person
• Authority - right to apply project resources, make decisions, sign approvals, accept deliverables and influence others. 
• Responsibility - assigned duties and work that a team member is expected to perform
• Competency - skill and capacity required to complete assigned activities within the project constraints 
• Project organization charts
• graphic display of project team members and their reporting relationships
• Staffing management plan
• describes when and how project team members will be acquired and how long they will be needed and includes:
• Staff acquisition - will you use resources within the company or outside, location of resources, cost of resources, level of expertise of the resources are all questions asked
• Resource calendars - identify the working days and shifts on which each specific resource is available. Resource histogram is used to graph the staff hours over time.
• Staff release plan - the method and timing of releasing team members benefits both the project and team members.
• Training needs - training plan can be part of the project to train resources on stills they may not be proficient in
• Recognition and rewards - criteria for rewards and a planned system for their use help reinforce desired behaviors. 
• Compliance - strategies for complying with applicable government regulations, union contracts, and other established human resource policies
• Safety - policies and procedures that protect team members from safety hazards 

Source: PMBOK 5th ed.