How to Determine Nonpersonnel Resource Needs
The project you are managing may require a variety of important resources (such as furniture, fixtures, equipment, raw materials, and information). Plan for these nonpersonnel resources the same way you plan to meet your personnel requirements. As part of your plan, develop the following:
A nonpersonnel resources matrix
Nonpersonnel usage charts
A nonpersonnel summary usage chart
A nonpersonnel resources matrix displays the following information for every lowest-level component (or work package) in your project Work Breakdown Structure, or WBS:
The nonpersonnel resources needed to perform the activities that compose the work package (the plan here shows that you need computers, copiers, and use of a test laboratory to complete the three listed work packages.)
The required amount of each resource.
This plan suggests that you need 40 hours of computer time and 32 hours of the test laboratory to create a device.
To estimate the amount of each resource you need, examine the nature of the task and the capacity of the resource. For example, determine the amount of copier time you need to reproduce a report by doing the following:
Estimate the number of report copies.
Estimate the number of pages per copy.
Specify the copier capacity in pages per unit of time.
Multiply the first two numbers and divide the result by the third number to determine the amount of copier time needed to reproduce your reports.
Ensuring that nonpersonnel resources are available when needed requires that you specify the times that you plan to use them. You can display this information in separate usage charts for each resource. The following computer usage chart depicts the amount of computer time each task requires during each week of your project. For example, the chart indicates that Task 1.2.1 requires six hours of computer time in week 1, four hours in week 2, six hours in week 3, and eight hours in each of weeks 4 and 5.
Finally, you display the total amount of each nonpersonnel resource you require during each week of your project in a nonpersonnel summary usage chart. The information in this chart is taken from the weekly totals in the individual usage charts for each nonpersonnel resource.
