Policy

The policy for managing resources may be largely dictated by organisational standards. It may well be that most of the resource management plan simply references organisational standards. Where the work simply applies these organisational standards, a P3 specific resource management plan may be deemed unnecessary provided an understanding of organisational standards is written into the roles of the management team.

Where specific policies have to be developed it may be necessary to perform some of the research first. This will reveal the mix between internal and external resources and identify what procurement approaches will be necessary. The results of the research may then be incorporated into a refined version of the plan.

• Introduction

• The context of the work and the decisions made on how to resource the work will be explained here.

• Roles and responsibilities

• Allocation of responsibility for resource management may range from the project manager in smaller projects to a dedicated team of specialists in a large programme or portfolio. This section of the management plan must clearly describe which roles have which responsibilities.
  

  It will also show paths of escalation and communication within the P3 organisation structure.

• Information management

• As the range of resources and procurement procedures become more complex, the extent of the supporting information will expand.
  

  Managing resources is one of the defining functions of P3 management and has the potential to be the source of most of the issues a management team has to resolve. It is important to thoroughly document all decisions and agreements to avoid scope for disagreement during delivery.
  

  This section will advise on the extent, content and use of a wide range of documents.

• Assurance

• The criteria for successful resource management that will be used in any assurance reviews will be described here.

• Budget

• Specialist advice may be needed for certain aspects of resource management e.g. legal input on contracts. Whilst most costs associated with managing resources are part of the general management overhead, specific budgets may need to be identified.

• Interfaces

• Resources will have specific links to stakeholders, associated risks and specific schedules. How these cross-references will be managed is detailed here.

Procedure

• Research

• The research into resource options could be a blank sheet of paper, but if not the help available to the P3 management team should be described here. This could include approved suppliers lists, existing framework agreements or outsourcing arrangements.

• Tender

• Tendering must be transparent, ethical and effective. This section will define the procedures to be used and guidelines to be followed.

• Contract award

• Only the very largest projects, programmes or portfolios will be a legal entity in their own right. Most contracts will be signed by members of the P3 management team. It is important for the management plan to set out the host organisation’s policies for entering into contracts, and who is entitled to do so on the organisation’s behalf.

• Mobilise

• This section will describe any guidelines for mobilising all forms of resource. It could be anything from procedures for installing new software on the host organisation’s servers, through mechanisms for seconding internal personal to security protocols for contract staff. Much of this will probably be in the form of references to organisational policies.

• Manage

• How resources should be administered and controlled will also be a varied topic. This could be anything from how to insure capital items; how line management of seconded staff is to be handled or how contractor performance will be monitored.

• Close

• Closing the resource management procedure will cover disposal of assets, redeployment of internal resources and formal closure of contracts. Policies for any aspect of closing down resourcing arrangements will be described here.