Page 87 - The Six Sigma Project Planner

Resource Leveling
Resource leveling is a way to resolve having too much work assigned to resources, a
situation known as resource over-allocation. One way to level is to delay an activity until
the assigned resource has time to work on it. Another method is to split an activity, so
that part of an activity is done when planned and the rest of it is done later, when the
assigned resource has time. Resource leveling is a vital part of project schedule
development and validation.
When leveling resources, you should examine the following factors to determine which
activities should be delayed or split:
• Available slack time
• Activity priority

• Activity dependencies
• Activity constraints (e.g., must start on date, must finish on date)
• Scheduled dates for activity
When leveling resources, one generally does not change resource assignments or
activity information. Resource leveling usually only delays or splits activities. The
methods you choose to reduce over-allocations depend on the limitations of your
project, including budget, resource availability, project due date, and the degree of
flexibility available for scheduling activities.

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