Available Resources and Issues Effecting Project Management

The project manager is the person in control of the direction, planning, execution and reviewing of a project. They have to control everything from the actual completion of the task to the resources required to do so.
The resources managers have available to them are immensely larger than what they need. They will have all manner of different materials and workforces available to ensure that the project goes smoothly and is completed to as high a standard as possible. There are four main categories of resource available:

Overview of Resources

• Finance - One of the most important resources available to a manager is their cash flow, if the income of cash fails, then the project cannot function, it cannot pay for information, its people, or its premises, so will grind to a halt. There are many different sources of finance, these could include sponsors, the parent company, bank loans, venture capitalists, the list could go on. These sources vary in the aspects of risk, with venture capitalists being most risky, as they will invest large quantities of cash, but wanting a high level of interest quickly paid back. Whereas getting money from the parent company will be the least risky, as it is in their interest that you succeed, and if you do succeed, then it will greatly benefit them. The finance is used in order to pay for all things related to the project. This includes premises, staff, information, and all other resources affiliated with the project.
•  Information - This resource is key to the success of a project. All of the stages of the project lifecycle could be followed to the letter, but if this key resource is not used, or is inadequately provided, then the whole project could be technically inaccurate, thus useless. There are many sources of information that is useful to a project manger, these could include the Internet, books/magazines (for surveys), newspapers and experts in specific fields. These are all very useful sources, but perhaps the most useful is an expert, as they can provide detailed information about a subject as well as being able to explain it and back it up. However, this could mean they would require extra payment, so could set the project back financially; An alternative would be using the Internet, which would keep costs low, but could be less accurate.The information  is necessary to ensure that the project is technically sound, and is as accurate as possible as to ensure that the project does not have any bugs or problems.
• People - People are the driving force behind a project. The better qualified the workforce in a project is, the better the quality of the project. If sub-par staff are used, who are either unqualified or inexperienced, then they will not be as effective, so the project will suffer either due to taking too long, or being inaccurate. An experienced person will be able to advise how to progress with the project with reference to past projects they have worked on, and an expert would be able to make decisions based on their high level of education/training/expertise. Whereas an inexperienced, untrained person will not be able to offer many great ideas or insights into how the project will best succeed, this however, does not mean it will fail, just that it will be more likely. This is important as the people who work are vital, as a project wont get done is nobody is working on it!
• Facilities – The facility of which a project is carried out is a very important aspect of the making of a project. Considering the nature of the project, a suitable facility must be chosen. For example, if the project is curing a disease, then you would choose a facility like a laboratory, or hospital, and not an office. Also, the quality of the facility will be a factor in the cost and quality of the project, as the better facility will in turn offer better resources. Using again the example of a lab, a cheaper lab will offer only the basic facilities, whereas an expensive lab could offer intricate and rare types of computers or lab equipment. This is important as if the facility is bad, then the project will be, so if you wish to ensure a higher rate of success, you need to secure an adequate facility.

Aspects Impacting on Project Management

• Finance - Financial problems can be caused by a large amount of things, these include such things as poor planning, unskilled work, or unforeseen problems (such as the recession). All of these have an effect on the cash flow of a business, as all of these directly effect the financial stability of the business, good or bad. If recession hits, then small businesses will be failing, so you may loose a supplier, or buyer. Or your company might go under, and this will shut down the project permanently. However, if a recession hits and takes down a competing business, this will help as it puts you as the only option, possibly earning you more money from the project. Also, if project manager does not fully set out his sources of finance , then he could find himself with no money coming in, and a lot of fee's building up, this then poses an obvious problem. Finance can be deal with by clearly setting out all sources of finance, producing a cash-flow forecast, and accounting a contingency fund.
• Skills - Unskilled workers have been described in the People bullet point previously, but if they have been trained well, or had a superior education, then they will be able to produce a good, technically efficient product. This will make sure that the business secures the customer and gets the highest amount of money possible from the customer, maximising profits. Unskilled workers will not be as expensive, so if you budget to high, then these might be all which is available. However, a skilled worker will be able to produce a far better outcome, but come at a premium.
• Change - People do not like change, but sometimes it is necessary. If i use the example of you are using a coding language to make a new program, then you will have to choose a programming language. This will be chosen as it should be the most efficient way to get what you want to do done. This, however, could cause unrest as it might cause the staff to have to learn a new language, which will be time-consuming and hard. However, a skilled project manager will be able to turn this around and make it a positive by using types of training, which makes the staff feel invested in. However, this could cause financial difficulties.
• Communication - I have provided an overview of communication in the Communication bullet point previously. It is very important that it is carried out, as if done efficiently, then it will help the team work in unison, with knowledge of where the different parts of the projects are at. Adversely, if communication is low or non-existent, then nobody will know where the project is at. This will mean that people will be completing things when they don't need to be, so will be harder to piece together at the end.
• Time - Time is a massive factor on which hinges the sucess or failure of the project. If you plan well, set out reasonable time slots for parts of the project, and allow time for error, so if someting goes wrong you have time to rectify it. Then if you do not plan time, or dont plan it well, then the project will fail as people will not know when to start or finish their tasks. This will mean that there will be tasks completed wrong, too late, or not at all.
• Facilities - If low level facilities are used, then inferior equipment will be used so the end product will be less useful. this is because the project will be predicated on the quality of the software and hardware. And the more expensive facilities wil be able to provide better hardware.