CDT505 Chap.8 Resource Loading and Levelling
Resource Loading and Levelling
Make the schedule feasible under capacity
Dependency logic shows when work could occur if resources were available. Resource loading compares scheduled demand with actual capacity by period. Levelling moves work to resolve overallocation, using float where possible and changing the finish only when the constraint cannot otherwise be satisfied.
The revised schedule must be recalculated because consumed float and moved work can create a new critical path and shift the time-phased budget.
Measure the resource that actually constrains flow
Headcount can hide a specialist, machine, facility or calendar constraint. Build loading by the required capability and include part-time availability, leave and switching time.
When work moves, report which activity changed, why it was chosen, how much float remains and whether cost or completion changed. Shared bottlenecks need portfolio authority because individual project managers cannot all assign themselves first priority. The final loading chart should prove feasibility, while the decision record explains the accepted trade.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Resource demand by activity and period
- 02
Loading charts and capacity lines
- 03
Float as scheduling flexibility
- 04
Resource levelling priorities
- 05
Multitasking and switching cost
- 06
Multiproject bottlenecks and portfolio authority
Worked example · free
Use float to remove an overallocation
- 2Identify the binding resource and critical commitment.
- 2Move B within available float.
- 2Recalculate float, paths and budget timing.
Key terms
- Resource Loading
- The amount of a named resource required by scheduled work in each time period.
- Overallocation
- A condition where scheduled resource demand exceeds available capacity.
- Resource Levelling
- Changing activity timing to produce a resource-feasible schedule.
- Resource Smoothing
- Adjusting work within available float while preserving a fixed completion date.
- Bottleneck
- A constrained resource whose limited capacity governs the flow of project work.
Resource Loading and Levelling FAQ
What evidence proves that a levelled schedule is feasible?
Provide before-and-after demand, capacity, overload, moved activity, remaining float and revised finish by period, then reconcile those values to the network. Name the constrained capability rather than relying on total headcount. Finally identify who bears the consequence of the move, because resolving an overload is also a governance choice about priorities, benefits and delay.
Why can a logic-feasible schedule still fail?
Network logic assumes resources are available whenever dependencies permit work to start. If two activities need the same scarce person or machine at once, the dates cannot both be achieved. Loading and levelling reveal and resolve that hidden constraint.
What should move first during resource levelling?
Protect dependency logic and critical commitments, then compare movable activities by float, priority, switching cost and downstream effect. The shortest activity is not automatically the right choice, and every move requires recalculation.
Why is multitasking a resource problem?
Starting many tasks does not increase scarce capacity. It creates switching and longer queues, so elapsed completion can worsen while utilisation appears high. Limiting work in progress and sequencing bottleneck tasks often improves completed flow.
Assessment move
Take a dependency-feasible network and assign named resource types to every activity. Replace broad headcount with the actual skill or machine needed, because four staff do not create four units of a specialist capability. Build a loading table by period and convert it into a histogram with a visible capacity line. Mark each overload and identify the activities that create it.
For every candidate move, record total float, latest finish, strategic priority, switching cost and downstream dependency effect. Protect critical commitments, move one eligible activity and rerun the schedule rather than assuming the histogram alone proves feasibility. Record the new critical path, remaining float and any change to the finish. Then update the time-phased budget to match the resource-feasible baseline.
Practise a case where no movement within float resolves the conflict. Compare delaying completion, changing scope, securing capacity and changing sequencing, and state which authority must approve the trade. Extend the same exercise across three projects competing for one bottleneck. Use enterprise priorities and consequences rather than letting the resource choose which manager to disappoint. Finally, test multitasking.
Compare a schedule where the bottleneck switches among partially finished tasks with one where it completes a valuable batch before taking the next. Measure completed flow and queue time, not only utilisation. A finished answer should name the constrained resource, the work moved, why it moved, how much float remains and whether schedule or cost changed. Those details turn levelling into an auditable planning decision.
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