Project Workforce Estimating

Preface xi About the Companion Website xiii 1 The Future of Project Workforce Planning 1 Navigating the World of Limited Resources 1 Principles of Project Workforce Management 3 Workforce Management in the External Environment 6 Workforce Management and Legislation 7 Professional Development for Project Teams 8 Labor Rate Structures 9 The Role of Contract and Temporary Staff 10 Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Future Workforce Planning 11 2 The Complexities of Project Workforce Estimating 17 Sources for Workforce Estimation 17 Factors Influencing Workforce Estimation 18 Stakeholder Involvement in Workforce Staffing 20 The Key to Workforce Estimating 21 Earned Value Management Systems and the PMBOK® Guide 22 Direct Versus Indirect Project Costs 23 Breaking Down the Overhead Costs 24 Forward Pricing Rates: Salary 25 Calculating Available Work Hours 26 Work Authorization Form 27 Project Pricing Overview 27 Validating Estimation Assumptions 28 The Fuzzy Front End 30 Project Portfolio Management 32 The Value Proposition Behind Project Portfolio Software Tools 33 3 Techniques for Estimating Project Workforce Needs 35 Overview of Workforce Estimation Methods 35 From Labor Hours to Labor Costs 36 Enhancing Estimation Accuracy 36 Estimating Costs Per Hour 37 Parametric Estimating 38 Analogy Estimating 38 Ground-up (Grassroots) Estimation 39 Applying Learning Curves in Workforce Estimation 40 Understanding the Learning Curve Effect 41 Estimating Management and Support Needs 42 Identifying Hidden Labor Costs 43 The Impact of Documentation on Labor Costs 44 The Need for Workforce Backup Plans 45 Common Challenges in Workforce Estimation 46 The Essential Value of Enterprise Risk Management 47 4 Monitoring Workforce Expenditures 49 Initiating Workforce Expenditure Tracking 49 Converting Work Hours into Financial Metrics 50 Balancing Hours and Dollars in Project Tracking 50 Analyzing Workforce Metrics 52 Analyzing Spending Trends 53 Example of Termination Liability 55 Oversight of Workforce Expenditures 55 Setting Reporting Intervals for Workforce Status 57 Documenting Challenges in Workforce Reporting 57 Optimizing the Business Models Around Workforce Strengths 58 5 Growth of Innovation Project Teams 61 The Need for Innovation and Creativity 61 Introduction to Innovation 62 Types of Innovation 64 Co-Creation Innovation 69 Defining Innovation Success and Failure 72 Value: The Missing Link 74 The Innovation Environment 74 The Innovation Culture 77 Idea Generation 78 Understanding Reward Systems 79 Resources Management 80 The Power of the Agile and Hybrid Approaches 83 Innovation Project Management Future Skills 84 Innovation Portfolio Management 87 The Need for Innovation Metrics 89 Extracting the Business Value 93 The Value of Prompt Engineering in Fostering Innovation 95 References 96 6 Designing the Future Workforce 101 Identifying Desired Team Competencies 101 Perspectives on Project Management 102 Strategies for Workforce Recruitment 103 Degrees of Permissiveness 103 Commitment and Expectation Management 104 Engaging High-Value Team Members 105 Addressing Underperformance 105 Non-Financial Incentives for Motivation 106 Celebrating Achievements from Plaques to Public Acknowledgments 106 The Role of Public Recognition 107 Alternative Non-Monetary Rewards 107 Timing and Patterns of Staffing Needs 109 The Role of Organizational Development 110 7 Advanced Topics in Workforce Planning 115 Budget Allocation and Adjustment 115 Securing Additional Project Funding 116 Global Workforce Estimation Challenges 116 Structuring Project Teams for Success 117 Incorporating Management Plan Data 118 Developing Contingency Plans for Workforce Management 119 The Benefits of Co-Located Teams 120 Project Life Cycle Costing Approaches 121 Techniques for Workforce Leveling 121 Advanced Workforce Leveling Strategies 122 Maturing an Inventory of Skills and Competencies 123 The Next Potential of AI in Enabling Workforce Planning 125 8 Case Studies in Workforce Planning 133 Dixon Aerospace 135 The Phoenix Project 137 Brenda’s Dilemma 139 The Brainstorming Meeting 141 The Lack of Information 143 The Information Overflow Dilemma 145 The Impact of Assumptions 147 Nora’s Dilemma 149 Managing Resources in Government Agencies 153 Kane Corporation 156 Skunk Works Project Management 160 Index 173