Physical or virtual resource assignments
A documented list of people, equipment, facilities, and services allocated to project work, noting whether they are onsite or remote. It specifies who is assigned, for how long, and under what conditions. This enables scheduling, onboarding, and coordination.
Key Points
- Output of Acquire Resources that records finalized allocations to activities or work packages.
- Covers both onsite (physical) and remote/distributed (virtual) resources.
- Includes role, named resource (if known), effort or FTE, start/end dates, working hours, time zone, location or remote status, sourcing type, and cost rate.
- Captures access needs, tools/licenses, equipment or facility needs, dependencies, constraints, and backup coverage.
- Links to WBS elements or schedule activity IDs to show exactly where the resource will work.
- Living document during execution; changes that affect cost/schedule typically follow change control.
Purpose
- Provide a single source of truth for who is doing what, when, and from where.
- Enable onboarding, access provisioning, logistics, and vendor coordination.
- Support scheduling, capacity management, and avoidance of over-allocation or gaps.
How to Create
- Start from approved resource requirements and the current schedule or backlog.
- Identify candidates (internal, contractor, vendor) and validate skills, availability, and location/time zone.
- Negotiate with functional managers or vendors to confirm allocations, effort (%), and dates.
- Record details: role, named individual or pool, FTE or hours, start/end, working hours, location/remote, time zone, cost rate, and sourcing type.
- Add operational needs: required equipment, software licenses, facility access, security clearances, and onboarding tasks.
- Map each assignment to specific activities or backlog items using IDs for traceability.
- Obtain approvals from the resource owner and store the assignment list in the project repository.
How to Use
- Update the schedule and resource calendars with confirmed names, availability, and time zones.
- Trigger onboarding and access requests, equipment shipments, facility bookings, and license provisioning.
- Coordinate collaboration windows for virtual team members across regions.
- Monitor workload and conflicts; adjust assignments or raise change requests when impacts arise.
- Support cost tracking by linking assignments to rates, charge codes, and vendor agreements.
- Communicate the roster and contact paths to the team, vendors, and operations.
Ownership & Update Cadence
The project manager maintains the list; functional managers and vendor leads own the commitment of their staff. The PMO may define format and controls.
- Update when new resources are acquired, allocations change, dates shift, or onboarding status changes.
- Review at least weekly during execution and at each sprint or milestone boundary.
- Submit a change request if updates affect scope, schedule, or cost baselines.
- Offboard promptly at assignment end to reclaim licenses, equipment, and budget.
Example
Cloud migration project assignments for the next iteration:
- Cloud Architect (Vendor), 0.5 FTE, Remote (GMT+1), 01–28 Feb, supports design reviews for Activities A123–A127, requires Azure Architect license and VPN access.
- Network Engineer (Internal), 1.0 FTE, Onsite HQ, 12–23 Feb, Activities A210–A215, lab access and rack space reserved, after-hours maintenance window 20:00–00:00.
- DBA (Contractor), 0.25 FTE, Remote (EST), 15 Feb–08 Mar, Activities A305–A309, production read access, backup DBA is John Kim.
- Test Lab Facility, Exclusive use, Onsite Lab 2, 19–21 Feb, supports system testing for A400, requires safety induction completed by 16 Feb.
PMP Example Question
After negotiating with a functional manager, you secure a network engineer at 50% remote for four weeks and an onsite lab for three days of testing. What should you update next?
- Resource requirements.
- Stakeholder register.
- Physical or virtual resource assignments.
- Team charter.
Correct Answer: C — Physical or virtual resource assignments.
Explanation: The confirmed allocations are recorded in the assignment list produced by Acquire Resources. Other documents do not capture final, time-bound resource commitments.
HKSM