What it is (plain English)
Matching people to project work: seeing who's available and skilled, requesting and allocating them to projects, and tracking whether planned effort matches reality (often via timecards). It answers "do we have the people to deliver what we've committed to?"
Problems it solves
- Committing to projects with no idea whether people exist to staff them.
- Key people quietly over-allocated across too many projects.
- No visibility into capacity vs. demand.
- Planned vs. actual effort never reconciled.
What must exist first
Users, groups, schedules, roles or skills, capacity assumptions, and work records that require staffing must be defined. Resource Management integrates with projects and demands, but Project Portfolio Management is not a universal prerequisite.
What the customer needs to provide
- Your resource pool: people, roles, skills, availability.
- The allocation/request process you want (soft vs. hard booking).
- Whether timecards are in scope for tracking actuals.
- Utilization targets and how capacity is measured.
Where it can go next
Timecard management captures actuals; capacity insights feed Demand Management feasibility and Strategic Planning; utilization reporting supports operational decisions.