Estimate Activity Resources

We’re digging into a super practical process: Estimate Activity Resources.

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Transcript

Hey hey, project people! You’re listening to PMP in a Snap, the podcast that serves up project management know-how in snack-sized bites—just the way we like it. I’m your host, Kaye B., and today we’re digging into a super practical process: Estimate Activity Resources.

Before we grab our clipboards and start dishing out tasks, let’s do a quick rewind on where we are in the Project Schedule Management journey.

We’re cruising through the processes that help us plan, manage, and control the project schedule. Here's a refresher of the crew:

1. Plan Schedule Management
   
   
   
2. Define Activities
   
   
   
3. Sequence Activities
   
   
   
4. Estimate Activity Durations
   
   
   
5. Develop Schedule
   
   
   
6. Control Schedule
   
   
   

BUT—before we estimate durations, we have to answer one big question: What resources do we need to do the job? That’s where today’s star process comes in: Estimate Activity Resources.

This one is so important, it actually lives under Resource Management in the PMBOK—not Schedule Management. I know, a little twist in the plot. But stay with me.

What Is Estimate Activity Resources?

Let’s break it down. Imagine planning a dinner party. Before you figure out how long it’ll take to cook, you need to know who’s cooking, what ingredients you have, and what tools you’ll use. That’s what this process is all about—figuring out what people, equipment, materials, and even space are needed to get each activity done.

We can’t estimate in a vacuum, so here are the inputs you need on hand:

• Project Management Plan, specifically:
  
  
  
  • Resource Management Plan
    
    
    
  • Scope Baseline
    
    
    
• Project Documents, like:
  
  
  
  • Activity List
    
    
    
  • Activity Attributes
    
    
    
  • Assumption Log
    
    
    
  • Cost Estimates
    
    
    
• Enterprise Environmental Factors – Think availability of resources, market conditions, and organizational culture.
  
  
  
• Organizational Process Assets  – Resource estimating policies, templates, and historical info from past projects.
  
  
  

Alright, toolbelt time. Here are the tools and techniques what you’ll use to get it done:

• Expert Judgment – Sometimes you just need that seasoned PM, engineer, or subject matter expert to weigh in.
  
  
  
• Bottom-Up Estimating – Break each activity down into pieces, estimate resources at the smallest level, and roll it up.
  
  
  
• Analogous Estimating – Using historical data from similar projects. Fast and less expensive—but less precise.
  
  
  
• Parametric Estimating – Apply unit rates. For example: “We need 1 designer for every 10 pages of a brochure.”
• Data Analysis – Including alternatives analysis—where you compare options like make vs. buy or manual vs. automated labor.
  
  
  
• Project Management Information Systems – Tools like scheduling software or resource tracking systems. Think of Asana or Microsoft Project
  
  
  
• Meetings – Get stakeholders, team leads, and estimators in a room to hash it out.
  
  
  

Once you’ve finished estimating, you’ll walk away with some pretty powerful documents or outputs:

• Resource Requirements – What type and quantity of resources are needed for each activity.
  
  
  
• Basis of Estimates – The "why" behind your numbers—assumptions, constraints, ranges, and confidence levels.
  
  
  
• Resource Breakdown Structure  – A visual hierarchy of resources by category and type.
  
  
  
• Project Document Updates – You may tweak your activity attributes or assumption log as you go.
  
  
  

Why This Process Matters

Here’s the deal: If you underestimate your resources, you’re headed for burnout, bottlenecks, or budget explosions. If you overestimate, you might waste money or delay other work. Estimate Activity Resources helps you build a realistic, achievable plan that respects both your team's time and your sponsor’s wallet.

Plus, you can’t create a real project schedule or estimate durations without knowing who’s doing what with which tools and when. This process is the connective tissue between your plan and your people.

Alright let’s recap. 

• Estimate Activity Resources is part of Resource Management and helps you determine the type and quantity of resources needed per activity.
  
  
  
• Inputs include your project plan, activity list, cost estimates, and assumptions.
  
  
  
• Tools range from expert judgment to data analysis to estimating techniques like bottom-up and parametric.
  
  
  
• Outputs include resource requirements, basis of estimates, and a shiny new Resource Breakdown Structure.
  
  
  

And that’s a wrap on another episode of PMP in a Snap. Whether you’re estimating how many developers it takes to launch an app or how many pizzas it’ll take to feed your project team during a late-night crunch, it all comes down to the resources, baby!

Be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share the podcast with your favorite project buddy. Until next time—stay productive, stay strategic, and keep those estimates real.

Talk soon!