Developing Project Resources for Team Competency and Performance
PMBOK v8 Definition
Develop Project Resources is the process of improving the competencies, team interaction, and the overall team environment to enhance project performance. It is an ongoing activity focused on building the skills and capabilities of team members and creating an effective, collaborative team culture. This process falls under the Project Team Management performance domain.
Why It Matters for the Exam
This concept is critical for the exam because it shifts focus from simply acquiring resources to actively nurturing and improving them, which is a core principle of the PMI talent triangle. Questions often test your understanding of the proactive, continuous nature of this process versus a one-time training event, and its direct link to improving project outcomes and realizing benefits.
Key Points to Remember (for the exam)
- Core Purpose: To improve competencies and team interaction to enhance project performance.
- Continuous Process: It is not a one-time event but an ongoing activity throughout the project.
- Key Input: The project team itself is the primary input to be developed.
- Key Output: An improved, more competent, and higher-performing project team.
- Linked to Benefits Realization: Developing resources directly supports the project's ability to deliver value and realize intended benefits (as referenced in the context under "for realizing benefits, 115").
- Tools & Techniques Context: While specific tools for this process are not detailed in the provided context, the "Tools and techniques" list is a critical PMBOK element you must know appears in nearly all processes, including resource-related ones like Acquire Resources and Estimate Resources.
- Project Manager's Role: The project manager has key roles and responsibilities in leading the team (as noted in "Lead the Team process, 85").
Typical PMI Exam Example
You are managing a project with a tight deadline. Your team has the necessary headcount but lacks experience with a new software tool critical to the project. To avoid schedule delays, you arrange for a certified expert to provide hands-on workshops and pair programming sessions with your team members. This is an example of executing the Develop Project Resources process.
PMI Exam Traps
- Trap: Thinking Develop Project Resources is mainly about hiring new people.
- Reality: It is primarily about improving the skills and interaction of the existing team.
- Trap: Believing team development happens only at the project start.
- Reality: It is a continuous process aligned with the "Monitor and Control Resourcing process" (87) to adapt to project needs.
- Trap: Confusing it with Acquire Resources. A question might present a scenario about obtaining training and ask which process it is.
- Reality: Acquire Resources (process with tools & techniques on page 83) is about obtaining team members or physical resources. If the scenario is about improving the skills of already-acquired team members, it is Develop Project Resources.
Important PMI Connections
| Related Concept | Relationship Type | Exam Attention Point |
|---|---|---|
| Lead the Team Process | Enabling Process | Developing resources is a key activity a PM does while leading the team. The "Lead the Team process" (85) is where development actions are applied. |
| Monitor and Control Resourcing | Complementary Process | You monitor team performance (process on page 87) to identify development needs, then execute development, and monitor again for improvement. |
| Schedule Management | Influences/Is Influenced By | A more competent team can complete work more efficiently, impacting the project schedule (139). Conversely, schedule constraints can influence the timing and method of development activities. |
| Realizing Benefits | Supports | Developing team competency is a direct enabler for realizing project benefits (115), a central theme in PMBOK v8. |
Quick Review Questions
- What is the primary output of the Develop Project Resources process?
- True or False: The Develop Project Resources process is typically performed only during the project planning phase.
- A project manager identifies a skill gap in her team and brings in a mentor to provide coaching. Which process is she performing?
- How does the Develop Project Resources process directly support the broader project objective?
- Which monitoring process would most directly provide information on the effectiveness of resource development activities?
PMBOK v8 Reference
The concept is embedded within the Project Team Management performance domain. Key references from the provided context include its connection to realizing benefits (115), the ongoing nature implied by monitoring and control processes (87), and the project manager's role in leading the team (85).