Resources

Resources are the people, hardware and software needed to carry out each task or activity in a project. Every task needs resources, even one that looks simple: writing a voiceover script needs a scriptwriter (a person) and a laptop with word-processing software (hardware and software).

In a workplan, each task is matched with the resources it needs, then those resources are allocated to it and checked to make sure they are free at that point in the schedule. Only then can you be confident the work will actually get done when you planned it.

Resources decide what can run at once

Two tasks can only happen at the same time when there are enough people and enough equipment or other resources for both. Imagine you are making a three-episode podcast for a school library.

Recording episode 1 and designing the cover art could happen at the same time, because they need different people and equipment — so there is enough of each for both. But if the same person were the sound recordist and the illustrator, those tasks would have to sit in different weeks. Tasks that need the same resources should not overlap, because one of them will be left waiting and the whole schedule slips. Checking availability also stops you double-booking the only camera or the only designer. Treating resources as equipment alone misses people and software: both can be just as scarce, and one person's time is often the tightest resource of all.