When to use it
A useful fit
Use it when estimating feasibility, agreeing shared staff commitments or resolving a capacity shortfall.
Know the limits
Do not equate headcount with usable capacity or assume that every specialist is interchangeable.
How to use it
- Describe the skills and time windows required by the work.
- Check actual availability with resource owners, including operational commitments.
- Resolve shortfalls through sequencing, scope, skills or additional capacity and confirm the commitments.
Worked example
A migration needs an experienced reviewer who also supports live incidents. The project manager agrees protected review windows with operations and a fallback reviewer, then adjusts the migration sequence around that real availability.
Illustrative scenario by fannarmaximus; not an official exam question.
Common pitfalls
A person assigned to several projects can be fully booked in each plan unless availability is reconciled.
Attribution & sources
Common resource-management practice; example by fannarmaximus.
The citations below identify authoritative references for this topic. They do not imply endorsement or reproduce the bodies’ competence lists.
- IPMA® (2015). Individual Competence Baseline for Project, Programme and Portfolio Management, Version 4.0 (ICB4). Zurich: International Project Management Association. ISBN 978-94-92338-00-6 (print), 978-94-92338-01-3 (pdf). Free PDF from IPMA®: https://ipma.world/ipma-standards-development-programme/icb4/
- Association for Project Management (2025). APM Body of Knowledge, 8th edition. Princes Risborough: APM. ISBN 9781913305390.