HKSM

The people, equipment, materials, facilities, and services secured for the project as a result of acquiring resources. It records who or what is committed, when they are available, and key conditions like cost or contract terms. This enables assignments, scheduling, and onboarding.

Key Points

• Represents confirmed commitments obtained through internal allocation or external procurement.
• Includes human, physical, and service resources along with availability windows and allocation levels.
• Captures attributes such as role or specification, quantity, start and end dates, calendar, location, rates, funding source, and contract references.
• Indicates status details like secured, tentative, or pending onboarding, and any constraints, assumptions, or access needs.
• Links to related artifacts such as resource requests, purchase orders, statements of work, and vendor SLAs.

Purpose

This output turns planning decisions into actionable capacity the team can use. It enables accurate task assignment, schedule modeling, cost tracking, onboarding, and vendor coordination.

It also improves transparency and auditability by showing exactly what was obtained, under what terms, and for which timeframes.

How to Create

• Review the resource management plan and approved requests to confirm needs and timing.
• Negotiate with functional managers and suppliers to secure named individuals, equipment, facilities, and services.
• Confirm availability dates, allocation (e.g., FTE or hours per week), and working calendars.
• Record details: names or IDs, roles or specs, quantities, locations, cost rates, charge codes, start and end dates, and contract or PO numbers.
• Capture onboarding requirements such as access, licenses, training, and logistics like shipping or seating.
• Obtain approvals and budget confirmations, then baseline the information in the project repository or resource system.
• Update linked artifacts, including resource calendars and initial assignment lists in the schedule tool.

How to Use

• Assign work packages and activities based on confirmed availability and skills or specs.
• Feed scheduling functions such as resource loading, leveling, and what-if analysis.
• Drive cost management by applying rates for forecasting, timesheets, and accruals.
• Coordinate onboarding tasks: access provisioning, license allocation, workspace, and safety or compliance checks.
• Manage vendor delivery against SLAs and service windows, escalating when commitments slip.
• Trigger change requests when resource changes affect scope, schedule, cost, or risk.
• Communicate current capacity and constraints to stakeholders and team leads.

Ownership & Update Cadence

• Primary owner: project manager, with inputs from resource managers and procurement for external services.
• Update on events: new resources secured, allocations or dates change, rate updates, contract awards or modifications, or after re-planning.
• Cadence: at each acquisition event, at iteration or phase boundaries, and during regular status reviews.
• Governance: maintain version control, and route impactful changes through formal change control when baselines are affected.

Example

A software project secures three developers (0.8 FTE each, on-site, 1 Feb–31 May), two testers (remote, 15 Feb–30 Apr), one test environment (Server ID TE-12, 24/7, from 10 Feb), and a managed security scan service (monthly, PO#4521, SLA 48 hours).

• Developers: Names, skill tags (Java, React), cost rate USD 80/hour, project calendar, onboarding complete on 2 Feb.
• Testers: Vendor staff under MSA#V-200, rate USD 60/hour, access pending to test data vault, risk noted for delay.
• Test Environment: 8 vCPU, 32 GB RAM, owner Ops, maintenance window Sundays 02:00–04:00, no cost cross-charge.
• Security Scan Service: Start 15 Feb, SLA 48 hours turnaround, contact vendor PM, charge code SEC-310.

PMP Example Question

After negotiating with a functional manager and finalizing a vendor PO, the project manager has named staff, a lab environment, and a support service with confirmed dates and rates. What should the PM update to reflect these commitments for scheduling and onboarding?

1. Resource management plan.
2. Resource.
3. Procurement statement of work.
4. Risk register.

Correct Answer: B — Resource.

Explanation: The Acquire Resources process produces the confirmed set of people, equipment, and services with availability and terms. The plan is guidance, the SOW precedes contracting, and the risk register is not the primary record of secured capacity.