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Resource histogram, leveling, limited allocation, WBS

Short answer

Resource histogram is a bar chart of resource demand per time period. Resource leveling makes demand uniform by shifting non-critical activities within float. Limited resource allocation keeps demand within a fixed maximum, possibly increasing duration. WBS is a hierarchical division of a project into manageable work packages.

Define the terms resource histogram, resource levelling, limited resource allocation and work breakdown structure.

Resource histogram

A resource histogram is a bar chart showing the quantity of a resource (men, machines, cement) required in each time period, obtained by adding the daily needs of all activities from the schedule. It shows peaks and valleys of demand.

  6 |# #         
  5 |# #         
  4 |# # #       
  3 |# # #       
  2 |# # # # # # 
  1 |# # # # # # 
    +------------
     1 2 3 4 5 6  day
     6 6 4 2 2 2  men

Resource levelling

Resource levelling is the rescheduling of non-critical activities within their float so that the resource demand becomes uniform and peaks are removed, keeping the project duration unchanged as far as possible.

Limited resource allocation

Limited resource allocation is the scheduling of activities when the available resource has a fixed maximum limit. The daily demand cannot exceed this limit; activities are delayed (by priority of least float) and the project duration may increase.

Work breakdown structure

WBS is a hierarchical, deliverable-oriented division of the total project into smaller manageable work packages (project - major parts - work packages), so that each can be planned, estimated, assigned and controlled.

Road project
|-- 1 Earthwork -- 1.1 Clearing, 1.2 Cutting
|-- 2 Pavement  -- 2.1 Sub-base, 2.2 Base
`-- 3 Drainage  -- 3.1 Culverts, 3.2 Side drains

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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