| Course | MT246 Project Planning and Project Execution |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 8 |
| Paper type | Resource assignment plan |
| Length | About 870 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MT246 Unit 8
One Pitmaster at 164 Percent: A Unit 8 Resource Assignment Plan for a Food Truck Launch in Father's Day Week
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
MT246: Project Planning and Project Execution
Unit 8 Resource Assignment Plan
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Harlan Street Barbecue, its staff, hours and every figure are composite and illustrative; the sources cited are real.
Purpose
The schedule from Unit 5 shows when each activity happens. This plan shows who does it and whether those people have the hours. Seven people inside the restaurant work on the project, and three of them, the catering manager, the pitmaster and the front-of-house manager, also run the restaurant every day. A schedule that ignores their regular jobs can look feasible and still be impossible.
The Assignment Matrix
Each activity has one responsible role and an estimate of that role's project hours. Outside firms are listed in a separate column so that inside hours are not confused with contractors' work.
Plan approved: owner, 6 hours
Project management, status reports and change log: catering manager, 52 hours
Upfitter layout, plan review, fire marshal, health inspection and permit: catering manager, 64 hours in total; outside: upfitter, health department, fire marshal
Van bought and inspected: owner, 12 hours; outside: mechanic
Upfit, generator, fire suppression: catering manager, 40 hours of coordination; outside: upfitter, electrician, suppression contractor
Commissary letter, insurance binder, city license: owner, 14 hours
Draft menu and menu testing: pitmaster, 48 hours; sous chef, 16 hours
Supplier accounts and smallwares: sous chef, 24 hours
Wrap: front-of-house manager, 18 hours; outside: wrap shop
Point of sale setup and launch marketing: front-of-house manager, 30 hours
Hiring two cooks: owner, 20 hours
Crew training: pitmaster, 36 hours; two new cooks, 97 hours together
First smoke and soft launch: pitmaster, 36 hours; catering manager, 24 hours; new cooks, scheduled shifts
Every row has exactly one responsible role, even where several people help. The PMBOK Guide recommends assigning a single accountable owner to each piece of work, so that nobody can assume someone else is handling it (Project Management Institute, 2021).
The Weekly Load Table
For the three people with regular restaurant duties, the load table adds restaurant hours and project hours each week and compares the total with the hours each can work. The owner sets available hours at 50 a week for the pitmaster and the catering manager and 45 for the front-of-house manager.
Most weeks are comfortable. The catering manager's busiest project weeks, during plan review and the upfit, reach about 82 percent of his hours. The front-of-house manager peaks at 78 percent in the wrap week. The pitmaster sits under 70 percent through March and April, when menu testing is spread over several weeks.
The week of June 15 is the exception. The pitmaster's restaurant hours that week are 46, because Father's Day pre-orders for brisket and ribs run every day from Monday to Saturday. In the draft, first smoke falls on Monday and the four-day soft launch fills Tuesday through Friday of that same week, adding 36 project hours. That is 82 hours against 50 available, or 164 percent.
The plan had the busiest person in the building doing two launches in one week.
Three Options
Three ways to resolve the overload were compared.
Option one: have the sous chef run the soft launch while the pitmaster handles Father's Day. The sous chef has not cooked on the truck's smoker and would be learning on paying guests. It keeps the schedule but risks the quality of the event the owner most wants to go well.
Option two: move first smoke and the soft launch earlier, before June 15. Crew training ends June 10 and cannot move earlier without moving the wrap and inspection, which are on the critical path. There is no room.
Option three: keep first smoke on Monday, June 15, before pre-order volume peaks, and move the soft launch to Monday, June 22, through Wednesday, June 24, after Father's Day. The soft launch is reduced from four days to three by combining setup with the first service. The ready-for-launch date moves from June 19 to June 24, using three of the nine buffer days.
The plan chooses option three. Larson and Gray (2021) describe two ways of resolving resource conflicts, delaying work within float or extending the project, and here the project has no float on the chain, so the buffer is the only room. Goldratt (1997) argued that buffers exist to absorb exactly this kind of problem, and spending three days of buffer by decision in March is better than losing them by surprise in June.
Revised Milestone Line
The soft launch now runs June 22 to 24, ready for launch is Wednesday, June 24, and six buffer days remain, from June 25 to July 2. The pitmaster's load in the week of June 15 falls to 46 restaurant hours plus 9 for first smoke, 55 against 50, or 110 percent, which the owner accepts for one week because the restaurant will close early on Father's Day itself. The week of June 22 carries 30 restaurant hours and 27 project hours, 114 percent of his 50, but with no pre-orders and the sous chef covering the restaurant's dinner smoke.
References
Goldratt, E. M. (1997). Critical chain. North River Press.
Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2021). Project management: The managerial process (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Project Management Institute. (2021). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (7th ed.). Project Management Institute.
The Purdue Global MT246 Unit 8 instructions
The eighth unit asks students to assign every activity to people and test whether those people have the hours. The prompt usually expects an assignment matrix with one responsible role per activity, estimated hours and outside firms shown separately, and a load table by week for anyone shared between the project and a regular job. Overloads should be measured as a percentage of available hours and resolved with compared options, such as reassigning, moving work within float or using buffer. Show the revised schedule and loads after the fix, even if they remain imperfect. A RACI chart is optional unless your section requires one. The plan usually takes about five pages, with resource leveling sources and the course text credited in APA 7.
Inside the MT246 Unit 8 example
The plan explains why a schedule that ignores daily jobs can be impossible. The matrix lists activities with one responsible role and hours, from the owner's plan approval to the pitmaster's training, with the PMBOK Guide on single owners and a margin note on shared tasks. The load table describes each role's peak weeks, and the week of June 15 is worked through to 164 percent, with the highlighted line about two launches in one week. Three options follow: the sous chef running the launch, moving it earlier, or moving it after Father's Day, with Larson and Gray on leveling and Goldratt on buffers. The revised milestone line shows loads of 110 and 114 percent, under a closing note.
Reading the MT246 Unit 8 grading rubric
Resource plans are graded on complete assignments, accurate load calculations, sound resolution of conflicts and honesty about what remains. One responsible role per activity is expected, and hours should be consistent with the cost baseline. Graders reward load tables that include regular job hours, since that is where conflicts hide. Overloads should be quantified and solved by comparing options with their trade-offs. Spending buffer is acceptable when explained, and the revised schedule must show the new dates. Admitting that some weeks remain above capacity, with a reason the sponsor accepts, earns credit for realism. Clean tables and accurate citations complete the rubric. Plans that show the hours behind each percentage, not just the percentage, are easier to check and score better.
MT246 Unit 8 help from the desk
Students often assign several people to each activity without naming who is responsible, which hides gaps. Another common problem is a load table with project hours only, so the person's regular job disappears. Some plans resolve an overload by assuming staff will work longer without asking. Others move work without updating the schedule or buffer. Check that hours match your cost baseline, and that available hours reflect what the sponsor has actually agreed each person can give. If you send your schedule and the people involved with their regular hours, a writer can build the matrix and load table and test options for any overloaded week.
Get an MT246 Unit 8 example written to your instructions
Who else needs these people's time? The answer usually sits in the scenario's staffing details; send those with the Unit 5 schedule and the Unit 8 prompt and rubric. A free first plan follows in 24-48h, its weekly load table counting regular duties beside project hours and any double booking settled on stated terms. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
More MT246 papers and BS in Business Administration samples
- MT246 Unit 1: Discussion Board Post
- MT246 Unit 2: Work Breakdown Structure
- MT246 Unit 3: Estimating Exercise
- MT246 Unit 4: Network and Critical Path
- MT246 Unit 5: Project Schedule
- MT246 Unit 6: Seminar Reflection
- MT246 Unit 7: Cost Baseline
- MT246 Unit 9: Status Report
- MT246 Unit 10: Change Request Package
- MT245 Unit 8: Feasibility Assessment
- MT243 Unit 8: Valuation and Pricing Memo
- MT242 Unit 8: Risk and Safety Plan
- MT241 Unit 8: Tactical Analysis
MT246 Unit 8 questions, answered
Why include hours from people's regular jobs?
Because the conflict usually lives there. Staff on small projects rarely stop their normal work, and a load table showing project hours alone makes everyone look available. The example adds restaurant duties for the pitmaster, sous chef and catering manager, which is how Father's Day week showed up at 164 percent instead of looking like an ordinary week with a soft launch in it.
Is spending buffer an acceptable fix?
It can be, if the plan says so openly and the buffer can bear it. The example spends three of nine days and states that six remain, so the owner knows what the choice cost. Using buffer without saying so is the weaker version, because later reports would then show protection that no longer exists, and the next slip would arrive as a surprise.
Does the plan need a RACI chart?
Where the prompt requires one, yes. A RACI chart shows who is responsible, accountable, consulted and informed, and many courses teach it around this point. The example uses a simpler matrix with one responsible role and estimated hours per activity, because hours are what reveal an overload. If a RACI is required, the sample adds one alongside the load table.
Where can I find a free MT246 Unit 8 sample paper?
The full MT246 Unit 8 resource assignment plan is printed here. It assigns a food truck launch to seven people, finds the pitmaster at 164 percent in Father's Day week and resolves it by moving the soft launch with buffer days.
Why does the MT246 Unit 8 sample include restaurant hours?
Three of the people on the project also run the restaurant daily, and their regular hours decide how much time is left for project work. Without them, the Father's Day conflict would not show.