What does resource leveling help prevent in project management?

Resource leveling is a technique used in project management primarily to address the issue of overallocation of resources. When a project contains overlapping tasks that require the same resources, it can lead to scheduling conflicts and overburden individuals or teams with more work than they can handle.

By balancing the workload across available resources, resource leveling ensures that no single resource is overutilized while others are underutilized. This leads to a more realistic and manageable schedule, which in turn enhances productivity and helps maintain team morale.

Other options may relate to project management challenges but do not encapsulate the primary objective of resource leveling. For instance, while it might indirectly help with project costs by optimizing resource use, its core purpose is to balance resource allocation. Similarly, scope creep pertains to changes and uncontrolled growth in project scope, which is a different area of concern. Inadequate scheduling can indeed be a symptom of resource allocation issues, but the specific focus of resource leveling is on preventing overallocation rather than addressing broader scheduling inadequacies.