In project management, common shortcomings related to manpower assignment may include:

1. **Understaffing**: Not having enough personnel allocated to critical tasks can lead to delays and increased workloads on existing team members, which can impact morale and productivity.

2. **Overstaffing**: Assigning too many people to a task can cause confusion, inefficiencies, and communication issues, making coordination difficult.

3. **Skill Misalignment**: Assigning individuals to tasks for which they lack the necessary skills or experience can lead to poor quality work and project delays.

4. **Ineffective Role Definition**: Failing to clearly define roles and responsibilities can result in overlaps, leading to wasted effort and conflicts within the team.

5. **Inadequate Resource Monitoring**: Not regularly monitoring and adjusting resource allocation in response to project demands can lead to imbalance in work distribution.

6. **Ignoring Workload Balance**: Overallocation or underallocation of staff can cause burnout or disengagement among team members.

7. **Poor Communication**: Lack of clear communication regarding task assignments and expectations can result in team members working on the wrong priorities or duplicating efforts.

8. **Inflexibility**: Resistance to change in manpower assignments when project circumstances evolve can hinder the ability to meet project goals effectively.

Addressing these pitfalls requires careful planning, transparent communication, and regular evaluation of team dynamics and workload.