NEES
Project Management Workshop
June 16
June 18
Segment 3
1
The Work Breakdown Structure
(WBS)
2
How do you eat an Elephant?
3
How do you eat an Elephant?
ANSWER: A Bite at a time!
4
We have been talking about Scope
• Scope - in the Planning Phase
– Proceeds of collecting requirements
– Do we have all of them?..... Scope Grope
• Scope – in the Execution Phase
– Controlling the Scope
• Scope Creep
• Scope Leap
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Project Scope Management Processes
• Collecting requirements: defining and documenting the
features and functions of the products produced during
the project as well as the processes used for creating
them
• Defining scope: reviewing the project charter,
requirements documents, and organizational process
assets to create a scope statement and the SOW
• Creating the WBS: subdividing the major project
deliverables into smaller, more manageable components
• Verifying scope: formalizing acceptance of the project
deliverables
• Controlling scope: controlling changes to project scope
throughout the life of the project
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What is a Work Breakdown Structure
(WBS)
• A WBS is a deliverable-oriented grouping of the
work involved in a project that defines the total
scope of the project
• WBS is a foundation document that provides the
basis for planning and managing project
schedules, costs, resources, and changes
• Decomposition is subdividing project deliverables
into smaller pieces
• A Work Package is a task at the lowest level of
the WBS
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Process of creating a Work Breakdown
Structure (WBS)
A process that sets, organizes and delineates a
project’s scope by breaking down its overall mission
into a cohesive set of synchronous, increasingly
specific tasks
What does WBS accomplish?
Echoes project objectives
Offers a logical structure – by product, by phase
Establishes a method of control
Communicates project status
Improves communication
Demonstrates control structure
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Two Common approaches to define/illustrate
the WBS
• An Organizational Chart format
• An Outline format – sub tasks are indented
9
Work Breakdown Structure and Codes –
Organizational chart format (preferred)
The project is the overall
project under development
1.0
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.2.1
1.3.1
1.2.2
1.3.2
1.2.3
1.2.3.1
1.2.3.2
Deliverables are major
project components
Subdeliverables are supporting
deliverables
Work Packages are individual
project activities
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Work Breakdown Structure and Codes –
Outline format
1.0 The Project
1.1
AAA
1.2
BBB
1.2.1 bbb1
1.2.2 bbb2
1.2.3 bbb3
1.2.3.1 bbb3a
1.2.3.2 bbb3b
1.3
CCC
1.3.1 ccc1
1.3.2 ccc2
1.4
DDD
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More on the Approaches to Developing a WBS
• Using guidelines: some organizations, like the
DOD, provide guidelines for preparing WBSs
• The analogy approach: review WBSs of similar
projects and tailor to your project
• The top-down approach: start with the largest
items of the project and break them down
• The bottom-up approach: start with the
specific tasks and roll them up
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Choice to be made
• Breakdown by Product
• Breakdown by Phase
Exercise: Building a house
Choices?
By Systems – HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical
By Physical Rooms
By Phase – site prep, foundation, rough framing, etc.
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Advice/Rules for Creating a WBS
• A unit of work should appear at only one place
in the WBS
• A WBS item is the responsibility of only one
individual, even though many people may be
working on it
• The WBS must be consistent with the way in
which work is actually going to be performed; it
should serve the project team first and other
purposes only if practical
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Advice for Creating a WBS
(continued)
• Project team members should be involved in
developing the WBS to ensure consistency and
buy-in
• On large Projects, each WBS item should be
documented in a WBS dictionary to ensure
accurate understanding of the scope of work
included and not included in that item
• The WBS must be a flexible tool to accommodate
inevitable changes while properly maintaining
control of the work content in the project
according to the scope statement
15
Verifying Scope
• Scope verification involves formal acceptance of
the completed project scope by the stakeholders
• Acceptance is often achieved by a customer
inspection and then sign-off on key deliverables
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Controlling Scope
• Scope control involves controlling changes to the
project scope (i.e. Scope Creep, Scope Leap)
• Goals of scope control are to:
– Assure changes are processed according to
procedures developed as part of integrated change
control
– Manage changes when they occur
• Variance is the difference between planned and
actual performance
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Best Practices for Avoiding Scope & WBS
Problems
1. Keep the scope realistic…. Don’t make projects so large
that they can’t be completed…. Break large projects
down into a series of smaller ones
2. Involve users in project scope management…. Assign
key users to the project team and give them ownership
of requirements definition and scope verification
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Using Software to Assist in Project Scope
Management and Creation of a WBS
• Spreadsheets help to perform financial
calculations and weighted scoring models and
to develop charts and graphs
• Project management software helps in
creating a WBS, the basis for tasks on a Gantt
chart
• Specialized software is available to assist in
project scope management
• REMEMBER: PEOPLE MANAGE & CONTROL
PROJECTS NOT SOFTWARE OR GRAPHS!!!
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