Auburn High Altitude Ballooning Program –
Fall 2006 Project
7/9/06
LAB#2: WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE
PREREQUISITE
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Notebook is at hand
Laptop is at hand
All have read the content of this lab before starting
Read appendix carefully: lab cannot start before all participants have read
and understand the content of the appendix and the present status of AHAB
is not completely documented.
OBJECTIVES:
Develop the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
BEFORE STARTING ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION
In class, we learned about the lifecycle of the development of a new system. Based on
what you did in Lab#1, at which stage are we in the lifecycle of the project to develop a
reliable ballooning system this semester?
ANSWER:
Irrespective of where we are, we need to define the work to be done to be able to
schedule our activities.
Task: Develop a First Draft of WBS and a Linear Responsibility Chart
Now that you have a Mission Statement, Goals, Objectives and Requirements, it is
time to determine what specific tasks have to be done. The WBS is a list of activities
and tasks that have to occur to reach your objectives and to satisfy your requirements.
The idea is to start at a high level and to split tasks into subtasks until you reach a
point where things become obvious and simple, i.e. you know exactly how to do the
task and how long it will take you to do it.
A typical WBS has three to six levels. The top level is the project level. The second
level is the task level. The third level is the sub-task level, etc.
A WBS is established without thinking about the order in which tasks have to be
done. This is left for later when we do the scheduling.
Often projects get in trouble because important tasks are forgotten. A WBS well done
avoids that. Take your time and starting with the project level of activity, break it
down into tasks and sub-tasks. Review your results and make sure nothing is
forgotten.
At the end of your work today, you’ll have a good idea of the kind of work that will
have to be accomplished this semester. After that, you’ll decide about subsystems for
Auburn High Altitude Ballooning Program –
Fall 2006 Project
AHAB this semester and each one of you will select a primary subsystem in which to
participate and a secondary subsystem.
You’ll then go back to the WBS and assign responsibility for each task to one
participant. Responsibility is always for a student who has primary responsibility for
the subsystem the task is for.
It is important to work this out carefully and at length to make sure all tasks are
included and nothing is forgotten.
In order for each group member to have a clear list of responsibilities, each one of
you will fill a Personal Responsibility Chart, sign it, and get the signatures of the
Student Manager and the AUSSP Director.
Example of a WBS for Yard Work:
WBS for Yard Project
The chart below was obtained from “Fundamentals of Project Management”, Second
Edition by James Lewis.
The project is to maintain the yard of a private home. The activities are: cleaning up,
cutting grass, and trimming. The WBS shows three levels at most, as this is a simple
project. Note that trimming the hedge has only one level, whereas the other activities
involve two levels.
WBS to fo yard pr oject
Yard
Proj ect
C leanup
Pick-up Trash
15 mi n
Bag g rass
30 mi n
H edge cli pping s
15 mi n
H aul to dump
45 mi n
C ut Grass
Mow front
45 mi n
Mow back
30 mi n
Tri mwork
Weeds @ trees
30 mi n
Edg e si dewal k
15 mi n
Prepare Equi pment
Put g as i n eq uipment
5 mi n
Get hedge cli pper
5 mi n
Tri m Hedg e
30 mi n
There is no unique way to build your WBS. One way to organize your WBS could be
sequential.
You could divide the project into its phases first: design, build, test, launch, analyze data
and document. Then divide design into subsystems and subsystems into components.
There may be other ways to build the WBS using subsystems as your level one. You may
need to go to four levels of tasks here or even five. You will probably end up with four or
Auburn High Altitude Ballooning Program –
Fall 2006 Project
more levels, and you will have to use a table as a chart is very difficult to handle at this
level. In this lab you need to proceed to at least three levels.
Auburn High Altitude Ballooning Program –
Fall 2006 Project
WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE
Auburn High Altitude Ballooning
WBS NUMBER
TASK
AHAB-7
IN CHARGE
Auburn High Altitude Ballooning Program –
Fall 2006 Project
Auburn High Altitude Ballooning Program –
Fall 2006 Project
LIST OF SUBSYSTEMS FOR AHAB
SUBSYSTEM
NAME
RESPONSIBILITIES
STUDENTS
PRIMARY
STUDENTS
SECONDARY
Auburn High Altitude Ballooning Program –
Fall 2006 Project
Individual Responsibility Matrix
Student
Name
Major/Level
Date:
Student Signature:
Student Manager Signature:
Program Director’s Signature:
Primary
Responsibility
Tasks to be Completed during
Fall 2006 Semester
Auburn High Altitude Ballooning Program –
Fall 2006 Project
APPENDIX: AHAB Fall 06 Project Constraints
AHAB Fall 06 Project has the following constraints.
Elements of system that have been built previously:
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There is a tracking box and an outreach box with data loggers
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There are two GPS units in the tracking box
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There are two TNC units in the tracking box
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There is a power subsystem with batteries: check status
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There are two antennae
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There is a rigging subsystem
All these elements require a status check, an estimate of readiness and of time interval
necessary for fixing and/or testing them. This was to be done in Lab #1. If it is not
complete, please do so before the lab starts! This lab is not to start before this is
complete.
The normal sequential list of activities are:

Design  build  test subsystems  integrate  test the whole system (lab
tests, mooring, test launch)  launch  operate  recover  analyze data 
document.
Time constraints (weather permitting):
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Mooring: 30 September
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Test Launch: 14 October
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Outreach Launch: 4 November