De Paul University Project Management I — Work

De. Paul University Project Management I - Work Breakdown Structure Instructor: David A. Lash Projmgmt-1/17

PM Should Be Defined Process u u u u Charter HL Plan – Purpose – review and publish SOW – A. Document goals, scope deliverables HL budget estimate – Review with Project board Communication Plan – Document communication methods of various level – Review with project board, various stakeholders Risk Strategy - A plan for managing risk & uncertainty WBS - A tool for breaking down project into its component parts. LL Plan Project Plan Execute Projmgmt-2/17

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What Is A WBS? u A tool for breaking down a project into its component parts. – – u Identifies all tasks in a project Can be specified as chart form (figure 6. 2) or outline form (figure 6. 3) It helps to: – – Provide a detailed illustration of project scope (doing WBS really helps understand scope of project) Can help measure progress since, defines tasks in measurable units of work (defines work packages for workers. ) provides basis for team role definition provides basis for cost estimates that includes equipment, labor, materials listed for each task Projmgmt-4/17

What Is A WBS? u u Summary Tasks - includes several subordinate tasks. Work Package - each separate tasks. Work Packages Summary Tasks Projmgmt-5/17

3 Steps to WBS Development 1. Begin at The Top 2. Name all tasks needed to produce deliverables 3. Organizing the WBS (there are multiple ways to organize WBS. ) Projmgmt-6/17

Step 1 - Begin at The Top u u List the major deliverables or high-level tasks from the scope might also include intermediate deliverables (if major and not an end-product) Landscape Project Design Lawn Grass Projmgmt-7/17 Fence Shrubs

Step 2. Name all tasks needed to produce deliverables u For example put in grass might include – – buy dirt & seed spread dirt spread seed water for 2 weeks u Don’t worry about order of activities yet. u May need people closer to project tasks to help. u Can be difficult in new situations – – for example, if never before executed a process or new technology use May need to call team together to develop strategies for WBS development (high level) Projmgmt-8/17

Step 3 - Organizing the WBS There are multiple ways to organize WBS. (See example 6. 5) Some things to consider – – organize in a way closer to development process organize in a way easier to manage organize in way meaningful to sponsors. Projmgmt-9/17

Some criteria for successful WBS 1. WBS broken down starting from top – – – Top down decomposition w/ each task lower a subset of above Can use standard project management software Make sure summary levels are meaningful Projmgmt-10/17

Some criteria for successful WBS 2. Work packages must add up to summary tasks – – subordinate tasks should add up to summary task Take care not to omit needed tasks 3. Each summary task must be named as an activity that produces a product – That is, no open ended task e. g. , perform research - could go on for ever. Better to name the products of the research (e. g. , research new smelting technique to develop harder swords. ) No leaky or open ended tasks bad: database - what does it mean? Better: test the DB - Much clearer u u – u u Projmgmt-11/17

More Criteria For Successful WBS 4. Provide an initial task description and exit criteria - When possible providing detail is very useful. It helps clarify task and gives a more uniform basis for review. - For example, Dig Trenches - dig approximately 45 trenches for fence about 20 x 12 inches deep. Implement Feature X - write and unit test feature X based on design. Review test results. 5. Formally Review WBS - Review the WBS with team members. Projmgmt-12/17

Sizing Work Packages Correctly u Keep work packages between 1 -10 days long. – – u u Keep work packages short enough so not to span status meetings If break a task down into sub-tasks usually 1 of 3 reasons to do so: – – – u Too long and becomes its own project Too small may be part of another task It is easier to estimate (perhaps less uncertainty) Is is easier to assign - (Keep single people or areas accountable) It is easier to track If not one of these 3 reasons, consider not further breaking down task. Projmgmt-13/17

Other Sizing Guidelines u u 8/80 Rule - No task should be smaller than 8 hours of labor or greater than 80 as a guideline. Reporting Period Rule - Try to keep tasks shorter than the regular status meetings. (For example if weekly meetings, about 1 week long) – u This can be difficult to achieve but if done so would be useful. If its “useful” rule - breaking down tasks should make the management of project easier to estimate, assign or track. Projmgmt-14/17

More on Work Package Sizing u u Keeping units small can help control the project. Consider examples in book – Waste treatment plant had project budge > 500 Million contractors required to report work packages no larger than 2 weeks or 50 K This made identification of problems and cost overruns quicker to find Microsoft has huge projects but require developers to analyze details in 1/2 day to 3 day chunks people personally commit to their schedules Can help to greatly increase estimations u u – u u Projmgmt-15/17

Building In Quality u Building quality into project can have a huge effect on its success – The later you find a problem the most expensive it is to fix. Consider automobile manufacturing u – u Finding error in requirements VS development VS when the car is in the field Need to ensure proper standards are set to judge the quality of the work. Projmgmt-16/17

WBS Summary u WBS – – u Discussed 3 steps to develop WBS – – – u breaks projects into parts WBS Provides the structure for the project Begin at top Name all the tasks needed to produce deliverables Organizing the WBS Discussed work package size Projmgmt-17/17