MGMT 404 Week 4 Video Quiz

WorkBreakdownStructure [Topic title: Work Breakdown Structure. The presenter is BarbWaters.] You can tackle any major job in your personal or work lifebybreakingitdownintomanageableandachievablesteps.Inthecontext of project management, the work breakdown structure, orWBS,givesyoucontrolofaprojectbybreakingworkdownintomanageableunits.TocreateaWBS,youuseaprocesscalleddecomposition.Duringdecomposition,yousubdividetheelementsofyourprojectintoprogressivelysmallercomponentsstartingwiththeprojectnameandrefiningeachlevelof decompositionuntilyouareabletoidentifythesmallestunitsofworkthatmustbedone. [Afterprojectname,thereisphase,thendeliverable,andthensub-deliverable.]Thesmallestunitofworkiscalledthework package.[UsingtheWBSforProjectEstimates.]TheWBSisveryhelpfulwhenitcomestoplanningandthenmanagingaproject.Ithelpsyoudefineprojectteammembers'responsibilitiesbecauseworkpackagesaresmallenoughtoassigntoparticularprojectteammembers. Thishelpsyoutoestimatetheresourcesthatwillbeneededfortheworkpackageandfor theprojectas awhole.TheWBSalsofacilitatesbudgetcreation.ThecostassociatedwitheachdecomposedelementofaWBSwillbethesumofthecostsofalltheelements underneath it. If you've identified all the work at eachlevel, youcanbecertainthatthe costassociatedwitheachidentified area will be budgeted for. If you forget something yourbudgetmaybedeficient. TheprojectmanagercandeterminewhataparticularphasewillcostsimplybyaddingallcostsfromthelowerlevelsoftheWBSthatfeedintothisphase.Youcouldusethismethodtogaugecostsatanylevelof theWBS,settingcontrolaccountstomonitorimportantcostcomponentsoftheproject.AWBSalsohelpsyouwithscheduling.Ifyou'reusingtheWBSwhencreatingtheschedule,youknowforsurethatyou'veincludedalltheworkneededtocompletetheproject. Another role that the WBS plays is in allowing better control of theproject.Forexample,whentheprojectmanagerfindsthatoneoftheteammembersassignedtoaparticularworkpackageisgoingtobeabsentforeightweeks,hecheckstheWBS.Toavoiddelays,he hires another team member. This will add to the cost of the project.ByrunningthischangeincostupthroughtheWBS,heisabletogetan idea of the impact this could have on the project as a whole. Theproject manager usesthe WBStomonitorandcontroltheprojectbudget.UsingtheWBS,theprojectmanagercanensurethatnoextracostisoverlooked. Hecanseehowbudgetarychangeswillimpacttheprojectandsocan quickly take steps to deal with problems. [How to WordDeliverables.]Onefinalpointtobearinmindabout theWBSis thatit should identify work packages or deliverables. The results of effortrather than the effort itself. A good way to do this is to make sureyoulistallcomponentsasnounsinsteadofverbs.[Example:training materials instead of develop training materials andoperatingsysteminsteadofprogramoperatingsystem.] ThisisbecausethenamesintheWBStellyouwhatshouldbeachieved,nothowitshouldbeachieved.Nowwe'regoingtotalkmoreaboutwhatshouldberepresentedineachlayerofaWBS.Thetoplevelinany WBS isthe projectname, whichrepresentstheultimate goal of the project. This is the starting point for the WBSyou'llcreate.It'satthesecondlevelthatyouhavetodecidehowbest tostructure the project work.There'snoright orwrongmethodof structuring a WBS. It will depend on the size and nature of theprojectandoncompanyorpersonalpreferences.Forexample,youmightchoosetostructurethesecondlevelofaWBSbyphases,bymajordeliverables,orbysub-projects. It's importantthatthe WBSaccuratelyrepresent allthework thatmustgointoaproject.Sodon'tforgettoincludetheworkthatgoesintoprojectmanagement.[LowerLevels.]OnceyouhavedecidedontheupperstructureforaWBS,youneedtobreakitdownfurtherintotasks,sub-tasksandworkpackages.Typically,itmakessensetoincludefromfour tosixlevelsofdecomposition.This istoensuretheWBSisnotoverlycomplexandremainsmanageable.AgoodwaytoanalyzetheaccuracyofaWBSisbyusingwhat'scalledthe100%rule. Accordingtothis,eachlevelofdecompositionmustaddupto100%oftheworkrequiredforthelevelaboveit.Ifyoufindthisisn'tapplying,youneedtore-evaluatethestructureoftheWBS.Soinsummary,theWBShasfourmainpurposes.Itenablesyoutoassignresponsibilitytoteammembersandcontrolaprojectasit progresses.Italsoenablesyoutocreateanaccurateprojectscheduleandfacilitatesaccuratecostestimates. To create a WBS, you decompose a project from its phases,deliverables, or sub-projects down to the lowest level workpackages. There is no right or wrong structure. You just base it onthenatureofyourprojectandhowitwillbestallowyoutoplanandmanagethework.