Work Breakdown Structures

Risk Assessment

Preparing for your paper on

Task and Risk Management
 Mapping a Project
• Establishing project priorities
• Meeting the needs of all stakeholders
• Measuring performance against the strategic plan of
the organization
• Collecting information to use through all phases of
the project
• Controlling costs
In other words, a selective outline of the project, called a:

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

 WBS Defined
A deliverables-oriented grouping of project elements that
organizes and defines the total work scope of the project.
Each descending level represents an increasingly detailed
definition of the project work.
WBS Example: Component-Based
WBS Example: Time-Based
 Purpose of a WBS
• An instrument for tracking costs and work
performance.
• Provides a coordinating framework for the various
parts of a project.
• Defines authority and responsibilities for the
details of the project.
• Provides the capacity to sum or “roll up” the cost
of each project phase.
• Identifies “work packages.”
 Identifying Work Packages
• Identify major project work deliverables/systems. Then the sub-
deliverables necessary to accomplish the larger deliverables are
defined.
• The process is repeated until the sub-deliverable detail is small
enough to be manageable and where one person is responsible.
This lowest deliverable usually consists of several work
packages.
• Work packages within a deliverable are grouped by type of
work: foundation, framing, finish; hardware, programming,
testing, etc.
• Also referred to as cost accounts, work packages facilitate a
system for monitoring project progress by work completed, cost
and responsibility.
 Brief Top-Level WBS for
Community Resource Center
• Facilities and Access
• IT Infrastructure Implementation
• Financial Management System
• Fund Raising and Development
• Marketing and Communications
• Staffing and Volunteer Development
• Public Access Information System
• Community/Agency Collaboration
 Brief Top-Level WBS for
Community Event Planning
• Actual Events
• Venues and Facilities
• Accommodations
• Transport
• Media Facilities and Coordination
• Security Arrangements
• Medical Care
• Human Resources (Paid Staff and Volunteers)
• Training
• Public Relations
 Brief Second-Level WBS for
IT Infrastructure Implementation
• Planning
– Workflow revision requirements
– Data security requirements
– Customization requirements
– Post-installation data entry requirements
– Testing requirements
– Training requirements
• Implementation
– Hardware and software acquisition
– Data conversion
– Installation of servers and workstations
– Installation and configuration of server and network O.S
– Configuration of user accounts and security
– Installation of backup software
 Brief Second-Level WBS for
IT Infrastructure Implementation
(Continued)

• Testing
– Workstation conformance testing
– Server backup testing
– Network conformance testing
– Functional system testing
• Training
– Training of trainers
– In-house training
• Assessment
– Work flow revisions
– IT procedures revisions
 Tips for Breaking Down the Project
• Breakdown the work until you can do an estimate
that is accurate enough for your purposes.
– If you are pricing a project to submit a competitive bid
then you are likely to go down to the work package level.
• Tasks should be limited as best as possible to one
day or more to complete.
• Activities should have clearly defined start and end
– Avoid open-ended tasks like “research” or “market
analysis.”
• Accountability and control are important! Break the
work down so that one individual is clearly
responsible for each unit.
 WBS Planning Tools
• Work Flow Diagram
Visually demonstrates the pacing and
relationship between work packages within a
project.
Example Work Flow Diagram
Risk Assessment Revisited
 Risk Assessment Methodologies
• The goal of risk assessment is to reduce risks to
an acceptable level, through risk reduction and
mitigation efforts.
• By necessity, there is no cut-and-dried method
for risk assessment.
– Industries and professions use their own set of
metrics to calculate risk and its impact.
• Risk assessments are conducted primarily to
aid in the planning and decision-making
process.
 A Generic Risk Assessment Method
• Risk assessment is often framed within three critical
concerns:
– Probability: The likelihood of its occurrence within the
current project.
– Impact: The degree of change (budget and schedule) which
can be expected from its occurrence. Not all risks have the
same degree of impact.
– Exposure: The resulting negative effects to the organization,
i.e. professional reputation, market share, revenue reductions,
etc.
• There are many other methodologies used to determine
risk, often determined by the industry within which the
project occurs.
 Determining Probability

• Probability can be measured on a scale of 1

(lowest) to 10 (highest).
• Since probability is specific to the project in
question, the value assigned to each risk is
based upon:
– Technical expertise
– Experience
– Research
 Determining Impact
Impact is a multiplier representing the relative risk level
which are generic to projects of similar type. Typically a
scale of 1 to 3 is used to gauge the seriousness of this risk
factor.
Low Risk (1) Medium Risk (2) High Risk (3)
Use of an inappropriate methodology
Lack of customer involvement
Lack of formal project management practices
Similarity to previous projects
Project complexity
Requirements volatility

Other impact multipliers are often used, depending on the project

type and scope.
 A Risk Assessment Worksheet
Risk assessment worksheet:
Risk Identification Probability x Impact = Exposure
Reduced Stakeholder involvement 6 x 2.0 = 12.0
Loss of resources 4 x 3.0 = 12.0
Failure to meet feature set requirements 2 x 1.5 = 3.0
Inadequate reviews 4 x 2.5 = 10.0
Budget cuts 2 x 2.5 = 5.0
Schedule slippage 5 x 1.5 = 7.5
Overall Project Risk Score: 49.5

Interpreting the score:

Overall Risk Score: 10-28 29-46 47-64 65-82 83-100
Project Risk Level: High Moderately High Medium Moderately Low Low
Questions??
Comments??