Lecture - 5

WBS as a Project Management Tool

• A WBS is a valuable management tool that is used throughout all life-
cycle phases to:

 Manage Risk
 Manage Costs
 Assign Work
 Schedule and Track activities
 Align with Terms and scope of project
 Report Expense
 Manage Risk
• It helps in managing risk by providing insight into
technical aspects of program management.
 Manage Costs
• A WBS can be used to help make program
management decisions. For example, if the costs of an
element in the WBS are too high, the WBS can be
used to identify possible tradeoffs. Identifying and
analyzing tradeoffs can help the manager decide how
best to stay within budget.
 Assign Work
• The WBS is also useful for determining an acquisition
strategy and/or assigning work. The information
contained in the WBS can help a Program Manager
develop a statement of work that describes what
products or services are to be delivered.
 Schedule and Track activities
• A schedule of key events can be developed for each element in the
WBS. Completion of these key events is then tracked.

 Schedule and Track activities

 The work breakdown structure defines all tasks to be performed during the
development of the project. This will include tasks from such project
categories as:

• Software development
• Installation
• Maintenance
• Management
• Training
• Procurement
• Documentation
 Align with Terms and scope of project
• At all times, any, work being performed by a member of the software
project team must be part of a WBS task: No member of the team
should ever perform any task that does not appear in the WBS list of
tasks.
• The WBS is essentially a management tool that provides the ability to
assign well-define tasks to members of the development team.
• It is through the WBS that progress is monitored as tasks are
completed and potential problems are discovered.
• New tasks that were overlooked are identified, and estimates are
revised based on the actual resources used for completed tasks.
 Report Expense
• The WBS is also a budgetary tool that provides a
means of charging each development activity to the
appropriate section in the project budget.
• This is one of the basic methods for planning and
monitoring project expenditure.
Characteristics of a High-Quality WBS
• Review and signoff from top to bottom
• Includes logical flow and is hierarchical in nature
• Clear and concise
• Should have at least 2 levels: Level 1 defines 100% of the
service/product/result; Level 2 defines the deliverables in terms of
work
• Project Management at Level 2.
• Every WBS element should be clearly defined – or should be clarified
in the WBS Dictionary
Characteristics of a High-Quality WBS (cont..)
• Features
 The WBS should contains 100% of the work defined by the scope
 Development of WBS should involve the entire project team
 Should be deliverable-oriented
 Should captures all deliverables (Internal, External, Interim) in terms of
work to be completed
• Usefulness
 Should define the context of the project and clarifies the work
 Should communicates project scope to all stakeholders in terms of the work
to be completed
Sample WBS
WBS of Manufacturing of a Mountain Bike
The Dictionary of the WBS
• A WBS dictionary is a companion document to the WBS that
describes each WBS element. For each WBS element, the WBS
dictionary includes a statement of work, a list of associated activities,
and a list of milestones.
• Other information can include the responsible organisation, start and
end dates, resources required, an estimate of cost, charge number,
contract information, quality requirements, and technical references.
• WBS elements should be cross-referenced as appropriate.
WBS Dictionary - Table Format Example
WBS Dictionary - Excel Format Example
 • Redecorate Room
• Prepare materials
• Buy paint
• Buy a ladder
• Buy brushes/rollers
• Buy wallpaper remover
• Prepare room
• Remove old wallpaper
Example WBS • Remove detachable decorations
• Cover floor with old newspapers
• Cover electrical outlets/switches with tape
• Cover furniture with sheets
• Paint the room
• Clean up the room
• Dispose or store left over paint
• Clean brushes/rollers
• Dispose of old newspapers
• Remove covers