WBS has four main uses: n WBS is a planning and design tool to describe ideas. It helps the project manager and the project team to determine and effectively manage the work of the project.
N WBS is a structural design tool, which clearly shows the relationship between projects.
N WBS is a planning tool, which shows the whole picture of the project and details all the work that must be done to complete the project.
N WBS defines milestone events, which can report project completion to senior management and customers as a reporting tool for project status.
WBS is a set of project elements oriented to project deliverables, which defines and organizes the overall work scope of the project, and the work not included in WBS does not belong to the scope of the project. Each decline of WBS represents a more detailed definition and description of the project work. In the process of defining the project scope, the reason why the project deliverables should be further decomposed into WBS is that a better work breakdown can: n prevent the project deliverables from being missed.
N help the project manager pay attention to the project objectives and clarify responsibilities.
Establish visual project deliverables to estimate workload and allocate work.
N helps to improve the accuracy of time, cost and resource estimation.
N Help to establish the project team and gain the commitment of the project personnel.
Define benchmarks for performance measurement and project control.
N Assist in communication and clarify job responsibilities.
Establish a framework for other project plans.
Help analyze the initial risk of the project.
The lowest project deliverable of WBS is called WorkPackage, which has the following characteristics: n Work package can be assigned to another project manager for planning and execution.
N Work package can be further decomposed into sub-project WBS. N When making the project schedule, the work package can be further broken down into activities.
N Work packages can only be handled by one department or contractor. When used for subcontracting outside the organization, it is called a commitment package.
N The definition of work package should consider the 80-hour rule or the two-week rule, that is, the completion time of any work package should not exceed 80 hours. At the end of every 80 hours or less, only report whether the work package is completed. Through this method of regular inspection, the change of the project can be controlled.
1. Method of creating WBS Creating WBS refers to breaking down a complex project into a series of clearly defined project tasks and serving as a guiding document for subsequent planning activities. There are several ways to create WBS:
N user guide. Some organizations, such as the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), provide guidelines for creating WBS, such as MIL-STD. The analogy method of the project. WBS。 Top-down method of creating new projects with reference to the work breakdown structure of similar projects. Starting from the goal of the project, decompose the project work step by step until the participants are satisfied that the project work has been completely defined. This method can define the project work in an appropriate level of detail and estimate the project duration, cost and resource requirements more accurately.
Bottom-up approach. Starting with detailed tasks, the identified and recognized project tasks are classified to the upper level step by step until the project objectives are achieved. The main risk of this method is that all tasks may not be completely identified, or the identified tasks are too rough or trivial.
2. Basic requirements for creating a WBS The following basic requirements should be met when creating a WBS: n The task should be in one position in the WBS and should only appear in one position in the WBS.
The content of a task in n WBS is the sum of all WBS items under it.
N Only one person can be responsible for a WBS project. Even though there may be many people doing it, only one person can be responsible, and others can only be participants.
N WBS must be consistent with the implementation method in actual work.
Project team members should actively participate in the creation of WBS to ensure the consistency of WBS.
N Each WBS project must be documented to ensure an accurate understanding of the scope of work included and excluded.
N WBS should not only maintain the work content of the project normally according to the scope specification, but also adapt to the inevitable changes.
3. Representation of WBS WBS can be represented by a tree-like hierarchical structure diagram or a table with indentation.
In practical application, table WBS is widely used, especially in project management software.
4. decomposition methods of WBS there are many decomposition methods of WBS, including: n according to the physical structure of the product.
N according to the function of the product or project.
N decompose according to the implementation process.
N According to the geographical distribution of the project.
Decompose according to the objectives of the project.
N broken down by department.
N broken down by function.