Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Farrokh Alemi, Ph.D. Lee Baliton

Course on Project Management Why break up? Improve work management Improve work management Understand resource and time constraints Understand resource and time constraints Set milestones for progress Set milestones for progress See alternative sequencing of components of work See alternative sequencing of components of work

Course on Project Management Definition of WBS Breaks the project scope Breaks the project scope Inter-related Inter-related Discrete tasks Discrete tasks Hierarchical tree structure Hierarchical tree structure

Course on Project Management Definition of WBS Breaks the project scope Breaks the project scope Inter-related task Inter-related task Discrete tasks Discrete tasks Hierarchical tree structure Hierarchical tree structure Clear starts and ends

Course on Project Management Definition of WBS Breaks the project scope Breaks the project scope Inter-related Inter-related Discrete tasks Discrete tasks Hierarchical tree structure Hierarchical tree structure Four possible relationship s

Course on Project Management Definition of WBS Breaks the project scope Breaks the project scope Inter-related Inter-related Discrete tasks Discrete tasks Hierarchical tree structure Hierarchical tree structure Four possible relationship s 1.Finish to Start: Start second task after first one is finished

Course on Project Management Definition of WBS Breaks the project scope Breaks the project scope Inter-related Inter-related Discrete tasks Discrete tasks Hierarchical tree structure Hierarchical tree structure Four possible relationship s 1.Finish to Start 2.Start to Start: Start second task same time as first one

Course on Project Management Definition of WBS Breaks the project scope Breaks the project scope Inter-related Inter-related Discrete tasks Discrete tasks Hierarchical tree structure Hierarchical tree structure Four possible relationship s 1.Finish to Start 2.Start to Start 3.Finish to Finish: Start second task so both finish at same time

Course on Project Management Definition of WBS Breaks the project scope Breaks the project scope Inter-related Inter-related Discrete tasks Discrete tasks Hierarchical tree structure Hierarchical tree structure Four possible relationship s 1.Finish to Start 2.Start to Start 3.Finish to Finish 4.Start to Finish: Second task cannot finish before first one starts

Course on Project Management Definition of WBS Breaks the project scope Breaks the project scope Inter-related task Inter-related task Discrete tasks Discrete tasks Hierarchical tree structure Hierarchical tree structure Lower level tasks inherit the relationships among higher level tasks

Course on Project Management Hierarchy of Activities A Level 1: The root of the tree is the project name

Course on Project Management Hierarchy of Activities A EHR implementation

Course on Project Management Hierarchy of Activities A Level 2: Components of the entire project BCD EHR implementation

Course on Project Management Hierarchy of Activities A BCD EHR implementation Purchase system Configure system Train users

Course on Project Management Hierarchy of Activities A BCD EHR implementation Purchase system Configure system Train users EF Level 3: Each level 2 tasks is broken into its subcomponents

Course on Project Management Hierarchy of Activities A BCD EHR implementation Purchase system Configure system Train users EF Purchase training material Detail employees

Course on Project Management Hierarchy of Activities A BCD EHR implementation Purchase system Configure system Train users F E Purchase training material Detail employees

Course on Project Management Hierarchy of Activities A BCD EHR implementation Purchase system Configure system Train users F E Purchase training material Detail employees

Course on Project Management Hierarchy of Activities EHR implementation Purchase system Configure system A B C D Train users F E Purchase training material Detail employees

Course on Project Management Approaches to Developing Work Breakdown Guidelines Guidelines Analogy Analogy Bottom up Bottom up Mind mapping Mind mapping

Course on Project Management Approaches to Developing Work Breakdown Guidelines Guidelines Analogy Analogy Bottom up Bottom up Mind mapping Mind mapping

Course on Project Management Approaches to Developing Work Breakdown Guidelines Guidelines Analogy Analogy Bottom up Bottom up Mind mapping Mind mapping

Course on Project Management Hierarchy of Activities EHR implementation Purchase system Configure system A B C D Train users F E Purchase training material Detail employees

Course on Project Management Hierarchy of Activities EHR implementation Purchase system Configure system A B C D Train users F E Purchase training material Detail employees

Course on Project Management Approaches to Developing Work Breakdown Guidelines Guidelines Analogy Analogy Bottom up Bottom up Mind mapping Mind mapping

Course on Project Management Task Mutually exclusive Mutually exclusive Exhaustive Exhaustive

Course on Project Management Task Mutually exclusive Mutually exclusive Exhaustive Exhaustive Purchase of systems and organizing training may not be mutually exclusive if the purchase includes training EHR implementation Purchase system Configure system A B C D Train users

Course on Project Management Task Mutually exclusive Mutually exclusive Exhaustive Exhaustive

Course on Project Management Breadth.vs. Depth Focus on breadth Focus on breadth Let details emerge Let details emerge Progressive elaboration Progressive elaboration Creativity Creativity

Course on Project Management Breadth.vs. Depth Focus on breadth Focus on breadth Let details emerge Let details emerge Progressive elaboration Progressive elaboration Creativity Creativity

Course on Project Management Numbering Convention EHR implementation Purchase system Configure system A B C D Train (detail) users E Purchase training material

Course on Project Management Numbering Convention EHR implementation Purchase system Configure system A B C D Train (detail) users E Purchase training material

Course on Project Management Numbering Convention EHR implementation Purchase system Configure system A B C D Train (detail) users E Purchase training material

Course on Project Management Numbering Convention EHR implementation Purchase system Configure system A B C D Train (detail) users E Purchase training material

Course on Project Management Work Breakdown Is Not … We need to clarify some common mistakes … We need to clarify some common mistakes …

Course on Project Management A Task Is … Not a goal Not a goal

Course on Project Management A Task Is … Not a goal Not a goal Not a process Not a process

Course on Project Management Work Breakdown Is … Not an exhaustive list of work Not an exhaustive list of work

Course on Project Management Work Breakdown Is … Not an exhaustive list of work Not an exhaustive list of work Not a chronology Not a chronology

Course on Project Management Work Breakdown Is … Not an exhaustive list of work Not an exhaustive list of work Not a chronology Not a chronology Not an organization structure Not an organization structure

Course on Project Management Work Breakdown Is … Not an exhaustive list of work Not an exhaustive list of work Not a chronology Not a chronology Not an organization structure Not an organization structure Not to be changed often Not to be changed often

Course on Project Management Good Work Breakdowns Easy to understand Easy to understand Corresponds to job descriptions Corresponds to job descriptions Not too detailed Not too detailed Preserve the most important relationships among the tasks Preserve the most important relationships among the tasks Does not add to length of project Does not add to length of project

Take Home Message Think Carefully through Work Breakdown Structure