1. 1 Project Management – Unit 2 – Part 2 – Work Breakdown Work Breakdown o One way to define a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is through planned outcomes. o The planned outcomes must describe to the project team, stakeholders, customers and end-users the hierarchical nature of the work to be performed. o There must therefore be some understanding of precedence o Literally what it means – the splitting of the whole task (the whole project) into discrete “Chunks” somewhat similar to Henry Ford’s concept of breaking the task down so as to provide for a structured car assembly process OBJECTIVE:- To demonstrate the concept of work breakdown structures, their value in project management and the means of relating separate components in a planned manner so as to provide a coherent project structure.

2. 2 Project Management – Unit 2 – Part 2 – Work Breakdown WBS o WBS are essential for: – Preparing estimates and tenders – Resource identification and allocation (who to) – Estimates of resource demand across the project – Estimation of durations – Estimation of cash flow across project o WBS offer: – Coherent delegation and recognised responsibility levels – Lowest level of control and therefore delegation of responsibility – A framework and pre-cursor for Gantt and Network charts o The split of work into major packages should be logical and compatible with the divisions to be used for cost control and reporting o It should be possible to test whether a package of work is complete o At the very lowest level the work elements should be well defined tasks for an individual (or work group) to perform within a reasonable period of time o However you divide the ‘elephant’ up there will be breaks in relationships across the project; there is therefore a need for a co-ordinator to oversee the relationships between branches (packages) of the WBS structure Decisions about TIME Decisions about PRECEDENCE

3. 3 Project Management – Unit 2 – Part 2 – Work Breakdown Work Breakdown o You can not do this with any chance of success if you have not scoped the project o Good project managers know that they don’t know everything! o Projects are team exercises (in most cases). WBS are no exception o Teams must be chosen with care: – knowledge – experience – suitability - temperament o There is no reliable mechanistic breakdown method for types 2 to 4 o ‘Post-its’, a very large sheet of paper (or a wall and a camera) make as good a place to start as any. o Divide the project into ‘logical’ areas (some authors and project managers call this ‘chunking’ - take care – look at the results of the scoping exercise) – remember that the structure you design will dictate the way the whole project ‘works’ especially the decision about time durations Brinner et al 1990

4. 4 Project Management – Unit 2 – Part 2 – Work Breakdown WBS Creation o Suppose we want to hold a conference on a particular theme, we therefore have to make decisions, we could list these:- – We will need a site – location – for the conference – A program – We will have to market – advertise the program – A date for the conference – We will need materials for the theme – And speakers – expert in the theme we have chosen – We will need lists of possible attendees and brochures to send to them – Which means we will have to design or have designed a brochure And so on.. o Obviously the size of the project is going to have an affect on how we manage the whole exercise – small projects can be quite informal, especially if the individuals are practised, equally obviously we need to put dates in as well – so an early issue is a scheduling problem, do we schedule backwards from the date of delivery (the day the conference starts) or forwards from today, or both? o Small projects can usually manage with resident knowledge from experience, and a simple chart structure and really do not need the sophistication that is available in software and knowledge expected in larger projects.

5. 5 Project Management – Unit 2 – Part 2 – Work Breakdown WBS Creation 2 o Usually it is better to visual the WBS as a hierarchical structure, but to do that we also need to be able to identify precedence. As an example, you cannot build a house without first putting in the foundations, and then placing the drainage system and the electricity supply. Then you can start building the walls, which when high enough can support the roof, once the roof frame is on, then you can put tiles on the roof. Simple really when you have a simple problem, but needs really careful thinking about for projects that you are less than familiar with. o A simple WBS for a house could look like this:. Build a House Build walls Dig Foundations Layout Site Obtain Planning permission Create Design Plaster walls Build walls Install doors … and so on. Notice that the first 6 Activities occur one after the other, in Sequence, Activities 7 and 8 occur in Parallel. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6. 6 Project Management – Unit 2 – Part 2 – Work Breakdown Work Breakdown Structures A work breakdown structure identifies and part orders the work that has to be achieved. It allows the project manager to identify logical precedence and should be one of the initial stages in developing a project plan for Types 1, 2, 3 and maybe type 4 projects. CONFERENCE PLAN PROGRAM SITEMARKETING THEMES MATERIALSSPEAKERDATEPLACELISTSBROCHUREREGISTEROBTAIN MATERIALS PREPARE KITS DESIGN BROCHURE MAIL BROCHURE 1.0 1.11.21.3 1.1.11.1.21.1.3 1.1.2.1 1.1.2.2 1.2.11.2.21.3.1 1.3.21.3.3 1.3.2.1 1.3.2.2 PRINT BROCHURE 1.3.2.3

7. 7 Project Management – Unit 2 – Part 2 – Work Breakdown Work Breakdown List – and Responsibility 1.1 - Develop programme 1.1.1 - Establish theme and topics 1.1.2 - Source speakers 1.1.2.1 - Obtain materials 1.1.2.2 - Prepare kits 1.1.3 - Obtain and book speaker(s) 1.2 - Set conference site and date 1.2.1 - Source and commit hall 1.2.2 - Select date 1.3 - Design and implement marketing plan 1.3.1 - Create customer list 1.3.2 - Develop brochure 1.3.2.1 - Print brochure 1.3.2.2 - Mail brochure 1.3.3 - Create register Who does : What Where When How What are the costs What is the time scale Who is the project owner What are the objectives What is the line of responsibility What contracts What risks and where What are the milestones ?

8. 8 Project Management – Unit 2 – Part 2 – Work Breakdown Finding Water (part WBS) 3.4 Drill well and Install pump 3.4.4 Train local 3.4.3 Install pump 3.4.2 Drill Well 3.4.1 Prepare site 3.4.1.1 Assemble team 3.4.1.2 Assemble tools 3.4.1.3 Clear site 3.4.1.4 Level site 3.4.1.5 Construct drill platform Individual work packages A WBS describes activities and activity breakdown: With a little bit of care, it will give you an idea of precedence and a preliminary outline for a Gantt chart and allow identification for responsibility.

9. 9 Project Management – Unit 2 – Part 2 – Work Breakdown 3.4.1.5 Construct drill platform 3.4.1.5.2 Compress ground 3.4.1.5.3 Install re-enforcement 3.4.1.5.4 Mix and pour concrete 3.4.1.5.5 Remove form 3.4.1.5.1 Prepare concrete form Finding Water - Work Package Wait period (6 days) Labour becomes available Against all of these activities in a work package there will be a need to decide on and log: Who is responsible What equipment is needed How long each task will take What are the risks Who are the team members Sometimes described as walking the project, scope and WB are the virtual aspect – what happens here is what should happen........

10. 10 Project Management – Unit 2 – Part 2 – Work Breakdown From WBS to Gantt and Time 1.0 Conference 1.2 Site 1.3 Marketing 1.1 Programme 1.3.1 Lists 1.3.2 Brochure 1.3.3 Register 1.3.2.1 Design brochure 1.3.2.2 Mail brochure 1.3.2.3 Print brochure Planning should start at what time period before the conference? Any previous history – who owns that ? 1.2.1 Date 1.2.2 Place Existing database – society membership? When do we need lists? Allow from posting to 1 day before conference Need prog before design

11. 11 Project Management – Unit 2 – Part 2 – Work Breakdown Precedence o We can’t print the brochure until we know – Who to send it to - what should be in it - What it should look like A- BA CA DA EB FC GC HD IE JF,G,H KI,J Depends on A B C EI F D KJ G H

12. 12 Project Management – Unit 2 – Part 2 – Work Breakdown Gantt Chart – Bar Chart - Derivation A B C D E F G H I J K No Time – Just Relationships 1 2 3

13. 13 Project Management – Unit 2 – Part 2 – Work Breakdown Work Breakdown Log Identity Previous Description # Work Description Package(s) Owner Follower

14. 14 Project Management – Unit 2 – Part 2 – Work Breakdown Summary o Work breakdown – A logical breakdown of the tasks involved to achieve the project objective – Creates the design for the whole project – Is not a task that can be automated – Requires team work, knowledge and a certain amount of ‘what if’ – Should be testable – Will certainly support the initial design of a Gantt chart IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO O V E R E M P H A S I S E THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS ASPECT OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT. GET THIS RIGHT AND YOUR PROJECT HAS A GOOD CHANCE OF SUCCESS. HOWEVER, PROJECTS ARE UNIQUE – THERE MAY NOT BE SUFFICIENT KNOWLEDGE TO CREATE A CERTAIN WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE – ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOU MAY HAVE TO RETURN TO THE WBS.