Approaches to Creating a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) in Project Management, Slides of Human Resource Management

Download Approaches to Creating a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) in Project Management and more Slides Human Resource Management in PDF only on Docsity! Approaches to Developing WBSs  Using guidelines: some organizations, like the DOD, provide guidelines for preparing WBSs  The analogy approach: review WBSs of similar projects and tailor to your project  The top-down approach: start with the largest items of the project and break them down  The bottom-up approach: start with the specific tasks and roll them up  Mind-mapping approach: mind mapping is a technique that uses branches radiating out from a core idea to structure thoughts and ideas 21 Docsity.com Figure 5-6: Sample Mind-Mapping Approach for Creating a WBS 22 Docsity.com Advice for Creating a WBS and WBS Dictionary*  A unit of work should appear at only one place in the WBS  The work content of a WBS item is the sum of the WBS items below it  A WBS item is the responsibility of only one individual, even though many people may be working on it  The WBS must be consistent with the way in which work is actually going to be performed; it should serve the project team first, and other purposes only if practical *Cleland, David I. Project Management: Strategic Design and Implementation, 1994 25 Docsity.com Advice for Creating a WBS and WBS Dictionary (continued)*  Project team members should be involved in developing the WBS to ensure consistency and buy-in  Each WBS item must be documented in a WBS dictionary to ensure accurate understanding of the scope of work included and not included in that item  The WBS must be a flexible tool to accommodate inevitable changes while properly maintaining control of the work content in the project according to the scope statement 26 *Cleland, David I. Project Management: Strategic Design and Implementation, 1994 Docsity.com What Went Wrong?  A project scope that is too broad and grandiose can cause severe problems  Scope creep and an overemphasis on technology for technology’s sake resulted in the bankruptcy of a large pharmaceutical firm, Texas-based FoxMeyer Drug  In 2001, McDonald’s fast-food chain initiated a project to create an intranet that would connect its headquarters with all of its restaurants to provide detailed operational information in real time; after spending $170 million on consultants and initial implementation planning, McDonald’s realized that the project was too much to handle and terminated it 27 Docsity.com