Purpose
In this Assignment, you will create an initial Work Breakdown Structure for your Final Project. At this point, you will only need to create the task names, task structure, and task numbers. The other columns defined in the template will be used in forthcoming unit assignments.
Assignment Requirements
Note – You will use the appropriately named template – the Project WBS – Schedule Template.
Using information obtained from your research and from extending the scenario in an imaginative direction to add detail, you will begin to plan your project. You will develop your Work Breakdown Structure. See below for some detail on the meaning and information contained within this document. At this point, only the actual tasks (name, description and number) but none of the other spreadsheet columns are required. In Unit 4, you will expand each task to include assignment of people, task duration, planned start and end dates. Future units will require more detail and additional columns.
Createthe Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) – The document provides a hierarchical representation of your project. You will determine every task needed to complete your project in advance of starting actual work. Plan first; then execute against the plan.
The WBS is an essential project management tool. This is the 500-foot view. More detail will be added in subsequent project management activities and documents and is reflected in upcoming unit assignments.
A work package is the lowest level of a WBS. This is the level where assignments, estimates, and resources are easily determined. It does not matter whether a main task the WBS has three, four, or five sublevels; the lowest level in all cases is considered the work package level.
It can be difficult to identify tasks when you have limited project experience. The Unit 3 and 4 Task Identification Project Help document will help you with task identification. The link in the document only covers Web site and networking projects (by far the most common course project types). Students with other project types will need to research similar materials for their specific projects. However, the networking example WBS will be helpful to all in terms of understanding what a real work breakdown looks like.
Note: All tasks should be structured according to the Systems Development Lifecycle (SDLC). Precise assignments, schedule dates, effort estimates, and resources are not included in the WBS at this time. You will use your WBS in later units to complete a more detailed task list with schedule dates, resource assignments, status and project task schedule / timeline. For now, focus on the task names, sub task names, descriptions, and ensure that tasks are grouped at appropriate levels (research SDLC). All Main and sub tasks (except work package level) should be fully identified. You will complete the rest of the information including adding work package level tasks in this template as part of Unit 4 assignment.
Work Packages will include broad estimates of man hours needed to accomplish. The work packages will not include sub-projects for this project. Sub-projects will be milestones or deliverables only. Your work package level should be at level 3 or 4 for this project.
Once properly detailed, the WBS – Schedule provides all the direction needed for project execution. You will use it in every unit to plan to control and monitor your project. It is the PRIMARY tool you have in Project Management. *** Although it is ideal to be able to identify ALL project tasks at this planning stage, you may not be able to identify all work package tasks even after Unit 4, do the best you can, you will have opportunities to identify and add tasks all the way up to Unit 9.
The project documents are shown to and referenced at the highest level of the organization. In order for your project to be successful, these documents will need to be formatted in a business professional manner. They will be complete, consistent, clear, and concise.