Brandon was having an ale with his girlfriend, Sierra, when the subject of the Omega Theta Pi 5K-run project came up. Brandon has been chosen to chair the 5K-charity run for his fraternity. At the time, Brandon thought it would look good on his resume and wouldn’t be too difficult to pull off. This would be the first running event Omega Theta Pi had organized. In the past Delta Tau Chi always organized the spring running event. However, Delta Tau had been dissolved after a highly publicized hazing scandal. Brandon and his brothers at Omega Theta Pi thought that organizing a 5K-run would be alot more fun and profitable than the normal spring cleaning service they offered the local community. Early on in the discussions, everyone agreed that partnering with a sorority would be an advantage. Not only would they help manage the event, but they would have useful contacts to recruit sponsors and participants. Brandon pitched the fund raising idea to the sisters at Delta Nu, and they agreed to co-manage the event. Olivia Pomerleau volunteered and was named co-chair by Delta Nu.

Brandon told Sierra about the task force’s first meeting, which was held last night and included five members from each living group. Olivia and Brandon tried, but failed, to meet beforehand due to scheduling conflicts. The meeting began with the attendees introducing themselves and telling what experience they had had with running events. Only one person had not run at past events, but no one had been involved in managing an event other than volunteering as intersection flaggers.

Olivia then said she thought the first thing they should decide on was the theme of the 5K-race. Brandon hadn’t thought much about this, but everyone agreed that the race had to have a theme. People began to suggest themes and ideas based on other runs they knew about. The group seemed stumped when Olivia said, “Do you know that the last Friday in March is a full moon? In India, Holi, the celebration of colors, occurs on the last full moon in March. Maybe you’ve seen pictures of this, but this is where people go crazy tossing dye and color water balloons at each other. I looked it up and the Holi festival signifies a victory of good over evil, the arrival of spring and the end of winter. It is a day to meet others, play, laugh, and forgive and forget. I think it would be neat if we organized our 5K-run as a Holi festival. At different points in the race we would have people toss dye on runners. The run would end with a giant water balloon fight. We could even see if Evergreen [the local Indian restaurant] would cater the event!”

Brandon and the other boys looked at each other, while the girls immediately supported the idea. The deal maker occurred when Olivia showed a YouTube video of a similar event last year at a university in Canada that had over 700 participants and raised over $14,000. Once the theme was decided the discussion turned into a free-for-all of ideas and suggestions. One member said she may know an artist who could create really neat T-shirts for the event. Others wondered where you get the dye and if it is safe. Another talked about the importance of a website and creating a digital account for registration. Others began to argue whether the run should be done on campus or through the streets of their small college town. One by one students excused themselves due to other commitments. With only a few members remaining Brandon and Olivia adjourned the meeting.

While Brandon took a sip of his IPA beer, Sierra pulled a book out of her knapsack. “Sounds like what you need to do is create what my project management professor calls a WBS for your project.” She pointed to a page in her project management textbook showing a diagram of a WBS.

1. Make a list of the major deliverables for the 5k-run color project and use them to develop a draft of the work breakdown structure for the project that contains, when appropriate, at least three levels of detail.
2. How would developing a WBS alleviate some of the problems that occurred during the first meeting and help Brandon organize and plan the project?