PM TUTORIAL

The Olde Curmudgeon

Sam received a message that a schedule and cost estimate is required for the project before proceeding with execution. Suddenly it became clear that building a raft was serious business that had to be carefully managed. Not enjoying doing a lot of work for others without adequate compensation, Sam proceeded to document the project.

First, the functions that were to be performed by the raft were Iisted on a piece of birch bark using a burnt stick. Realizing that the cost of building the raft increased faster than the increase in its size, Sam decided to make it small, even if it requires multiple trips across the river. Therefore, a means of returning it to the landing on this side of the river was needed. Second, a sketch of the raft was made on a slab of stone. From this drawing, a rough bill$-$of$-$materials was developed.

With this basic information in hand, Sam was ready to develop a WBS $($work breakdown structure$).$

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PREPARING TO DEVELOP THE WBS

Projects today are often quite large and complex. Failure to plan the project carefully can result in excessive rework and interminable delays in completion. Failure to communicate the plan can lead to confusion and uncoordinated efforts. Failure to define what is a part of the project, as well as what is not, may result in work being performed that was unnecessary to create the product of the project and thus lead to both schedule and budget overruns.

A Vision

Today, the project manager is expected to develop a clear vision of the product of the project and of the project by which it will be created. That is an important notion.

The vision of the product of the project may be static in nature; what it will look like when it is completed. This can be represented in a $3-$dimensional physical model or as a graphic version of that on a computer screen. Soon it will be possible to create such an image via holography.

The vision of the project is dynamic in nature, incorporating successive views of the product as it takes shape, first conceptually, then as drawings in two and three dimensions, and finally as a $3-$dimensional graphic of the progressive steps in producing that product. This final representation can be driven by a project network diagram based schedule. $($For a discussion of one of the earliest applications of this concept, see the Showcase article, $$Project Management at the Minnesota Department of Transportation,$$ PMJ$,$ November $1988.)$

A sketch of the product clarifies what is desired as seen above. $($See $$An Interview with Jeana Yeager$$ in the Showcase article $$Voyager$,$ PMJ$,$ April $1988,$ p$.46,$ for a description of the significance of a sketch drawn on a napkin.$)$

For many products, a bill$-$of$-$materials $($BOM$)$ maybe useful in understanding the sketch in more detail. It can be a simple, unstructured $$materials takeoff$$ or $$engineering BOM,$$ i$.$e$.,$ just a simple list of parts that must be assembled. Alternatively, it maybe useful to prepare a simplified $$manufacturing BOM$$ that, through its structure, illustrates how you plan to assemble the pieces of the product. This can be developed in a top$-$down or bottom$-$up manner, or a combination of the two.

The listing and analysis of the functions to be performed provides a clear statement of what the product of the project is to perform. In purchasing, this is known as specifying the performance requirements. A more formal approach has been described by the U$.$S$.$ Army Rock Island Arsenal, known as the Functional Flow$-$down Diagram.

Table $1.$ Schematic of a WBS

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For a software project, a structured programming diagram may serve the same purpose. For a movie, a general storyboard, identifying setting and actors, may be most useful. Each technology has its own set of tools that help depict the product of the project. During this process, many decisions are made that will be critical in managing the project.

THE WBS

Work Breakdown Structure $($WBS$)$: a product$-$oriented $$family tree$$ of project components that organizes and defines the total scope of the project. Each descending level represents an increasingly detailed definition of a project component. Project components may be products or services $[1].$

Lists must be one of the oldest of management tools. While birch bark may have been the medium of choice at one time, the backs of envelopes soon took over that role. Only recently has the process been formalized, in part because of the desire to develop better management tools based on it$.$ Thus, the WBS was invented, defined, refined...and perhaps defiled.

The primary purpose of the WBS is to aid the Project Manager $($PM$)$ in managing the project. Its concept is as simple as the answer to the question, $$How do you eat an elephant?$$ Answer: $$One bite at a time!$$ The WBS is a tool for dividing the elephant up into bite$-$size pieces. It looks similar to a family tree, with each generation being called a level. The top level is usually designated $$lev