The scenario is a simple, fun exercise. You are building a house. You have procured the land and have all the contractors. You know the land needs to be leveled and prepared for the building. Decide how to structure the WBS that is deliverable-oriented. Ensure that your MS Project has 50-100 tasks (at least 50 tasks) with at least 5 summary tasks and that each summary task has one milestone. Ensure that each task has a timeline. Include resources and dependencies, if applicable, for each task. I would also expect to see budget amounts for each summary task. Do not get hung up on timelines and whether the tasks are correct. I don't expect anyone to be a construction expert. I do expect that there is an in-depth knowledge of project management principles and MS Project.

NOTE: you are not permitted to use "pre-fabricated" templates for this exercise. The purpose of this is to develop your skills in determining, entering, and organizing tasks in MS Project, not to demonstrate your ability to adapt templates. Any submission using a template will be disqualified and receive a ZERO score!

I would suggest the "sticky note" approach, brainstorming your tasks and organizing them appropriately. You can always move them around in MS Project as well. The idea is for you to become more adept at this software in a relatively painless way.

Submission Instructions:

Submit an MS Project file with at least 50 tasks.

PROJECT S T E P S

STEP 1: Start

Access MS Project. Remember if you have MS Project, you do not need to access the iLab. This is a free 10 points for submitting MS Project.

STEP 2: Tasks

Enter at least 50 tasks. (Remember, you can re-arrange these by dragging and dropping in MS Project. Brainstorm your steps and then organize them!)

STEP 3: Summary Tasks

There must be at least 5 Summary tasks. (Make sure you understand that you do not enter a duration for summary tasks: MS Project computes them for you.)

STEP 4: Dependencies

Enter dependencies as appropriate. (Remember: most tasks have predecessors!!)

STEP 5: Milestones

Add at least 5 milestones. (Trick question: How long does a milestone take??)

STEP 6: Resources

Enter appropriate resources (materials and human). Remember: someone has to do the work, and you can't build a house without materials.

STEP 7: Assign resources to tasks

Assign resources to appropriate tasks (ensure resources are not over-allocated---make sure you know how to check for this!)

STEP 8: Budget

Assign costs to resources. Remember: workers and materials are usually not FREE!

STEP 9: Deliverable based WBS (self-explanatory)

STEP 10: Timelines

Assign appropriate timelines to each task. Almost all tasks take some amount of time. (What are the exceptions?)