Course Objectives:

• Understand the best time to import the WBS into a project management scheduling tool (such as MS Project)
• Understand the value of an appropriately detailed WBS
• Understand how to develop a WBS at a level of detail consistent with project needs
• Understand the WBS dictionary
  (a) For the current project
  (b) For re-use on future projects
• Understand the potential results from a poorly constructed WBS
• Understand the relationship between requirements, scope and the WBS
• Determine whether to use a work focused (phase/activity-based) or deliverable/product-based WBS

Course Summary:

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is one of the most (if not the most) important document used in project management. The WBS serves to organize and define the scope of work of the project in a hierarchical manner that allows for rolling up critical information associated with the costs, resource hours, durations, and variances associated with the deliverables, sub-deliverables and work packages to be produced by the project. Consequently, understanding how to properly structure the WBS is a skill required of the project manager and project team.

The standards governing the WBS (what is included in the WBS and what isn t) as well as different ways of structuring the work (i.e. deliverables-oriented versus time-phased) have evolved over time. Methods that were once acceptable are no longer considered good or best practices.

This course provides experienced and PMP certified project managers with an understanding of the current standards for WBS construction and the reasoning behind the acceptance of current WBS standards.

Course Outline:

1.0  Importance of WBS

2.0  Create WBS

3.0  WBS Levels

4.0  WBS Dictionary

• Is a document generated by the create WBS process that supports the WBS
• Provides more detailed descriptions of the components in the WBS, including work packages and control accounts
• Helpful in defining the project s scope

5.0  Scope Baseline

• The scope baseline is an approved version of
  (A) the scope statement
  (B) the WBS and
  (C) the WBS dictionary
• Is a document generated by the create WBS process that supports the WBS
• Provides more detailed descriptions of the components in the WBS, including work packages and control accounts
• Helpful in defining the project s scope

6.0  Verify Scope

7.0  Control Scope

8.0  Project Time Management

• The define activities process

9.0  The Triple Constraint

10.0  Project Management Plan

11.0  The WBS and Resource Management

• The WBS informs the resource management process
• The resource management process informs the development of the WBS

12.0  The WBS and Cost Management

• The WBS informs the cost management process
• The cost management process informs the development of the WBS

13.0  The WBS and Procurement Management

• The WBS informs the procurement management process
• The procurement management process informs the development of the WBS
• Procurement issues can add or remove scope

14.0  The WBS and Risk Management

• The WBS informs the risk management process
• The risk management process informs the development of the WBS

15.0  The WBS and Communication Management

• The WBS informs the communications management process
• The communications management process informs the development of the WBS

16.0  The WBS and Quality Management

• The WBS informs the quality management process
• The quality management process informs the development of the WBS

17.0   The WBS and Integration Management

• The WBS informs the integration management process
• The integration management process informs the development of the WBS