Booking options
£850
+ VAT£850
+ VATOn-Demand course
45 minutes
All levels
It's amazing how often project managers begin the project planning process by making an outlined list of every task they believe will be required to complete a project and then proclaim they have created the work breakdown structure (WBS) for the project. The result is a list of hundreds, or even thousands of tasks, many of them having durations of a few days or a few hours.
Essentially, what they have done is create a 'to do' list, which they then use as a 'checklist' to measure progress. This approach leads to, and even encourages, micromanagement of the resources working on the project without consideration of more critical aspects of project management such as: requirements management, risk management, procurement management, estimating, scheduling, executing, and controlling. Further, it makes it impossible to see the big picture, at levels of detail, in keeping with the needs of sponsors, clients, project and functional managers, team leaders, and project performers.
Join us for this exciting program and learn how to use the WBS to make better-informed business decisions.
You will learn how to:
Describe the need for a project WBS
Describe the WBS role in the project
Gain practical experience in the development, decomposition, and use of the WBS
Determine the appropriate level of detail in the WBS.
Explain how the WBS integrates with project requirements, risk, procurement, estimating, scheduling, and overall project execution.
Provide the basic tools to enhance efficient re-use of key information in your future projects
Key definitions
History of the WBS
Importance of the WBS
Overall structure
Terminology
Other breakdown structures
WBS tools
Project scope management processes
Specification of the project objectives
WBS design based on project deliverable
WBS decomposition process and 'The 100% rule'
Work Packages and Control Accounts
Risk management planning and WBS
Risk identification to enhance the WBS
Risk analysis and the WBS
Risk responses and updating the WBS
Implementing risk response and Monitoring risks and the WBS
Use of WBS in the estimating process
Components and work packages
Sizing and algorithmic estimates
Component Scheduling - High-Level Milestones
WBS activity decomposition
WBS elements dependencies
Work Package Level Schedules
Responsibility assignment matrix
Earned Value Management and tracking of work performance
Progress reports, forecasts, and corrective and preventive actions used to manage work performance
Necessary information to close out a project