Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Research

                According to PMBOK 4^th edition creates WBS is the process of sub dividing project dilivarables and project work into smaller sections. WBS is the part of the project planning. It shows the project work with all resources.

(PMBOK, 2008)

Also PMBOK 4^th edition shows WBS’s inputs and outputs. Project scope statement, requirements documentation and organizational process assets are the inputs of the WBS. Outputs are WBS, WBS dictionary, scope baseline and project documents updates. There is a technique for WBS. It is decomposition. Decomposition is dividing large sections into smaller and simpler sections.

(PMBOK, 2008)

Kathy Schwalbe says WBS is a deliverable oriented document that explains the entire scope of the project. WBS outputs are same as PMBOK WBS outputs. It comes under planning process.

(Kathy Schwalbe, 2010)

Following are a few reasons for creating a WBS in a project.

·         Accurate and readable project organization.

·         Accurate assignment of responsibilities to the project team.

·         Indicates the project milestones and control points.

·         Helps to estimate the cost, time, and risk.

·         Illustrate the project scope, so the stakeholders can have a better understanding of the same.

(tutorialspoint, 2012) 

Analysis

Under WBS there are two approaches like low level and high level approaches. Low level approach is breaking the problem according to activities and high level approach is breaking the problem according to requirements.

(PMI, 2006; Schwalbe, 2010)

Low level	High level
Managers identify the large parts of work and decompose.  Schwalbe (2002)	Project team members identify many tasks and assign. Schwalbe (2002)
Creates a WBS which is complete and accurate. (Prasad, 2009)	Might not be accurate as the team members can unintentionally forget some activities. (Prasad, 2009)
Not time consuming. (Prasad, 2009)	time consuming. (Prasad, 2009)
More popular than Bottom-up approach.(Prasad, 2009)	Less logical than Top-down approach. Team must come up with a solution.(Prasad, 2009)

Conclusion

The effectiveness of a work breakdown structure can determine the success of a project.

The WBS provides the basic idea for all project management work, including, planning, cost and effort estimation, resource allocation, and scheduling.

Therefore, one should take creating WBS as a critical step in the process of project management. It is a step of project planning and shows all the activities and resources according to date and time. WBS is the best and easy way of defining project activities. According to above analysis top down approach (low level approach) is better than bottom up approach for create WBS.

 References

·         Schwalbe K., 2010. Information Technology Project Management. 6th ed. United States of America: Thomson Learning.

·         PMBOK, 2008. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. 4th ed. Boulevard: Project Management Institute Inc.

·         Anon, 2012, tutorials point [online]: Available at: http://www.tutorialspoint.com/management_concepts/work_breakdown_structure.htm [Accessed on 2012.04.22]

·         Prasad, S., (2009). Work Breakdown Structure(WBS) : top-down or bottom-up, [Online], Available at: http://blog.prasads.com/weblog/2009/10/work-breakdown-structure-wbs-topdown-or-bottomup.html [Accessed 22th April 2012]

Project Charter

Research

According to PMBOK Project charter is the process of developing a document that formally authorizes a project or a phase and documenting initial requirements that satisfy the stakeholder’s needs and expectations. Charters use to take decisions before starts the project. It is the first step of planning. Project manager responsible for project charter. The purpose of the project charter is to document:

• Reasons for undertaking the project
• Objectives and constraints of the project
• Directions concerning the solution
• Identities of the main stakeholders
• In scope and out-of-scope items
• High level risk management plan
• Communication plan
• Target project benefits
• High level budget and spending authority

(scribd, 2012)

The three main uses of the project charter:

• To authorize the project - using a comparable format, projects can be ranked and authorized by Return on Investment.
• Serves as the primary sales document for the project - ranking stakeholders have a 1-2 page summary to distribute, present, and keep handy for fending off other project or operations runs at project resources.
• As a focus point throughout the project - for example: project as people walk in to team meetings and use in change control meetings to ensure tight scope management.

(scribd, 2012)

It is an agreement between following technical and business groups.

·        Partners and external stakeholders; 

·        The project management framework to be used on the project;

·        Roles, responsibilities, accountabilities, and activities of the team members;

·        Management commitments (specifically in terms of communications and control);and,

·        The empowerment framework.

(scribd, 2012)

Having a project charter is giving benefits like,

·        Improved client partnerships

·        Improved project management processes

·        Improved headquarter/regional communications

·        Better project sponsorship

·        Recognition of Senior Management’s role

·        Progress towards industry best practices (Capability Maturity Model (CMM), Software Process Improvement (SPI), Enhanced Framework, etc.)

·        Improved relationships with clients

·        Improved on-time and on-budget delivery of projects.

(scribd, 2012)

Analysis

According to Kathy a p project charter is a document that formally organizes the existence of a project and provides direction on the project's objectives and management.

According to PMBOK Project charter is the process of developing a document that formally authorizes a project or a phase and documenting initial requirements that satisfy the stakeholder’s needs and expectations.

According to PMBOK (2008), project charter template address following aspects of the project. The project charter can be mapped with PMBOK as follows:

PMBOK	Location in project charter
Project integration management	Plans for support activities, process options, deviations, stages, project control, quality control activities, and schedule.
Project scope management	Project scope and control
Project time management	Project control, schedule, effort estimate
Project cost management	Project control and project cost estimation
Project quality management	Project scope, control, quality control activities
Project HR management	Organization and responsibilities, plans for support activities, project facilities and resources
Project communication management	Project control
Project risk management	Risk management
Project procurement management	Plans for support activities, project facilities and resources, project control and cost estimation

Conclusion

When deciding on project charter, managers should focus on major issues, so executives can determine whether to accept or moderate the risk. Too many areas can divert attention, leaving the project manager susceptible in the event the project fails.

It is the first step of planning stage. Project manager should plan this for others goodness. In PMBOK it shows clearly. Every project area defined in PMBOK. Project charter contains all areas of a project like project schedule, cost, risk ect. It gives the important information about the project and states the project manager’s responsibility.

Both the PMBOK (2008) and Shawlby (2009) states that the facts that should be contained in the project charter. As complete conclusion we can point out areas that are essential for a project charter as below.

•  Project statement of work.
• Business case.
• Contract.
• Project manager’s name and contact information
• Summery schedule, mentioning the planned start, finish and milestone schedule.
• Budget
•  Project objectives.
• Project approval requirements
• Responsibility level of Project Manager.
• Signatures of key stakeholders
•  Risks

References

·        PMI (2008) A Guide to The Project Management Body Of Knowledge (PMBOK). 4^th Edition. Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute

·        Schwalbe, K. (2009) Information Technology Project Management. 6^th Edition. Boston: Cengage Learning Inc.

·        Anon, 2012, Available [online:]http://www.scribd.com/doc/9726/Project-Charter-Guide, Accessed[2012.04.13]