Work Breakdown Structure Diagram
The Work Breakdown Structure is used by the organizations in the project management, for the purpose to break down a project into effortlessly manageable components. It is one of the methods used by the organizations to break the difficult projects into simpler ones as well as it helps in the estimation of the costs.
The reasons for using and creating the WBS are:
- It helps in the organization of the projects correctly.
- WBS helps to assign the responsibilities.
- It helps to demonstrate the project milestones as well as the control points.
- WBS helps to estimate the cost, time as well as the risk appropriately.
- This helps to explain the scope of the project to the stakeholders(Tutorial Point, 2017).
The Work breakdown structure diagram helps to expresses the scope of a project into simpler graphical terms. The diagram begins with a box or further graphic in order to demonstrate the whole project. Then, the project separates into various main parts or the activities that are listed below them. In general, the upper components are mainly the deliverables and the lower level components are the related activities that help to produce the deliverables. The work break down structure diagram can be used for the planning of any kind of project as it helps to provide the base for the management of the project as well as for the understanding of the related activities and their flow of order (Bright Hub, 2017).
ID |
WBS |
TASK NAME |
1. |
1 |
Social Media Research Centre Website |
2. |
1.1 |
Start project |
3. |
1.2 |
Initiation Phase |
4. |
1.2.1 |
Develop project charter |
5. |
1.2.2 |
Submit Project Charter |
6. |
1.2.3 |
Project charter approved |
7. |
1.2.4 |
Project Sponsor Reviews Project Charter |
8. |
1.3 |
Planning Phase |
9. |
1.3.1 |
Create Preliminary Scope Statement |
10. |
1.3.2 |
Determine Project Team |
11. |
1.3.3 |
Manage Requirements Gathering |
12. |
1.3.3.1 |
Prepare research instruments |
13. |
1.3.3.2 |
Review requirements document |
14. |
1.3.3.3 |
Revise requirements document |
15. |
1.3.3.4 |
Requirements document approved |
16. |
1.3.4 |
Project Team Kickoff Meeting |
17. |
1.3.5 |
Develop Project Plan |
18. |
1.3.5.1 |
Create schedule |
19. |
1.3.5.2 |
Create resource assignments |
20. |
1.3.5.3 |
Create budget |
21. |
1.3.6 |
Submit Project Plan |
22. |
1.3.7 |
Milestone: Project Plan Approval |
23. |
1.4 |
Implementation (Execution) Phase |
24. |
1.4.1 |
Project Kickoff Meeting |
25. |
1.4.2 |
Verify & Validate User Requirements |
26. |
1.4.3 |
Design System |
27. |
1.4.3.1 |
Develop outline systems design |
28. |
1.4.3.2 |
Refine systems design |
29. |
1.4.3.3 |
Finalize system design |
30. |
1.4.4 |
Procure Hardware/Software |
31. |
1.4.5 |
Install Development System |
32. |
1.4.6 |
Risk Management |
33. |
1.4.7 |
Testing Phase |
34. |
1.4.7.1 |
Modem based testing |
35. |
1.4.7.2 |
Unit and integration testing |
36. |
1.4.7.3 |
User experience testing |
37. |
1.4.8 |
Install Live System |
38. |
1.4.9 |
User Training |
39. |
1.4.10 |
Go Live |
40. |
1.5 |
Closing Phase |
41. |
1.5.1 |
Audit Procurement |
42. |
1.5.2 |
Update Files/Records |
43. |
1.5.3 |
Gain Formal Acceptance |
44. |
1.5.4 |
Archive Files/Documents |
Gantt charts are one of the most popular tools used by many of the organization for the project management. Gantt chart is the representation of the tasks in the visual form that helps to determine the schedule of the activities that takes place in the accomplishment of any project. The planning of the projects is done through the Gantt charts as it helps to show the sequence of the activities along with the starting date of the project and the end date of the project. The Gantt charts are the best tool to figure out the longest time that the project will take to accomplish (Gantt.com, 2017).
The use of Gantt charts can help to determine the following:
- The beginning date of the project
- The tasks of the project
- The people who are engaged in the activities of the project
- The starting and the finishing time of the tasks
- The time for the accomplishment of each task
- How tasks group together, overlap and link with each other
- The end date of the project (Project Manager, 2017).
The activities in the planning of developing social media research centre website project include the following major activities:
Initiation phase
Planning phase
Implementation (Execution) phase
Closing phase
The project was started on 25th May 2017 and the project will be completed on 21st February 2018.
These activities further included the sub-activities for the completion of the tasks according to the scheduled time. The sequence of the tasks is decided on the basis of the priority and that is because certain activities can take place only after the completion of some other activities. The time for the completion of the tasks are also decided by a project manager of the project in order to accomplish the project on time (Agent of the Government Network, 2010).
Gantt Charts
The first main activity was the initiation phase of the website development, which firstly included the development of the project charter, submission of the project charter, approval for the project charter and reviews regarding the project charter from the sponsors.
The next major task was the planning phase of the website. The sub-activities of the planning phase were creating preliminary scope statement, determining the project team, managing requirements gathering, project team kickoff meeting, developing the project plan, submitting the project plan and the milestone in the project that is the project plan approval. These tasks were scheduled to be done in 74 days.
The implementation or execution phase in the development of the website was the next major task that includes the project kickoff meeting, verify and validate user requirements, designing the system, procure hardware/software, installing the development system, risk management, testing phase, installing live system, user training and going live. These tasks should be done within 72 days.
The final major task was the closing phase of the website development. This final activity of the project includes the audit procurement, updating files/records, gaining formal acceptance and archiving the files/documents. These tasks should be done in 35 days.
The accomplishment of the project is possible through the planning of the website development. The Gantt chart represented the critical path of the project that helped to analyze the longest time that the project took in the completion.
The budget for the project was $ 50,000. Out of the total budget, 20 percent of the budget was considered for the fringe that was $ 10,000. The direct costs were $ 35,080. The indirect costs are necessary for the organization programs but, it is difficult to attribute directly to individual programs. The indirect costs include the bookkeeper salaries, general technology updates, and general liabilities insurance. These programs of the organization have to hold an appropriate section of these costs. The indirect costs were $ 4920. The budget was decided considering the estimated costs of the project as well as including the other costs. The employees were provided with the salary on the basis of the pre-assumed costs for per hour pay that was defined suitably and according to the efforts the work takes. The most importantly, the inclusion of the fringe in the budget was a plus point. The indirect costs were also considered as the sponsors agreed to include the indirect costs in the budget of the project (The Nonprofit Times, 2015).
The Gantt Chart and The Critical Path
Project Manager |
$45x 248 hr = $11,600 |
Website Designer |
$30 x 120 hr = $3,600 |
Website Developer |
$30 x 160 hr = $4,800 |
Auditor |
$25 x 120 hr = $3000 |
Finance Manager |
$30 x 96 hr = $2,880 |
Risk Manager |
$30 x 80 hr = $2400 |
Trainer |
$15 x 120 hr = $1800 |
Tester |
$15 x 128 hr = $1920 |
Project Team |
$15 x 416 hr = $6240 |
Direct Costs |
$37800 |
Fringe Costs (20% of total cost) |
$10,000 |
Indirect costs |
$4920 |
Total Cost |
$50000 |
Risk register is a risk management plan in which a project manager seeks the input from the team members, stakeholders and end users. The risk register provides a framework in which problems are captured which threaten the delivery of the anticipated benefits. Actions are then taken to reduce the probability and potential impact of the risks. Risk register identifies the risks, record their severity and then, action are taken accordingly. Risk register is presented in a table below. Components of risk register include risk number, the description of the risk, risk type (business, project, strategic etc.), likelihood of occurrence, date risk added, severity of the effect, counter measures, control effectiveness rating, risk owner and status (CIO, 2017; Ace IT Consultancy, 2011).
Rank |
Risk |
Description |
Category |
Root Cause |
Triggers |
Potential Responses |
Risk Owner |
Probability |
Impact |
1 |
Lack of stakeholder’s involvement |
Lack of involvement of the stakeholder leads to failure of the completion of the project on time. |
People task |
Stakeholders are too busy and that’s why fail to see the needs of the project |
Unable to reach to stakeholders or meetings postpone |
Get, project sponsor to speak with the management of the company. Arrangements of weekly team meetings to overcome any major hindrances in the project. Clear communication plan. |
Project Manager |
High |
High |
2 |
Unexpected software abnormalities (bugs) |
Project team is not able to resolve the bugs in the software on time this causes abnormalities to escalate as the website develops further |
Operational risk |
Incompatibilities of hardware and software. Human errors |
Discovered during the testing phase and brought up during the meetings. Informed by developers’ community. |
Hire external experts or seek the help of the senior programmers from other projects |
Tech Lead |
Low |
High |
3 |
Huge change request late in the project |
If stakeholders decide to add some other features in the original function then, it require change in the design in the programming phase that takes time and this result into the delay in the project |
Scope Risk |
Poor analysis of the design requirement and poor communication of the business functionalities. |
Requirement and scope statement are not signed by the stakeholders and project sponsors. |
Proper analysis of the requirements is required beforehand and scope statement must be signed by the stakeholders. Negotiation agreement with the stakeholders should be performed. Budget and time should be flexible. |
Project Manager |
Medium |
High |
4 |
Project resources are reallocated to the higher priority functions |
Resources are currently 100% committed to the development of the website, but lower priority tasks are on halt |
Resource Risk |
Initially resources are allocated as per the requirement, but after that priority was given to some functions due to more additional work in those functions |
Large functions are running out of resource that’s why resource are not allocated to small functions and reallocated to bigger functions |
Work with portfolio manager to ensure the research availability |
Project Manager |
Low |
Medium |
Quality Management plan is the integral part of any project management plan. It describes how quality of a project will be maintained throughout the lifecycle of the project and how the project team will work to implement, support and communicate the quality practices for the users (Virginia Tech, 2017; PMO, 2015).
The purpose of the website development quality management plan is to establish goals, processes and responsibilities that are required to effectively implement quality management functions for the project (PMO, 2015).
All designers will examine their role in the efficient and effective management of all the phases of the website on the front hand, while all the developer will examine their role in the efficient and effective management of all the phases of the website on the back hand (PMO, 2015).
- Website development standard: It is essential to use WWW website development coding guidelines and standards for all the codes to ensure the uniformity and readability of the code. It helps the developers to quickly understand the code functions and detect the bugs (PMO, 2015).
- Execution Testing: To detect the defections and maintain the quality, it is necessary for a team to conduct the testing for each phase of the website. Five testing named model based testing, unit and integration testing, cross platform testing, scalability testing and user experience testing are the essential to maintain the quality of the standards. Model based testing uses a flowchart of the user states and determine the critical user scenario for interacting with the website. It ensures that the functionality and the user experience of the website are correct for each user state for that scenario. User experience testing verifies that finding the content and navigation of the pages on the website is intuitive and efficient (PMO, 2015).
- Test plan & use case review/ Inspection: To ensure the total quality for the users, it is necessary to review the post-test execution related artifacts including test reports, test results, uploaded requirement verification matrices, problem reports etc. (PMO, 2015).
Project Closure Report ensures the completion of the project tasks and presents the status of the project closure. Project closure report ensures that project lands smoothly. It provides closure to key projects. It sets the expectations for future projects. It reviews the goals & objectives from the project charter. The purpose of preparing this report is to remind the project team members about all the tasks that required to be completed during the project closeout. This project closure checklist will remind the project manager of the items that need to be completed before the project formally closes (Darter, 2017) (Demandmetric, 2017).
Description of Task |
Status |
Date of Completion |
All outstanding tasks outlined on the WBS structure have been completed |
Overdue |
4th June 2017 |
Outstanding issues have been documented and resolved |
Completed |
12th May 2017 |
Goals of project charter are made |
Completed |
9th April 2017 |
Feedback from stakeholders has been received and documented |
Completed |
15th May 2017 |
End users have been trained |
Completed |
17th May 2017 |
Measures for project success has been accessed and communicated |
Overdue |
22nd May 2017 |
Project team has been evaluated and relieved from the duty |
On Hold |
30th May 2017 |
Project cost has been paid and accounted for by the finance |
Overdue |
30th May 2017 |
Post project evaluation has been completed |
At Risk |
25th May 2017 |
Post project evaluation report has been signed by the project sponsor |
On Hold |
28th May 2017 |
Best practices have been created |
Overdue |
30th May 2017 |
Website maintenance has been assigned to the outside party |
Overdue |
1st June 2017 |
Steering committee has held a formal project closure meeting |
On Hold |
2nd June 2017 |
Project manager has been reviewed |
At Risk |
3rd June 2017 |
References
Ace IT Consultancy. (2011). Project Management Plan ‘On Your Bike’ website redevelopment. Ace IT Consultancy.
Agent of the Government Network. (2010, January 04). Microsoft Word – ICT Project Management Guidebook.doc. Retrieved 2017, from https://www.ega.go.tz/uploads/publications/84bec85669cb61946fed7feba525d6fb.pdf
Bright Hub. (2017). What is a Work breakdown Structure? Retrieved 2017, from https://www.brighthubpm.com/templates-forms/2645-what-is-a-work-breakdown-structure/
CIO. (2017). How to create a risk register. Retrieved 2017, from https://www.cio.com.au/article/401244/how_create_risk_register/
Darter, K. (2017). Project Closeout Checklist. Retrieved 2017, from projectmanagement.com: https://www.projectmanagement.com/checklists/268528/Project-Closeout-Checklist
Demandmetric. (2017). Project Closure Checklist. Retrieved from www.demandmetric.com: https://www.demandmetric.com/content/project-closure-checklist
Gantt.com. (2017). What is Gantt chart? Retrieved 2017, from https://www.gantt.com/
PMO. (2015). Quality Management Plan Procedure. PMO.
Project Manager. (2017). Gantt charts. Retrieved 2017, from https://www.projectmanager.com/gantt-chart
The Nonprofit Times. (2015, April 14). Don’t Forget to budget indirect costs. Retrieved May 17, 2017, from https://www.thenonprofittimes.com/management-tips/dont-forget-to-budget-indirect-costs/
Tutorial Point. (2017). Work Break down Structure. Retrieved 2017, from https://www.tutorialspoint.com/management_concepts/work_breakdown_structure.htm
Virginia Tech. (2017). Project Quality Management Plan. Retrieved 2017, from Virginia Tech: https://www.itplanning.org.vt.edu/pm/qualitymgmtplan.html.