Chapter 5
Identifying the Work to Be Completed
The project is approved and you've been assigned as project manager. The project charter has been distributed, making everything official. Time to roll the sleeves up and really get to work. Or rather, figure out just what the work is.
You have the broad directive — the project goal: build a bridge across the Tacoma Narrows, go to the moon by the end of the decade, or invent the first eyeglasses that double as a mobile Web device. Any of these sound like an impossible undertaking unless you break it down. In fact, you break work down into smaller and smaller components until you arrive at pieces that everyone can wrap their brains around, and those pieces can actually be assigned to someone to accomplish.
The framework in which the project goal is deconstructed into task-sized details is called the work breakdown structure, or WBS. This chapter details the processes of identifying the work, building the work breakdown structure, and fleshing out the task details. The finished WBS forms the core of your project plan. With the WBS in hand, you can estimate your resource requirements, figure an accurate budget, and build the project schedule.
Cross-Reference
Creating the work breakdown structure is part of the project scope knowledge area described in the section “Scope Management” in Chapter 2.
Understanding the Work Breakdown Structure
You break down work every day without even realizing you're doing it. You decide to go out for ...
