Begin with the End in Mind
The most successful projects out there have
deliverable-focused Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) to represent the true scope
of the project. Build your schedules
with the end in mind by establishing the outcomes/deliverables that you aim to
produce. This helps you manage scope
throughout execution and ensures that the entire team is on the same page as to
what the work is. Examples of
deliverables could include “Design Document”, “Test Plan”, “Production
Installation” and “Trained Staff”.
Notice how all of these are either a physical object (document) or an
outcome.
What they have in common is
that we can describe the end state when a deliverable is complete and explain
to a team member what it means to produce that deliverable. A good test to see if you have true
deliverables in your schedule is to put “The” in front and see if it works –
‘The Design Document’ – ‘The Production Installation’, etc.
You can still have phases in your project schedule, but the
most important portion of the WBS will always be the deliverables and their
supporting work packages/activities/tasks.
The entire scope of your project should be represented
within the deliverables in the WBS to be in compliance with industry standards,
i.e. no detailed tasks should be present outside of the deliverable
structure. It’s likely that the quality
of your project will improve as well when using this method since there will be
less ambiguity about the scope of the work.
For more details on how to build an effective WBS, see PMI’s
Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structure – Second Edition.
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