A presentation that defines a Work Breakdown Structure and how to create one. It is focused on the eLearning industry.

1. Managing a project can be daunting.

2. With so many variables,
it's easy to get
overwhelmed.

3. Where do I begin?

4. When building a hou se
you start with the foundation.

6. A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
is the foundation
of a project plan.
1
1.1 1.2 1.3
1.1.1 1.2.1 1.3.1
1.2.1.1
1.1.2 1.3.2
1.2.2

7. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
As defined by the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge

8. What benefits does it provide?

10. 2. Facilitates delegation by creating…
…small chunks of work.

11. 3. Simplifies cost estimation, scheduling and risk analysis.

12. How do I get started?

13. you need to gather all relevant information.
First
This includes a statement of work, task
analysis, schedule of deliverables,
milestones, project scope statement, problem analysis,
design documentation or other relevant
documentation.

14. Welcome to Practicum University
We will take you through the process of
developing a Work Breakdown Structure for a
new program in Dog Whispering that we are
creating this year.

15. The team at PU has gathered all of their
documentation and the leadership team is
now ready to start working on a plan to
develop the program.

16. There are many tools you can use to create the WBS like
mind-mapping tools, Powerpoint or Word. We will use the
industry standard diagramming software, Microsoft Visio
with the WBS Modeler Add-in.

17. Start with the first level that represents the whole project.
This should be numbered 1.0.

18. The second level will vary depending on whether the WBS is
Product-based or Process-based.

19. A Product-based WBS is broken down into a series of deliverables
in the second level. These deliverables should capture 100% of
the project scope.

20. A Process-based WBS is broken down into a series of phases in
the second level. Each phase may or may not have a deliverable,
but all major project phases should be included.

21. An example of a process-based WBS might be to use the stages
of ADDIE as the 5 major phases of the second level.

22. For the purposes of our example we will use a product-based
WBS. Development of the new program can be broken down into
these stages: Needs Analysis, Curriculum Proposal, Course
Development Plan, Accreditation Package, Implementation, and
Evaluation Plan.

23. At this point we enter a stage of the process
called decomposition to further break the work
down in to smaller and more manageable
chunks of work, called Work Packages.

25. A general rule that you might want to use is
called the 8/80 rule. No work package should
be less than 8 hours of work, or more than 80
hours of work.

26. The process of decomposition can be done by an individual, or by
the whole team. It all depends on what makes sense for your
project. Still, two minds are usually better than one!

27. But you don't necessarily need to reinvent the wheel!

28. If you've already completed a similar project, you may already
have a template you can follow for decomposition. Perhaps PU
has already followed this process for other programs.

29. It is critical that you and your team try to account for every task
that is necessary to complete the project. Mistakes here will only
cost the project more time and perhaps more money later.

30. Once
the
WBS
has
been
completed
it
might
be
necessary
to
build
a
WBS
Dic:onary.
The
WBS
Dic:onary
is
a
document
that
describes
each
work
package
in
detail.

31. Here is the completed WBS for PU's Dog Whispering program.

32. Now that you've broken the project down into manageable
chunks of work, you can more easily estimate time, cost and
staffing for the project. By estimating the amount of time each
work package "should" take, as well as the role assigned to that
task, you can estimate the cost of that task.

33. You can develop a table that shows each of these fields in
sequence, but there's another way to visualize this information.
The Gantt Chart.

34. The power of the Gantt Chart is that it is a simple and clear way
to not only show the length of time of each task, but also
visualize task dependencies.

35. A
Task
Dependency
is
the
rela:onship
in
which
a
task
relies
on
Task
#1
the
comple:on
(or
par:al
comple:on)
of
another
task
or
tasks
before
it
can
begin.
Task
#2
Task
#3

36. Task dependencies
determine the total
length of time for each
stage in the project,
Task
#1
and thus the overall
timeline of the project.
Therefore, the Gantt
Chart is a tool that
can help us determine
Task
#2
the overall timeline for
a project.
Task
#3

37. There are many
different programs that
can help you create a
Gantt Chart including
one of the most widely
used tools for project
planning and
management,
Microsoft Project.

38. Here is a Gantt Chart produced in Microsoft Project for the Dog
Whisperer program at PU.

40. To
build
a
project
you
must
start
with
the
founda:on.

41. 1
1.1 1.2 1.3
1.1.1 1.2.1 1.3.1
1.2.1.1
1.1.2 1.3.2
1.2.2
The foundation of a project is the Work Breakdown Structure.

42. The Work Breakdown Structure will help you to define the
project's scope, estimate time, cost and staffing, make
delegation of tasks simpler and identify risks.

43. The
process
starts
by
gathering
all
the
necessary
informa:on
and
your
key
team
members.
The
more
heads,
the
beHer!

44. The first two levels of a WBS must encompass 100% of the
project process.

45. Use the process of decomposition to break the project down to
manageable chunks using the 8/80 rule.

46. Clarify each work package by creating a WBS Dictionary.

47. Organize
the
tasks
into
a
GanH
Chart
to
highlight
dependencies
and
determine
the
overall
:meline.

49. Slide
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