Explain the “development of the WBS and the integration of the WBS within the organization.”
Please be thorough and complete in your response. Your document should be a minimum of 850 words.
Your document will be in APA format using parenthetical citations to the textbook as well as two (02) other authoritative resources. Provide a References list at the end of your discussion board post. List all three (03) resources used in correct APA format.
Here is the proper reference listing for the textbook for your References list:
Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2021). Project management: the managerial process. McGraw-Hill Education.
This is the parenthetical citation for the in-text notation for where you used materials from the textbook:
(Larson & Gray, 2021).
Main Resource:
Major Groupings in a WBS
Once the scope and deliverables have been identified, the work of the project can be successively subdivided into smaller and smaller work elements. The outcome of this hierarchical process is called the work breakdown structure (WBS). Use of a WBS helps to assure project managers that all products and work elements are identified, to integrate the project with the current organization, and to establish a basis for control. Basically, the WBS is an outline of the project with different levels of detail.
Figure 4.3 shows the major groupings commonly used in the field to develop a hierarchical WBS. The WBS begins with the project as the final deliverable. Major project work deliverables/systems are identified first; then the subdeliverables necessary to accomplish the larger deliverables are defined. The process is repeated until the subdeliverable detail is small enough to be manageable and one person can be responsible. This subdeliverable is further divided into work packages. Because the lowest subdeliverable usually includes several work packages, the work packages are grouped by type of work—for example, design and testing. These groupings within a subdeliverable are called cost accounts. This grouping facilitates a system for monitoring project progress by work, cost, and responsibility
How a WBS Helps the Project Manager
The WBS defines all the elements of the project in a hierarchical framework and establishes their relationships to the project end item(s). Think of the project as a large work package that is successively broken down into smaller work packages; the total project is the summation of all the smaller work packages. This hierarchical structure facilitates the evaluation of cost, time, and technical performance at all levels in the organization over the life of the project. The WBS also provides management with information appropriate to each level. For example, top management deals primarily with major deliverables, while first-line supervisors deal with smaller subdeliverables and work packages.
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Each item in the WBS needs a time and cost estimate. With this information it is possible to plan, schedule, and budget the project. The WBS also serves as a framework for tracking cost and work performance.
As the WBS is developed, organization units and individuals are assigned responsibility for executing work packages. This integrates the work and the organization. In practice, this process is sometimes called the organization breakdown structure (OBS), which will be further discussed later in the chapter.
Use of the WBS provides the opportunity to “roll up” (sum) the budget and actual costs of the smaller work packages into larger work elements so that performance can be measured by organization units and work accomplishment.
The WBS can also be used to define communication channels and assist in understanding and coordinating many parts of the project. The structure shows the work and responsible organization units and suggests where written communication should be directed. Problems can be quickly addressed and coordinated because the structure integrates work and responsibility.
Creating a WBS from scratch can be a daunting task. Project managers should take advantage of relevant examples from previous projects to begin the process.
WBSs are products of group efforts. If the project is small, the entire project team may be involved in breaking down the project into its components. For large, complex projects, the people responsible for the major deliverables are likely to meet to establish the first two levels of deliverables. In turn, further detail would be delegated to the people responsible for the specific work. Collectively this information would be gathered and integrated into a formal WBS by a project support person. The final version would be reviewed by the inner echelon of the project team. Relevant stakeholders (most notably customers) would be consulted to confirm agreement and revise when appropriate.
Project teams developing their first WBS frequently forget that the structure should be end-item, output oriented. First attempts often result in a WBS that follows the organization structure—design, marketing, production, finance. If a WBS follows the organization structure, the focus will be on the organization function and processes, rather than the project output or deliverables. In addition, a WBS with a process focus will become an accounting tool that records costs by function rather than a tool for “output” management. Every effort should be made to develop a WBS that is output oriented in order to concentrate on concrete deliverables. See Snapshot from Practice 4.3: Creating a WBS.
The WBS is used to link the organization units responsible for performing the work. In practice, the outcome of this process is the organization breakdown structure (OBS). The OBS depicts how the firm has organized to discharge work responsibility. The purposes of the OBS are to provide a framework to summarize organization unit work performance, identify the organization units responsible for work packages, and tie the organization unit to cost control accounts. Recall that, cost accounts group similar work packages (usually under the purview of a department). The OBS defines the organization subdeliverables in a hierarchical pattern in successively smaller and smaller units. Frequently the traditional organization structure can be used. Even if the project is completely performed by a team, it is necessary to break down the team structure for assigning responsibility for budgets, time, and technical performance.
As in the WBS, the OBS assigns the lowest organization unit the responsibility for work packages within a cost account. Herein lies one major strength of using the WBS and OBS; they can be integrated as shown in Figure 4.5. The intersection of work packages and the organization unit creates a project control point (cost account) that integrates work and responsibility. For example, at level 5, Touch Sensors has three work packages that have been assigned to the Design, Quality Control Test, and Production Departments. The intersection of the WBS and OBS represents the set of work packages necessary to complete the subdeliverable located immediately above and the organization unit on the left responsible for accomplishing the packages at the intersection. Note that the Design Department is responsible for five different work packages across the Hardware and Touch Screen deliverables.
Later we will use the intersection as a cost account for management control of projects. For example, the Cameras element requires the completion of work packages whose primary responsibility will include the Design, QC Test, Production, and Outsourcing Departments. Control can be checked from two directions—outcomes and responsibility. In the execution phase of the project, progress can be tracked vertically on deliverables (client’s interest) and tracked horizontally by organization responsibility (owner’s interest).
Gaining the maximum usefulness of a breakdown structure depends on a coding system. The codes are used to define levels and elements in the WBS, organization elements, work packages, and budget and cost information. The codes allow reports to be consolidated at any level in the structure. The most commonly used scheme in practice is numeric indention. A portion of the E-Slim Tablet x-13 Prototype project is presented in Exhibit 4.1.
Note that the project identification is 1.0. Each successive indention represents a lower element or work package. Ultimately the numeric scheme reaches down to the work package level, and all tasks and elements in the structure have an identification code. The “cost account” is the focal point because all budgets, work assignments, time, cost, and technical performance come together at this point.
This coding system can be extended to cover large projects. Additional schemes can be added for special reports. For example, adding a “23” after the code could indicate a site location, an elevation, or a special account such as labor. Some letters can be used as special identifiers such as “M” for materials or “E” for engineers.