WBS – validating project’s feasibility

By Eugenio, on June 8th, 2009

WBS

The WBS is one of the earliest “top-down” techniques in the project management.
To acquire the sufficient knowledge about the feasibility of an initiative, it is necessary to split it into smaller tasks. This action brings the following advantages:

Familiarizing with the topic. It could be visualized with a chain of thoughts that can either underlining the connections or suggesting new paths.
Testing the adequacy of initial assumptions.
As soon as the inventory has been completed, the “Occam’s razor” could be introduced for filtering the necessary tasks.

How it works

It is a matrix (spreadsheet) that contains a progressive division of the project’s tasks. Using a simple metaphor, it resembles to a filter composed of multiple sifts. The next mesh’s hole is littler than the previous.
The logic to be applied in the process of separating wheat from the chaff shall be based on the specific business needs. Therefore, all decisions to be taken during the whole projects shall be coherent with that logic. Having it clearly stated in a document (Business case) gives a solid common ground to all stakeholders.
The WBS helps the process of validating the Business Case through the confrontation of the benefits (reasons, delivery time and scope) with efforts.
The figures that fill the columns in have to be endorsed both by “customers” (and users) from one side of the stakeholders’ coin and by the “producers” (from developers up to the system engineers) from the other side.In essence, there are two mutual necessities that has to be satisfied:

The project’s result shall respond to the stated customers’ expectations.
The feasibility shall be endorsed by the project manager.

This process is based on few interactions (and negotiations) between the two groups’ representatives. It includes:

functionalities to be made available
Quality criteria (e.g. response time, security, reliability)
estimations (labour and other resources required to deliver the expected results)
Input for planning:

: Operational (Gantt); Quality (test); An introduction to the Risk analysis

It can be built using a spreadsheet. The sheet will be divided vertically into three different areas:

Scope (product definition and business value). (1-3)
Time (estimated to deliver the agreed output). (4-7)
Effort (people and machines) to be allocated during the project’s life.(8-9)

The list here below contains the values (operation) for each column. They are grouped by kind of information.

Outlining the product scope, using the business logic.: The product is split into the product’s commercial features.; The second one will receive the segmentation of the previous elements into smaller pieces that help the global envision of the outcome.; The third column contains the business value (to be calculated on the available budget) of each element.
Finding the time through the required tasks.: The fourth column are listed the major technical operations (from architecture design up to the implementation and training).; The fifth is filled in with the operational units of work. These tasks’ dimensions shall be big enough to produce meaningful features.
Detailing the time to be allocated for each task.: The sixth will be filled in with calculation of duration in terms of time.; The seventh contains the time-box number associated to each major task (i.e. when it will be completed).
Listing the effort: roles & people for each task.: The eighth is destined to receive the role responsible for the task to be carried out.; The last one contains the formula used to calculate the total allotted time (FTE) for each task to be multiplied for the cost of each assigned role.

WBS framed into project’s workflow

WBS w/flow

Some useful considerations

This is the first set of available information. They are framed into the product’s logic and then detailed into its single feature.

Business value for each “product” feature
- Transforming it in percentage makes easier to not exceed the 100% threshold).
- The value assigned to each feature gives grade of importance of it.
- (Sometimes there could be a big gap between the business value and the estimated required effort).
- See the Kano Model.
Estimated time for completing it
- This will be calculated and validated within the team, possibly against a history (whenever it could come from – e.g. previous similar projects or industry standards).
- From the fifth column ownward, all items are on the same row. This makes easier to confront the business value of each feature with the cost of required effort.
- The concept of “time-box” is borrowed by Agile methodologies.
- Here is proposed for easing the implementation of stage gate reviews
- When each component will be ready to be tested. (it is a prompt for the “users” to supply the boundary values).
Estimated effort (and related to arising potential issues)
- Some attention should be paid on the technical columns (4-5).
- There are some activities – from collecting requirements to help manual) that form the project’s overhead. My advice is to put them at in the first row; this will create a specific area. However, it is essential (for reducing the risks related to the resources’ allocation) that each task will be associated with the correct time-boxes.
- The necessary skills for fulfilling the task.
- In a separated sheet, the role shall be aligned with a detailed job description and the hourly cost.
. Once the result is approved, these data can be copied, with a bit of care, from the spreadsheet into MS Project in order to start the planning operations.

Risk analysis

The creation of the WBS is one of the earliest task in the project. Thus makes it the best point to start with the risk analysis. However, it is a nonsense to assume that all the job about the risk management is done.
These are the kind of risks that can be spotted:

One of the business drivers (scope or delivery time) are either not attainable or the margins are flimsy.
The initial planning, that has been carried out associating each task with the needed resources (people and machines) shows some kind of problems:
- a.The activities are crammed (conflicts between available resources and time-boxes)
- There are slacking times due to unavailability of resources.
- Whenever it is possible (due to the early status of the project), putting the name of the person to be assigned to the meaningful task helps the project manager in the process of evaluating the resources’ availability (one sources of risks).
- The person who will perform that task. Just remember that the project manager is the only accountable for the whole team.

Conclusion

The Work Breakdown Structure is the tool for doing the first “health check” for the project. Adding some more columns to the standard version enables the management throughout the whole project.

A PM's workshop