Work Breakdown Structure
Visit https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog871/l5_p3.html Links to an external site.Penn State’s College of Earth and Minceral Sciences’ website. Read: The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). From the scenario provided on the site, examine the process of subdivision of activities and events that compose the tree diagram known as the WBS. Next, explain the reasons(S) why at levels 4-6 of the WBS, as discussed in the Kerzner text, templates may not be appropriate. Provide a rationale for your response. In addition to the WBS task hierarchy, you may create a Gantt Chart showing bars for task timing to help in your understanding and explanation. The Gantt Chart should show important information about the tasks, include task number, task name, start and finish dates, along with Gantt bars graphically showing the timing of each task and the connections of tasks based on dependencies. Next Prepare an argument for or against the functional manager’s role in establishing the first three (3) levels of the WBS. Support your position with a real-world example.
Sample Solution
The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a tree diagram that divides the project into smaller, more manageable components. It is used to help break down large projects into smaller tasks so they can be organized and managed more efficiently. In this report, I will examine the process of subdivision of activities and events that compose the WBS from Penn State’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences website and explain why templates may not be appropriate at levels 4-6 of the WBS as discussed in the Kerzner text.
According to Penn State’s website, “the WBS begins with a top-level hierarchy consisting of three major steps for completing a project: initiation, planning, and execution/monitoring & controlling” (Penn State University 2019). The second level consists of key milestones related to each major step such as setting up contracts or developing detailed plans. The third level then breaks down each milestone into activities such as performing research or designing a prototype. Finally, fourth to sixth levels further subdivide these activities by specific tasks like conducting interviews or creating drawings.
At these lower levels 4-6, templates may not be appropriate because there is often too much detail involved in executing tasks at these stages for them to fit within predefined standards set out by a template. For example, different situations may require unique approaches that do not conform to existing models or frameworks; it would be impossible for one template to accurately account for all variables present in any given situation. Furthermore, templates are often limited in terms of their flexibility—they lack room for improvisation which could hinder progress if certain issues arise during implementation.
In conclusion, we can see that the WBS provides an excellent framework for breaking down complex projects into their component parts so they are easier to manage and complete successfully. However when examining processes at levels 4-6 where additional detail is needed due to individual circumstances it becomes necessary break away from using templates as they simply cannot provide specificity required . Therefore successful completion any given task requires careful thought consideration before taking action.
