Chapter 04 - Defining The Project

Chapter 4

DEFINING THE PROJECT

Chapter Outline

1. Step 1: Defining the Project Scope

A. Employing a Project Scope Checklist
2. Step 2: Establishing Project Priorities
3. Step 3: Creating the Work Breakdown Structure
A. Major Groupings Found in a WBS
B. How WBS Helps the Project Manager
C. WBS Development
4. Step 4: Integrating the WBS with the Organization
5. Step 5: Coding the WBS for the Information System
6. Responsibility Matrices
7. Project Communication Plan
8. Summary
9. Key terms
10. Review Questions
11. Exercises
12. Case: Manchester United Soccer Club
13. Case: WSEU

Chapter Objectives

 To recognize the importance of a complete scope statement acceptable to your

customer as a condition for project success
 To layout guidelines for creating a WBS for a project
 To demonstrate the importance of WBS to the management of projects and how it
serves as a database for planning and control
 To demonstrate how the OBS establishes accountability to organizational units
 To apply a WBS to a case or suggested project
 To recognize the process for setting up a communication plan.

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Review Questions

1. What are the six elements of a typical scope statement?

a. Project objective
b. Deliverables
c. Milestones
d. Technical requirements
e. Limits and exclusions
f. Reviews with customer.

2. What questions does a project objective answer? What would be an example of

a good project objective?

The project objectives answers what, when, and how much. To replace the Willamette
bridge by August 3rd at a cost not to exceed $1.5 million.

3. What does it mean if the priorities of a project include: Time–constrain, Scope-

accept, and Cost–enhance?

The project must be completed on a specific date, the scope can be scaled back in
order to meet cost and time objectives, and when possible seek opportunities to
reduce costs.

4. What kinds of information are included in a work package?

Work packages include the following types of information:

a. Work to accomplish a segment of the project

b. Time to accomplish the work package
c. Time-phased budget for the work package and total cost to complete the work
package
d. Resources needed to complete the work package
e. Single person responsible for accomplishment of the work package
f. Monitoring points for measuring progress during implementation of the work
package
g. Any specifications critical to the work package.

5. When would it be appropriate to create a responsibility matrix rather than a

full-blown WBS?

On smaller projects where verbal, face-to-face communication is possible, a

responsibility matrix should be adequate. Sometimes a responsibility matrix is used
for a segment of a project or one in which a team wishes to stress responsibility.

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6. How does a communication plan benefit management of projects?

The advantage of establishing a communication plan is that instead of responding to

information requests you are controlling the flow of information. Keeping
stakeholders informed with timely information reduces confusion, unnecessary
interruptions, and can provide project managers greater autonomy. Why? Because
by reporting on a regular basis how things are going and what is happening, you
allow senior management to feel more comfortable about letting the team complete
the project without interference

Exercises

1. You are in charge of organizing a dinner-dance concert for a local charity. You
have reserved a hall that will seat 30 couples and have hired a jazz combo.
a. Develop a scope statement for this project that contains examples of all the
elements. Assume that the event will occur in 4 weeks and provide your best
guess estimate of the dates for milestones.

This exercise is not intended to produce a comprehensive scope statement but to test
students’ ability to correctly identify the right kind of information for each element.

Sample Scope Statement

Project Objective: Organize a dinner dance for 30 couples by March xx at a cost

not greater than yy to raise money for a local charity.
Deliverables:
• 60 Catered dinners
• Jazz combo
• Rented hall
• Tickets
Milestones:
 Rent hall by x
 Sell 30 tickets by y
 Arrange caterer by z
Technical Requirements:
• Hall has sufficient space for tables and dance floor
• Convenient parking available
• Hall has infrastructure to support catered dinner and jazz combo
• Meals include vegetarian option
Limits and Exclusions:
• Caterer responsible for preparing, serving, and clean-up
• Ticket price set to generate at least $50 profit per couple
• Jazz combo responsible for sound system
• Event transpire between 7:00 – 12:00am
Customer Review: Charity official

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b. What would the priorities likely be for this project?

Once the date is selected the project is time-constrain, scope-accept, and cost-
enhance.

2. In small groups, identify real life examples of a project that would fit each of the
following priority scenarios:

a. Time-constrain, Scope-enhance, Cost-accept

 A wealthy wedding or New Year's Eve party
 Political campaign

b. Time-accept, Scope-constrain, Cost-accept

 A new line of bulletproof clothing
 Public construction of a bridge

c. Time-constrain, Scope-accept, Cost-enhance

 Cure for AIDs
 Fuel efficient engine
 Longer lasting battery for laptop computers

3. Develop a WBS for a project in which you are going to build a bicycle. Try to
identify all of the major components and provide three levels of detail.

Below is a student’s example:

WBS for Bicycle

Bicycle

Frame Gears Wheel Brakes

Handle
Body Seat Sprocket Shifter Tires Rim Spokes Front Back
Bars

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4. You are the father or mother of a family of four (kids ages 13 and 15) planning a
weekend camping trip. Develop a responsibility matrix for the work that needs
to be done prior to starting your trip.

This exercise is usually easily done by students. The exercise is frequently used as a
homework assignment. Be prepared for many different approaches to a camping trip.
Be sure the student selects activities that have clear start and end points.

Partial responsibility matrix:

Task Date Father Mother Son Daughter

Research sites R S S
Decide on site S R S S
Reserve site R
Shopping list S R S S
Purchase supplies R S
Pack camping equipment S R
Pack fishing gear S R
Fill car with gas R
Get cash R

5. Develop a WBS for a local stage play. Be sure to identify the deliverables and
organizational units (people) responsible. How would you code your system?
Give an example of the work packages in one of your cost accounts. Develop a
corresponding OBS which identifies who is responsible for what.

The stage play is a good team or small group exercise. Developing a WBS for a local
stage play is a project to which most groups can easily relate. Many forms of WBS
structure will be presented. We usually give the teams a blank WBS/OBS
transparency (and pens) so each team can present their breakdown to the class. The
exercise usually points out the difficulty of defining “deliverables.” For most
purposes a “milestone” can typically be used as a deliverable. Be careful that
deliverables do not present organization departments, e.g., engineering, design.

6. Use an example of a project you are familiar with or are interested in. Identify
the deliverables and organizational units (people) responsible. How would you
code your system? Give an example of the work packages in one of your cost
accounts.

This exercise reinforces the idea of the WBS/OBS matrix as a method for organizing
a database for planning and control. Check student structure to ensure deliverables
are something any project team member could clearly identify; and, if possible, the
deliverable should be something you can easily see or touch.

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7. Develop a communication plan for an airport security project. The project

entails installing the hardware and software system that (1) scans a passenger’s
eyes, (2) fingerprints the passenger, and (3) transmits the information to a
central location for evaluation.

Below is a plan developed by a student. Students typically come up with plans that
are far more detailed. (Sometimes even controversial!) If this an in-class exercise,
we wrap up the exercise by reviewing the process suggested in the text and
comparing it to the class plan. Closure ends with a question such as: “If you do not
develop a formal communication plan, what are the chances of poor coordination and
problems not being identified in time for correction?”

8. Go to an Internet search engine (e.g., Google) and type in “project

communication plan.” Check three or four that have “.gov” as their source.
How are they similar or dissimilar? What would be your conclusion concerning
the importance of an internal communication plan?

They are all designed to meet the needs of the type of projects the group executes.
The design of most plans follows the process outlined in the chapter. Check out State
IT groups, transportation, universities.

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9. This exercise is designed to teach students how to write a professional scope statement
for a project. Most students are able to correct obvious errors. Subtle and questionable
errors are more challenging and provide teaching moments.

The short case can be used as a take-home assignment or as an in-class exercise. If the
latter, we recommend that you have students critique the scope statement on their own
and compare their work with 2-4 students in class. The instructor then facilitates the
discussion by recording corrections either on a transparency or a projected Word
document. Voting can be used to resolve disagreements.

While it is important to note that scope statements vary from one industry to the next,
below are suggested revisions and explanations based on the description of a scope
statement presented in the text.

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Case
Manchester United Soccer Club

This case is designed to illustrate the importance of creating a Work Breakdown Structure
(WBS) for a project and to provide students with an opportunity to practice creating such
a breakdown. Most students have little difficulty identifying the major deliverables
associated with hosting a soccer tournament.

This case can either be used as a take-home assignment or as an in-class exercise. If the
latter, we recommend that you have students develop a preliminary WBS on their own
and then compare their work with one or two other students in class. The instructor then
facilitates the construction of a WBS on the blackboard by using the suggestions offered
by the students.

1. Make a list of the major deliverables for the project and use them to develop a
draft of the work breakdown structure for the tournament that contains at least
three levels of detail. What are the major deliverables associated with hosting an
event such as a soccer tournament?

Students construct a WBS using the hierarchical box format or the coding scheme (1
Soccer Tournament, 1.1 Field, 1.1.1 Goals). Students should be reminded to focus on
deliverables and to break each deliverable into subcomponents as they proceed to the
next level of the WBS. One common mistake is to identify groups of people (grounds
crew, tournament committee) and not what they accomplish (deliverables). A second
issue is level of detail or how many levels the WBS has that goes no farther than 3 or
4 levels, while the subcommittee responsible for fields may break their deliverable
even further.

See Transparency section for a student’s example of a WBS.

2. How would developing a WBS alleviate some of the problems that occurred
during the first meeting and help Nicolette organize and plan the project?

Students are quick to point out that the WBS would provide structure to the
discussion. Instead of the free-for-all that occurred, the WBS would provide an
agenda for discussing different elements of the project. The WBS would also be
useful for assigning subcommittees responsible for each major deliverable.

3. Where can Nicolette find additional information to help her develop a WBS for
the tournament?

Because other soccer clubs have successfully hosted youth tournaments, she should
contact nearby clubs and request planning information developed over the years.
Clubs that annually hold summer tournaments are likely to have comprehensive
checklists that would be a rich source of information in developing Manchester’s
tournament plan.

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4. How could Nicolette and her task force use the WBS to generate cost estimates
for the tournament? Why would this be useful information?

By breaking down the major deliverables associated with a soccer tournament into
more detailed subcomponents, the planners are unlikely to ignore cost items as well
as have sufficient information to formulate cost estimates. With the exception of the
referees, the tournament will rely on volunteer labor. Therefore, the task force should
be able to identify specific cost items (printing brochures, trophies, field rental,
equipment rental, etc).

Tabulating cost estimates would provide a basis for doing a breakeven analysis and
help the task force make important decisions such as entry fee and ideal size of the
tournament (number of teams and games) as well as make specific decisions
regarding items such as medals versus trophies and color versus black and white
brochures.
__________________________________________________________

TRANSPARENCIES

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SAMPLE WBS
Soccer Tournament

Teams Referees Fields Management Sales Sponsors Prizes

Infrastructure

Field A Field B Field C

Goals Mowed Lined Flags 3 Soccer Balls Medical Kit

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