Work Breakdown Structure

Work breakdown structure (WBS) also referred to as contract work breakdown structure (CWBS): deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project that defines its scope into smaller components.

Because most project today are complex not as in the old days was easy to do it.

Because it involves multiple things like many people. So work breakdown structure (WBS) make it easier to project management because it is divided everything to process to focused on it and know what to do and when will that process end and managing any changes that happen to the project from inside or outside by stakeholders and it used by software like Microsoft project.

The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK 5) defines the work breakdown structure as an "A hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables."

Developing work breakdown structure (WBS):

• Using guidelines: Prescribe the content of work breakdown structure
• The analogy approach: Creating work breakdown structure
• The top-down approach: Largest item break it into subordinate
• The bottom-up approach: Find tasks relate to the project
• The mind mapping approach: Use to develops work breakdown structure
• Example of work breakdown structure
• Project communication management: Ensure time and collection of project management

The processes to ensure timely and planning, collection, creation, storage, retrieval, monitoring, and the ultimate disposition of project information. Project managers spend most of their time communicating with team members and other project stakeholders, whether they are internal (at all organizational levels) or external to the organization. Effective communication creates a bridge between diverse stakeholders who may have different cultural and organizational backgrounds, different levels of expertise, and different perspectives and interests, which impact or have an influence upon the project execution or outcome

The process of project communication management improve communication:

1. Planning. Determine the information needs of the stakeholders
2. Managing. Creating and storing of project communication
3. Controlling. Monitoring project communication

Communication methods:

1. Interactive communication: People meet to exchange information
2. Push communication: The information distributed but not received
3. Pull communication: Sent recipient request via websites and e-learning

Formal methods for communications:

Communication Methods. Interactive Communication:

Two or more people interact with each other. An individual provides information which is received by the other person who then responds to the information given by the individual. Meetings, conference calls, video conferences are examples of Interactive communication.

Push Communication:

Involves sending the information to the recipient with no expectation of receiving the feedback. This is a one-way streaming of information. Status reports, mass-mailers, project updates sent to a large population are examples of push communication.

Pull Communication:

The sender places the information at a central location (like a SharePoint or a shared drive) and the recipients responsible to use the information or need the information to retrieve the details from that location.

Control of Communications

The project manager needs to control the flow of communication and the information shared in the communication about 85-90% of the project managers time is spent on communicating Meetings There are several rules for meetings. Some of them are:

Meetings should have a time limit, and the project manager should keep to it. Recurring meetings should be scheduled in advance Meeting with the team should be regular (however, need not be often) Each meeting should have a specific purpose and agenda The agenda should be distributed to the meeting attendees before the meeting Team should stick to the agenda during meeting Team members and meet attendees should know their role in meetings beforehand (for example, one member could be the minute taker and the other could be a time-keeper) Meetings to include right audience Effective facilitation is required by project manager to chair and rules are to be kept in view For each action, the action owner and deliverable date to be assigned in the meeting Minutes to be documented and published

Communication Management Plan

A communication management plan documents how the project manager manages and controls communication. All stakeholder needs must be addressed. Communication management plan becomes a part of the project management plan.