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. A Simple WBS Development 4. Step 4: Integrating the WBS with the Organization 5. Step 5: Coding the WBS for the Information System 6. Process Breakdown Structure 7. Responsibility Matrices 8. Project Communication Plan 9. Summary 10. Key terms 11. Review Questions 12. Exercises 13. Case 4.1: Manchester United Soccer Club 14. Case 4.2: The Home Improvement Project Chapter Learning Objectives After reading this chapter you should be able to: LO 4-1 Identify key elements of a project scope statement and understand why a complete scope statement is critical to project success. LO 4-2 Understand why it is important to establish project priorities in terms of cost, time, and performance. LO 4-3 Demonstrate the importance of WBS to the management of projects and how it serves as a data base for planning and control. LO 4-4 To demonstrate how the OBS establishes accountability to organizational units. LO 4-5 Describe a Process Breakdown Structure (PBS) and when to use it. LO 4-6 Create responsibility matrices for small projects. LO 4-7 Create a communication plan for a project. Review Questions 1. What are the six elements of a typical scope statement? Project objective Deliverables Milestones Technical requirements Limits and exclusions 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: Work to accomplish a segment of the project Time to accomplish the work package Time-phased budget for the work package and total cost to complete the work package Resources needed to complete the work package Single person responsible for accomplishment of the work package Monitoring points for measuring progress during implementation of the work package 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. 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 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: 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 template (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. Project Title: Website Development for a Small Business Project Objective: The objective of this project is to develop a new website for a small business to improve online presence and attract more customers. Deliverables: 1. Website Design 2. Website Development 3. Content Creation 4. Testing and Quality Assurance 5. Website Launch Organizational Units (People) Responsible: 1. Website Development Team • Web Designer • Web Developer • Content Writer • Quality Assurance Tester • Project Manager Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) with Cost Account Codes: 1. Website Development Project (WDP) 1.1 Website Design (WD) • 1.1.1 Design Mockups (WD-DM) • 1.1.2 Logo Design (WD-LD) • 1.1.3 Color Scheme Selection (WD-CS) • 1.1.4 Font Selection (WD-FS) 1.2 Website Development (DEV) • 1.2.1 Frontend Development (DEV-FE) • 1.2.2 Backend Development (DEV-BE) • 1.2.3 Database Setup (DEV-DB) • 1.2.4 Integration of CMS (DEV-CMS) 1.3 Content Creation (CC) • 1.3.1 About Us Page (CC-AU) • 1.3.2 Services Page (CC-SP) • 1.3.3 Products Page (CC-PP) • 1.3.4 Contact Page (CC-CP) 1.4 Testing and Quality Assurance (QA) • 1.4.1 Functional Testing (QA-FT) • 1.4.2 Compatibility Testing (QA-CT) • 1.4.3 Performance Testing (QA-PT) • 1.4.4 Usability Testing (QA-UT) 1.5 Website Launch (WL) • 1.5.1 Domain Registration and Hosting Setup (WL-DH) • 1.5.2 Final Review and Approval (WL-FR) • 1.5.3 Website Deployment (WL-DE) • 1.5.4 Post-Launch Support (WL-PS) Example Work Package: 1.3.2 Services Page (CC-SP) • Write content for services offered by the business. • Include descriptions, images, and pricing information. • Ensure content is SEO-friendly and aligns with the overall website design. • Responsible Person: Content Writer • Estimated Duration: 3 days • Estimated Cost: $300 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?” Hand and Eye Airport Security Installation Project Communication Plan What information Frequency Mode Assigned to Recipient High level status report Monthly Meetings Project manager and project office Airport authority, airlines, funding agencies, Homeland Security Status report-time, cost, quality Weekly email Project manager and project office Airport authority, airlines, funding agencies Scope changes As needed Meeting Design contractors, project manager Airport authority, airlines, funding agencies, Homeland Security Issues, risks, change report Weekly email Project manager and project office Contractor, design architect Team status reports Weekly email Team recorder Staff, team members Contractor performance report Bi-monthly Meeting Project manager Project office, contractor, funding agencies, airport authority Change requests Weekly Document Project manager, contractors, design Project office, airport authority Training status Monthly Document Human Resource Department Airport authority, airlines, funding agencies, Homeland Security 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? Sample Project Communication Plan: 1. Objectives: • Ensure all stakeholders are informed about project progress, changes, and important decisions. • Establish clear channels of communication to facilitate efficient and effective information exchange. • Provide a mechanism for stakeholders to provide feedback, ask questions, and express concerns. 2. Stakeholders: • Project Sponsor • Project Team Members • Department Managers • End Users • Key Customers • Vendors/Suppliers 3. Communication Channels: • Project Kickoff Meeting: • Purpose: Introduce project objectives, scope, and team members. • Frequency: Once at the beginning of the project. • Regular Project Status Meetings: • Purpose: Review project status, achievements, issues, and upcoming milestones. • Frequency: Weekly/bi-weekly. • Email Updates: • Purpose: Provide regular updates on project progress, changes, and upcoming events. • Frequency: Weekly/bi-weekly. • Project Dashboard: • Purpose: Provide real-time project status, metrics, and key performance indicators (KPIs). • Accessibility: Shared drive or project management software. • Department Meetings: • Purpose: Provide updates to department managers and solicit feedback. • Frequency: Monthly/quarterly. 4. Key Messages: • Project objectives, scope, and timeline. • Project milestones and achievements. • Potential risks, issues, and mitigation strategies. • Change management processes. • Opportunities for stakeholder involvement and feedback. 5. Responsible Parties: • Project Manager: Overall responsibility for communication plan implementation. • Project Team Members: Provide updates on their respective tasks and activities. • Department Managers: Disseminate project information within their departments and provide feedback to the project team. • Project Sponsor: Support project manager in communication efforts and decision-making. 6. Communication Schedule: • Project Kickoff Meeting: Date: [Insert Date] • Regular Project Status Meetings: Day: [Insert Day] Time: [Insert Time] • Email Updates: Frequency: Weekly/bi-weekly. • Project Dashboard: Accessibility: [Insert Link] Update Frequency: Real-time/weekly. • Department Meetings: Frequency: Monthly/quarterly. 7. Feedback Mechanism: • Surveys • Feedback Forms • Open Forum Discussions • One-on-One Meetings 8. Evaluation: • Regularly review the effectiveness of communication channels. • Solicit feedback from stakeholders and adjust the communication plan as needed. • Ensure that communication remains transparent, timely, and relevant throughout the project lifecycle. Creating an internal communication plan is vital for project success as it ensures that all stakeholders are informed, engaged, and aligned with project objectives. It helps in avoiding misunderstandings, resolving conflicts, and ensuring that the project stays on track. Effective communication fosters collaboration, boosts morale, and ultimately contributes to the successful delivery of the project. 9. Your roommate is about to submit a scope statement for a spring concert sponsored by the entertainment council at Western Evergreen State University (WESU). WESU is a residential university with over 22,000 students. This will be the first time in six years since WESU sponsored a spring concert. The entertainment council has budgeted $40,000 for the project. The event is to occur on June 5th. Since your roommate knows you are taking a class on project management she has asked you to review her scope statement and make suggestions for improvement. She considers the concert a resume-building experience and wants to be as professional as possible. Below is a draft of her scope statement. What suggestions would you make and why? 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 whiteboard 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. Case 4.1 Manchester United Soccer Club Nicolette Larson was loading the dishwasher with her husband, Kevin, and telling him about the first meeting of the Manchester United Tournament Organizing Committee. Nicolette, a self-confessed “soccer mom,” had been elected tournament director and was responsible for organizing the club’s first summer tournament. (Rest of case not shown due to length.) 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. A student’s example of a WBS is shown below. 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? Developing a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) would alleviate some of the problems that occurred during the first meeting and help Nicolette organize and plan the project in the following ways: 1. Clarifies Project Scope: • The WBS would help Nicolette clearly define the scope of the tournament project by breaking it down into smaller, manageable tasks and deliverables. This would prevent any confusion or misunderstanding about the project's objectives and requirements. 2. Identifies Major Deliverables: • By creating a WBS, Nicolette can identify all the major deliverables required for organizing the tournament, such as securing the venue, managing team registrations, arranging for facilities, recruiting officials, and promoting the event. This ensures that no essential tasks are overlooked. 3. Organizes Tasks Hierarchically: • The WBS organizes tasks hierarchically, breaking down the project into smaller, more manageable components. This would help Nicolette and the organizing committee members understand the project's structure and see how individual tasks contribute to the overall success of the tournament. 4. Assigns Responsibilities: • With a WBS in place, Nicolette can assign specific tasks and responsibilities to committee members more efficiently. Each task in the WBS can be assigned to a responsible individual or team, ensuring accountability and clarity about who is responsible for what. 5. Estimates Time and Resources: • By breaking down the project into smaller tasks, Nicolette can more accurately estimate the time, resources, and budget required for each task. This would help in better planning and scheduling of activities, preventing overruns and delays. 6. Facilitates Communication and Coordination: • The WBS serves as a visual representation of the project's structure, making it easier for Nicolette to communicate and coordinate with committee members, stakeholders, and volunteers. It provides a common understanding of the project's scope and requirements. 7. Helps in Risk Management: • Nicolette can identify potential risks and challenges more easily by analyzing each task and its dependencies in the WBS. This allows her to develop risk mitigation strategies and contingency plans to address any issues that may arise during the tournament planning and execution. In summary, developing a WBS would provide Nicolette with a structured approach to organizing and planning the tournament, helping her to better manage the project, allocate resources effectively, and ensure its successful execution. 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. 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, and so on). 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. Case 4.2 The Home Improvement Project Lukas Nelson and his wife Anne and their three daughters had been living in their house for over five years when they decided it was time to make some modest improvements. One area they both agreed needed an upgrade was the bath tub. Their current house had one standard shower bathtub combination. Lukas was 6 feet four, and could barely squeeze into it. In fact, he had taken only one bath since they moved in. He and Anne both missed soaking in the older, deep bath tubs they enjoyed when they lived back East. (Rest of case not shown due to length.) This case is based on one of the authors’ earlier encounters with scope creep (the natural tendency for projects to expand over time). The case is designed to illustrate some of the factors that contribute to scope creep, as well as provide a basis for discussing whether scope creep is necessarily a good or bad thing. Students typically have no problem relating to the case and we have found it useful to have students share their own experiences with scope creep. The case is short enough to be used as an in-class discussion activity or be assigned. What factors and forces contributed to scope creep in this case? There are many factors that contribute to scope creep on this project. The most notable one, is the relative inexperience of Nelson’s in doing a home improvement project. They did not anticipate the many of the consequences of simply installing a bath tub. Unintended consequences is a major driving force behind scope creep on most projects. The Nelson’s failed to look at the “big picture” and focused at first on simply installing a bathtub. The focus of the project appeared to change once the project started from purely functionality to where aesthetics played a more decisive role. Opportunities pop up on projects, and it is always tempting to take advantage of them (i.e. why not get a Jacuzzi instead of simple bath,). Without firm priorities, it is easy for humans to rationalize most changes. The Nelsons believed all of the changes would pay for themselves when it came time to sell their home. Is this an example of good or bad scope creep? Explain. The reality is that “it depends.” If the Nelsons can afford all the upgrades and truly enjoy them then this would be an example of good scope creep. Or, more correctly, poor planning in the first place. On the other hand, if the Nelsons cannot afford the upgrades or if they just wanted a bathtub and things got out-of-control, then this is an example of bad scope creep. Scope creep often happens as a result of “it should would be nice if…” and that appears to be exactly what happened here. Every single addition to the project appears to have improved the house for the Nelsons. While few home improvements pay for themselves when the house is sold, as long as the Nelsons enjoy the results and can afford them, then the scope creep can be seen in a positive light. The real test is, would the Nelsons have started the project in the first place had they known then what it would end up costing. If so, the scope creep was positive; otherwise, it was negative. How could scope creep been better managed by the Nelsons? There are two things the Nelsons should have done for each change in the plans and neither of them were actually done. The first is to come up with an estimated budget for the change so they can ask themselves if the change makes sense from a financial perspective. The tile, for example, was agreed to just because the contractor “knew a tile installer who needed work and would give them a good deal.” The second thing they should have considered for each change to the project was the implications of that change on the final project. At no point in the planning did they consider the impact of a Jacuzzi, with its increased water requirements, on the hot water system. And, when they agreed to tile the exercise room, they did not consider its impact on the adjacent bathroom. This lack of planning, along with their poor initial planning, caused them to spend far more on the project than they had planned. We like to end the discussion by asking students whether these factors are unique to this case or apply to other kinds of projects. Students should be see connections between these factors and other projects they have worked on or know about. Solution Manual for Project Management: The Managerial Process Erik Larson, Clifford F. Gray 9781259666094, 9780078096594
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