21-08-2012, 02:56 PM
The Work Breakdown Structure in Software Project Management
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ABSTRACT
The work breakdown structure (WBS) is a vehicle for
breaking an engineering project down into subproject,
tasks, subtasks, work packages, and so on. It is an important
planning tool which links objectives with resources
and activities in a logical framework. It becomes
an important status monitor during the actual implementation
as the completions of subtasks are measured
against the project plan. Whereas the WBS has been
widely used in many other engineering applications, it
has seemingly only rarely been formally applied to software
projects, for various reasons. Recent successes
with software project WBSs, however, have clearly indicated
that the technique can be applied and have
shown the benefits of such a tool in management of
these projects.
INTRODUCTION
If one were to be given the task of writing a program,
such as that structurally illustrated in Figure 1, in
which the target language instruction set was not intended
to be executed by some dumb computer, but.
instead. by intelligent human beings, then one might
be thought to have an easier job than colleagues who
write their programs for machines. However, a little
reflection will show that this job is much more difficult
for a number of reasons, among which are ambiguities
in the English language and a multitude of human f~-
tors [ I]. However, such a program, often named the
PLAN (Figure 2). is an essential part of almost every
industrial project slated for success.
REASONABLE SCHEDULE ACCURACY
A project engineer on a 2-year, lo-person task may
perhaps be able to manage as many as 876 subtasks,
each formally assigned and reported on. That
amounts to about one subtask completion per week
from each of the other nine workers; but the generation
of the descriptions for the 876 tasks will require
considerable effort. Moreover, it is unlikely that such
a detailed plan would have a u as large as one week;
if the project engineer is able to break the work accurately
into 876 week-long subtasks, task deviations
can probably be estimated to well within a week.
The ability of the project engineer (or planning
staff) to generate a clear and accurate WBS will determine
the level to which the WBS must be taken.
Greater accuracy of the work breakdown definition
produces greater understanding and clarity of the actions
necessary to complete task objectives. If the
work is understood, readily identified.