January 2020 Page 1 Of 5 Project Fields To Include In ITP De

January 2020page 1 Of 5project Fields To Include In Itp Deliverablesco

Develop a comprehensive project Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) utilizing Microsoft Project based on the project charter and specified scope. The WBS must encompass all necessary tasks to complete the project scope, including technical IT work and project management activities. Create the WBS in Microsoft Project (.mpp format), ensuring it includes at least 10 major summary tasks and 60 lower-level subtasks, all expressed with single-verb statements and properly indented. Do not assign hard-coded durations to summary tasks; durations should be input only for the lowest-level subtasks, with estimates in whole numbers of minutes, hours, days, or weeks. Confirm that the project has a single start and end milestone and includes a logical, sequential flow. Use the Notes feature and two additional Microsoft Project features to enhance documentation.

Configure Microsoft Project before beginning: set calendar options, scheduling, and calculation settings to match provided specifications. Decompose the project into manageable work packages, considering the suggested Level 2 elements such as system design, hardware, software, networking, testing, and project management. Collaborate with teammates on major tasks, but each member is responsible for their individual WBS file, which should be named with their last name and "ITP-1".

Following the creation of the WBS, answer in a detailed Word document (also named with your last name and "ITP-1") the following questions in a comprehensive, senior-level writing style:

1. Does your WBS include all tasks from the team’s charter and deliverables? Are there additional tasks? How did you determine these?
2. Does the WBS include project management tasks?
3. Was the WBS developed top-down or bottom-up? Define the approach and justify your choice.
4. Is your WBS product-oriented, process-oriented, or another type? How did this influence your method?
5. Did you initially prepare your WBS as an outline in Word or Excel, or only use Project? How did the approach affect your workflow?
6. Did you visualize the WBS graphically or tabularly? Why?
7. Did you collaborate with teammates on major task determination or work individually? How effective was this? Discuss plans for team management of WBS for future assignments.

Submit both the Microsoft Project (.mpp) file and the Word document answering the questions, including your name in the filenames, via the assignment portal. Ensure the WBS meets all criteria for completeness, logical flow, proper task decomposition, timing estimates, and documentation. Use at least two credible academic references to guide your WBS development, and cite them appropriately. Proper spelling, grammar, and formatting are crucial as they significantly impact grading.

Paper For Above instruction

The creation of a detailed Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a foundational activity in effective project management, especially within complex IT projects. It serves as a hierarchical decomposition of the project's scope into manageable work packages, enabling better planning, scheduling, resource allocation, and risk management. This paper elucidates the process and rationale behind developing a comprehensive WBS in alignment with the specified project scope, emphasizing methodological choices, collaborative approaches, and documentation standards.

Initiating the WBS development process begins with a thorough review of the project charter and scope statement. These foundational documents define the project's primary objectives, deliverables, and constraints, guiding the identification of all necessary tasks to fulfill the scope. Following this, the project manager and team decompose the high-level objectives into major deliverables or phases, further subdivided into discrete work packages. The suggested Level 2 elements, such as system design, hardware, software, networking, testing, and project management, serve as logical starting points, ensuring comprehensive coverage.

Adopting a hierarchical, top-down approach streamlines the creation process, allowing the team to systematically break down broad activities into detailed tasks. This approach facilitates clarity of scope, better resource estimation, and easier control of project activities. Alternative bottom-up methods are less common at this stage but can supplement the top-down framework by adding lower-level tasks based on team expertise and experience. The choice of top-down development supports alignment with project objectives and ensures all stakeholder needs are addressed cohesively.

The WBS should be product-oriented rather than process-oriented, aligning with PMI standards that recommend organizing work around deliverables. A product-oriented WBS emphasizes tangible outputs and results, fostering clearer scope definitions and easier tracking. Conversely, a process-oriented WBS, structured around phases such as requirements, development, and testing, may be suitable for certain methodologies like SDLC but can obscure scope boundaries. The decision hinges on project complexity, clarity of deliverables, and stakeholder preferences.

Preparation of the WBS often benefits from an initial outline created in familiar tools like Word or Excel. Visualizing the tasks hierarchically in outline form aids in spotting omissions and logical sequencing. Subsequently, translating this outline into Microsoft Project enables detailed scheduling, resource assignment, and timeline development. During this transition, team members may find that rearranging task order or decomposing tasks further enhances clarity and manageability. The graphical, organizational chart-style view in Project complements the tabular outline, providing insights into task dependencies and critical paths.

Team collaboration is vital in ensuring the WBS’s completeness and accuracy. In practice, major tasks are often identified collectively, with individual team members responsible for detailed development within assigned areas. This division of labor enhances efficiency and leverages expertise, but requires effective communication and integration mechanisms. In future assignments, teams can adopt shared editing, version control, and regular review sessions to consolidate individual contributions into a cohesive, comprehensive WBS.

The meticulous documentation of the WBS, including descriptions, durations (estimated as whole numbers of minutes, hours, days, or weeks), and task dependencies, underpins effective project scheduling and control. Incorporating Microsoft Project features like notes and custom columns enhances communication, accountability, and traceability. Ensuring consistent formatting, logical task sequencing, and realistic time estimates significantly contributes to project success.

In conclusion, constructing a detailed and well-structured WBS necessitates careful planning, methodical decomposition, and collaborative effort. Coupled with clear documentation and strategic use of project management tools, the WBS lays the groundwork for efficient project execution and control. As projects grow in complexity, maintaining this rigor and clarity becomes even more critical in achieving desired outcomes within scope, time, and budget constraints.

References

• Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th ed.). PMI.
• Kerzner, H. (2017). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling (12th ed.). Wiley.
• Heldman, K. (2018). PMP Project Management Professional Exam Study Guide (8th ed.). Sybex.
• Wideman, R. M. (1992). Project Management Architecture. Project Management Journal, 23(2), 3–19.
• Larson, E., & Gray, C. (2017). Project Management: The Managerial Process (7th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
• PMI. (2015). Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures. PMI.
• Omichi, Y., & Mukaidono, M. (2010). Construction of a Process-Oriented WBS for Software Projects. International Journal of Software Engineering & Applications.
• Ferraro, L. (2019). Effective WBS Construction for IT Projects. Journal of Information Technology & Software Engineering.
• Haughey, D. (2009). How to Create a Successful Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Project Smart.
• Schwalbe, K. (2015). Information Technology Project Management (8th ed.). Cengage.