Week 8 Assignment: Project Proposal, WBS, And Schedule

Week 8 Assignment Project Proposal Wbs And Project Schedule

In the assignment due in Week 5, you defined key portions of your project. Now, it is time to develop a work breakdown structure (WBS) and project schedule for your project. You will create a WBS that includes graphical elements of the project scope, including the project, major deliverables, supporting deliverables, and lowest-level activities. Each deliverable from the four levels should be detailed with associated start and end dates, required resources, and communication strategies for stakeholders. Additionally, develop a project network illustrating communication flows targeting stakeholders with specific timing and content, ensuring an effective project plan.

Paper For Above instruction

Developing a comprehensive project management plan necessitates detailed work breakdown structures (WBS), schedules, and communication plans, all tailored to ensure clarity, coordination, and stakeholder engagement. This paper outlines the process of constructing a WBS, assigning schedules to each activity, and devising a communication strategy aligned with project deliverables, with emphasis on graphical representation and stakeholder communication.

Introduction

Effective project management hinges on the ability to decompose complex activities into manageable units, develop a schedule that aligns activities with timelines and resources, and establish a communication framework that ensures all stakeholders are adequately informed. The WBS is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work, which facilitates clearer planning and control (PMI, 2017). Coupled with a detailed schedule and communication plan, the project can be steered towards successful completion. This paper first discusses the development of a graphical WBS, proceeds to outline the project schedule for each activity, and concludes with designing stakeholder communication strategies, culminating in an integrated project management approach.

Developing the Work Breakdown Structure

The WBS begins with the overarching project at Level 1, which encapsulates the entire scope. The project scope includes major deliverables subdivided into specific supporting deliverables and tasks. For illustrative purposes, this project concerns the implementation of a new customer relationship management (CRM) system in a mid-sized organization.

The Level 1 element is "CRM System Implementation." Under this, three Level 2 deliverables include "System Design," "System Development," and "System Deployment." Each Level 2 deliverable is further broken into Level 3 supporting deliverables—for example, "Requirements Gathering," "System Customization," and "Training." Supporting deliverables at Level 4 encompass detailed activities such as "Stakeholder Interviews," "Coding," "Testing," and "User Training Sessions." Graphical tools such as MS Visio or Excel can be employed to visualize this hierarchy graphically, with clear labels and consistent formatting ensuring readability.

The graphical depiction should display the hierarchy from project to deliverables and activities, illustrating dependencies and flow of work. Use dashed lines to represent dependencies and arrows to show the sequence of activities, aligning with best practices in project scope management (Schwalbe, 2018).

Assigning the Project Schedule

For each identified activity in the WBS levels, detailed scheduling is essential. Start and end dates should be realistic, allowing for resource availability and potential risks. Resources—such as project team members, external vendors, and equipment—must be allocated accordingly.

For instance, "Stakeholder Interviews" may be scheduled from January 10 to January 15, requiring the Business Analyst and IT Lead. "Coding" could span February 1 to March 15, involving the Software Developers. "Training Sessions" might occur in April, requiring trainers and end-users.

Developing a Gantt chart or similar visual timeline facilitates tracking overlaps, dependencies, and critical path activities. Tools like Microsoft Project or Excel Scheduler enable assigning start/end dates and resources while visually displaying project timelines (Kerzner, 2017).

Moreover, it is vital to identify the critical path to prioritize activities that could delay project completion. Resource level planning should balance workload and avoid bottlenecks, ensuring smooth progression of activities (Meredith & Mantel, 2017). Each activity should also include resource requirements, including personnel, hardware, and software, to support effective scheduling.

Designing Communication Strategies

An integral part of project success is effective stakeholder communication. The project network should include at least three communication examples targeting distinct stakeholder groups, specifying the recipient, timing, content, and communication method.

• Stakeholder Report: Targeted at senior management, scheduled monthly, containing project progress, risk assessments, and upcoming milestones, communicated via email and presentation meetings.
• Team Briefings: Weekly meetings for project team members to discuss ongoing tasks, obstacles, and future plans via video conferencing or in-person meetings.
• End-User Training Announcements: Sent two weeks prior to training sessions with session details and preparatory materials via email and intranet postings.

These communication pieces ensure stakeholder engagement, transparency, and timely information flow critical for project alignment and risk mitigation (Bourne, 2015). The communication plan should specify stakeholder needs, preferred communication channels, frequency, and responsible personnel, all integrated into the project schedule.

Conclusion

Constructing a detailed WBS, aligning it with a practical schedule, and establishing an effective communication plan are foundational steps to achieve project objectives. Graphical visualization of WBS enhances clarity, while detailed scheduling with resource allocations and stakeholder communication strategies ensures coordinated effort and transparency. The integrated approach promotes project success through strategic planning and stakeholder engagement, aligning with best practices in project management (PMBOK Guide, 2021).

References

• Bourne, L. (2015). Stakeholder Relationship Management: A Maturity Model for Organisational Implementation. CRC Press.
• Kerzner, H. (2017). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. Wiley.
• Meredith, J. R., & Mantel, S. J. (2017). Project Management: A Managerial Approach. Wiley.
• PMBOK Guide. (2021). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (7th ed.). Project Management Institute.
• PMI. (2017). Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures. Project Management Institute.
• Schwalbe, K. (2018). Information Technology Project Management. Cengage Learning.
• Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition.
• Kerzner, H. (2017). Using the Project Management Maturity Model. Wiley.
• Schwalbe, K. (2018). Information Technology Project Management. Cengage Learning.
• PMI. (2021). The Standard for Risk Management in Portfolios, Programs, and Projects. Project Management Institute.