1 Take Aways

• Why breaking a project into tasks is a good idea
• Defining tasks
  • What is the work to be done?
• Subprojects as milestones and milestones as groups of tasks
  • Milestones designate a major deliverable for development and its associated schedule and budget
• Understanding the work breakdown structure (WBS)
• Determining the right WBS levels for your project

2 Why Break a Project into Tasks?

• Puts work into most logical sequence
• Modularizing the project into manageable segments
• Determines the skills needed
• Allows communication of work to be done
• Ensures that all the work sequences are identified and understood

3 What is a Task?

• Represents some relative package of work completed toward getting the work done
• Should be unambiguous
• All work should occur within a sequential or parallel time frame
• Should only include work related items
• Should use the same team members

4 The Work Plan

• Identify the major tasks
• Organize tasks in logical sequence
• Identify team members
• Identify resources
• Communicate work to be done
• Organize related tasks into logical milestones

5 The WBS

Organizational chart for the project - tree method - outline method

6 The Network Diagram

Explains at a glance how the work on the project goes together

• shows sequences and relationships among tasks
• Identifies relationships of milestones
• Shows interrelationships of tasks in different levels of hierarchy
• Establishes a vehicle for scheduling
• Helps reduce uncertainty

7 Five Steps to Creating a Network Diagram

• List tasks using task list or WBS
• Establish relationships between tasks
• Identify milestones
• Layout tasks and milestones as a network
• Review logic

8 Resources Review

• People
• Money
• Equipment
• Facilities
• Materials and Supplies
• Information
• Technology

9 Schedule Charting

• Listings
• Calendar Charts
• Gantt Charts
• Milestone Schedules

10 The Critical Path

• Sequence of tasks that forms the longest duration of the project
  • a task delayed on the critical path delays project
  • other tasks are more flexible
• Easy to determine with a good network diagram - Critical path worksheet, ideal schedule worksheet