1 Project Milestones

2 Work Breakdown Structure

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

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

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

The WBS

• Organizational chart for the project
  • tree method
  • outline method

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

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

Resources Review

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

3 Product Development Process

Product development, perhaps the most complex of all the main business processes, takes place in an environment where:

• Conditions change over time.
• The pace of change is accelerating with e-Business.
• Each product has unique aspects and requirements.
• Consistent procedures do not guarantee a successful product.

Each new product will have its own mix of requirements:

• technical performance,
• cost trade-offs, and
• time-to-market.

A flexible product development process allows for these changes and leverages the ever-evolving environment to achieve the most benefit.

• Objective - what product will do
• Product environment – Where does it operate? Who are the customers?
• What is it (physically, functionally)? - How will it meet its objectives?

Product Design

• Functional details
• Architectural details
• Performance Specifications
• Testing approach

Product development, prototyping, testing

• Software/Hardware development
• Product documentation (design, test, users/maintenance manuals, etc)
• Prototype – Proof of Concept basis (or “platform”) for incremental/spiral development

Production review

• Production feasibility assessment
• Production plan and cost assessment

Product delivery - maintenance – update

• Testing and acceptance
• After-sales support
• Life-cycle maintenance/improvement plan