Exam 5: Project Scope Management
A(n) _____ is a document that describes detailed information about each WBS item.
WBS dictionary
List and briefly describe five approaches for creating work breakdown structures.
Using Guidelines
If guidelines for developing a WBS exist, it is very important to follow them. Some organizations-the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for example-prescribe the form and content for WBSs for particular projects.
Many organizations provide guidelines and templates for developing WBSs, as well as examples of WBSs from past projects. At the request of many of its members, the Project Management Institute recently developed a WBS Practice Standard to provide guidance for developing and applying the WBS to project management.
Project managers and their teams should review appropriate information to develop their unique project WBSs more efficiently.
The Analogy Approach
In the analogy approach, you use a similar project's WBS as a starting point. Some organizations keep a repository of WBSs and other project documentation on file to assist people working on projects. Viewing examples of other similar projects' WBSs allows you to understand different ways to create a WBS.
The Top-down and Bottom-up Approaches
Most project managers consider the top-down approach of WBS construction to be conventional. To use the top-down approach, start with the largest items of the project and break them into their subordinate items. This process involves refining the work into greater and greater levels of detail. After finishing the process, all resources should be assigned at the work package level. The top-down approach is best suited to project managers who have vast technical insight and a big-picture perspective.
In the bottom-up approach, team members first identify as many specific tasks related to the project as possible. They then aggregate the specific tasks and organize them into summary activities, or higher levels in the WBS. The bottom-up approach can be very time-consuming, but it can also be a very effective way to create a WBS. Project managers often use the bottom-up approach for projects that represent entirely new systems or approaches to doing a job, or to help create buy-in and synergy with a project team.
Mind Mapping
Mind mapping is a technique that uses branches radiating out from a core idea to structure thoughts and ideas. Instead of writing tasks down in a list or immediately trying to create a structure for tasks, mind mapping allows people to write and even draw pictures of ideas in a nonlinear format. This more visual, less structured approach to defining and then grouping tasks can unlock creativity among individuals and increase participation and morale among teams.
After discovering WBS items and structure using the mind-mapping technique, you could then translate the information into chart or tabular form. Mind mapping can be used for developing WBSs using the top-down or bottom-up approach.
Creating the _____ involves subdividing the major project deliverables into smaller, more manageable components.
WBS
work breakdown structure
work breakdown structure (WBS)
WBS (work breakdown structure)
Which approach for constructing a WBS starts with the largest items of the project and breaks them into subordinate items?
The main outputs of _____are the project scope statement and updates to project documents.
In the _____ approach to creating a WBS, team members first identify as many specific tasks related to the project as possible.
What is the main technique used in creating a WBS, which involves subdividing project deliverables into smaller pieces?
During which approach do team members first identify as many specific tasks related to the project as possible and then aggregate the specific tasks and organize them into summary activities, or higher levels in the WBS?
Many organizations provide different guidelines and templates for developing WBSs.
_____ involves controlling changes to the project scope while keeping project goals and business strategy in mind.
Mind mapping allows people to write and even draw pictures of ideas in a nonlinear format.
A work package must always represent less than 80 hours of work.
Many information technology projects also require detailed functional and design specifications for developing software, which also should be referenced in the detailed scope statement.
Which process uses highly organized and intensive workshops to bring together project stakeholders-the sponsor, users, business analysts, programmers, and so on-to jointly define and design information systems?
Which document contains a deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project that defines the total scope of the project?
Which term describes a product produced as part of a project?
Which approach for constructing a WBS involves refining the work into greater and greater levels of detail?
Which action involves reviewing the project charter, requirements documents, and organizational process assets to create a scope statement, adding more information as requirements are developed and change requests are approved?
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