Page 76 - DCAP304_DCAP515_SOFTWARE_PROJECT_MANAGEMENT

Software Project Management

Notes  The second choice is to divide the planning team into groups and let each group take
one or more of the first-level activities and complete the WBS for that part only.

 Whichever approach is used, it is essential that the entire group have the opportunity to
review the final WBS and offer critiques of it. It is important that these efforts be made,
because the WBS must be complete, and all the members of the team will see the final
result of the JPP.

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
9. Each activity should have a clearly defined start and ……………....... event.
10. Developing the WBS is the most critical part of the …………….......

3.5 Approaches to Building the WBS

There are many ways to build the WBS but none can be said as the correct one. Hypothetically,
if we put each member of the JPP session in a different room and ask that person to develop the
project WBS, they might all come back with different renditions, as there is no single best
answer. The choice is subjective and based more on the project manager’s preference than on any
other requirements.
There are three general approaches to building the WBS:

 Noun-type approaches: Noun-type approaches define the deliverable of the project work
in terms of the components (physical or functional) that make up the deliverable.
 Verb-type approaches: Verb-type approaches define the deliverable of the project work in
terms of the actions that must be done to produce the deliverable. Verb-type approaches
include the design-build-test-implement and project objectives approaches.
 Organizational approaches: Organizational approaches define the deliverable of the
project work in terms of the organizational units that will work on the project. This type
of approach includes the department, process, and geographic location approaches.

3.5.1 Noun-type Approaches

There are two noun-type approaches:
(a) Physical Decomposition: In projects that involve building products, it is tempting to
follow the physical decomposition approach. Take a mountain bike, for example. Its
physical components include a frame, wheels, suspension, gears, and brakes. If each
component is to be manufactured, this approach might produce a simple WBS. As mentioned
previously, though, you have to keep in mind the concern of summary reporting.
(b) Functional Decomposition: Using the bicycle example, we can build the WBS using the
functional components of the bicycle. The functional components include the steering
system, gear-shifting system, braking system, and pedaling system. The same cautions
that apply to the physical decomposition approach apply here as well.

Task What have you understood from physical and functional decomposition? Write
the difference in your words.

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