Project Management, Chapter 4, Creating the Work Breakdown Structure

Business requirements

The requirements that describe how the business objectives of the project will be met.

Acceptance criteria

The process and the criteria that will be used to determine whether the deliverables are acceptable and satisfactory.

Decomposition

The process of breaking project deliverables down into smaller, manageable components of work so that work packages can be planned and estimated.

Key performance indicators (KPIs)

Help you determine whether the project is on track and progressing as planned by monitoring the project against predetermined criteria.

order of magnitude

A high-level estimate of the time and cost of a project based on the actual cost and duration of a similar project.

Scope management plan

Defines the process for preparing the scope statement and the WBS. This also documents the process that manages project scope and changes to project scope.

Scope planning

The process of defining the scope management plan, the scope statement, and the WBS and WBS dictionary.

Scope statement

Documents the product description, key deliverables, success and acceptance criteria, key performance indicators, exclusions, assumptions, and constraints. The scope statement is used as a baseline for future project decisions.

Work breakdown structure (WBS)

A deliverable-oriented hierarchy that defines the total work of the project. Each level has more detailed information than the previous level.

Work breakdown structure (WBS) dictionary

A document that describes the deliverables and their components, the code of accounts identifier, estimates, resources, criteria for acceptance, and any other information that helps clarify the deliverables.

Deliverable

An output or result that must be completed in order to consider the project complete or to move forward to the next phase of the project. Deliverables are tangible and can be measured and easily proved.

Work package

The lowest level in a WBS. Team assignments, time estimates, and cost estimates can be made at this level. On very large projects, this level is handed off to subproject managers who develop their own WBS to fulfill the requirements of the work package deliverable.

Constraint

Anything that either restricts the actions of the project team or dictates the actions of the project team.