milestones, cadence, WBS

project milestones

represent critical checkpoints in a project and have a duration of zero days and are typically denoted by a diamond on graphic project schedules

project cadence

determines the frequency and structure of recurring events within a project

work breakdown structure (WBS)

vital document created during the project planning phase that uses the project charter’s deliverables as a starting point

-project management tool that provides a visual representation of a project’s scope, tasks, and deliverable

element

the deliverables in a WBS

work package/terminal element

lowest element in each branch or leg (an element without a child element is a work package)

level

the layer of the WBS where an element resides

numbering scheme/ code of accounts

element that are assigned a number according to its place in the hierarchy

leg

a group of elements with a shared ancestor

branch

one or more elements that do not represent the whole top level element in the branch

mutually exclusive collectively exhaustive (MECE)

an organization and problem solving method

the 100% rule

indicates 100% coverage of the project work without including anything beyond the project’s deliverables and project management work

WBS steps

1. determine the scope

2. identify deliverables

3. identify team members

4. build level 2

5. build the remaining levels

6. create the WBS dictionary