Work Breakdown StructuresRisk Assessment

Preparing for your paper onTask and Risk Management

Mapping a Project

• Establishing project priorities• Meeting the needs of all stakeholders• Measuring performance against the strategic plan of

the organization• Collecting information to use through all phases of

the project• Controlling costs

In other words, a selective outline of the project, called a:

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

WBS DefinedA deliverables-oriented grouping of project elements that organizes and defines the total work scope of the project. Each descending level represents an increasingly detailed definition of the project work.

WBS Example: Component-Based

WBS Example: Time-Based

Purpose of a WBS

• An instrument for tracking costs and work performance.

• Provides a coordinating framework for the various parts of a project.

• Defines authority and responsibilities for the details of the project.

• Provides the capacity to sum or “roll up” the cost of each project phase.

• Identifies “work packages.”

Identifying Work Packages

• Identify major project work deliverables/systems. Then the sub-deliverables necessary to accomplish the larger deliverables are defined.

• The process is repeated until the sub-deliverable detail is small enough to be manageable and where one person is responsible. This lowest deliverable usually consists of several work packages.

• Work packages within a deliverable are grouped by type of work: foundation, framing, finish; hardware, programming, testing, etc.

• Also referred to as cost accounts, work packages facilitate a system for monitoring project progress by work completed, cost and responsibility.

Brief Top-Level WBS for Community Resource Center

• Facilities and Access

• IT Infrastructure Implementation

• Financial Management System

• Fund Raising and Development

• Marketing and Communications

• Staffing and Volunteer Development

• Public Access Information System

• Community/Agency Collaboration

Brief Top-Level WBS for Community Event Planning

• Actual Events• Venues and Facilities• Accommodations• Transport• Media Facilities and Coordination• Security Arrangements• Medical Care• Human Resources (Paid Staff and Volunteers)• Training • Public Relations

Brief Second-Level WBS for IT Infrastructure Implementation

• Planning– Workflow revision requirements– Data security requirements– Customization requirements– Post-installation data entry requirements– Testing requirements– Training requirements

• Implementation– Hardware and software acquisition– Data conversion– Installation of servers and workstations– Installation and configuration of server and network O.S– Configuration of user accounts and security– Installation of backup software

Brief Second-Level WBS for IT Infrastructure Implementation

(Continued)

• Testing– Workstation conformance testing– Server backup testing– Network conformance testing– Functional system testing

• Training– Training of trainers– In-house training

• Assessment– Work flow revisions– IT procedures revisions

Tips for Breaking Down the Project• Breakdown the work until you can do an estimate

that is accurate enough for your purposes.– If you are pricing a project to submit a competitive bid

then you are likely to go down to the work package level.

• Tasks should be limited as best as possible to one day or more to complete.

• Activities should have clearly defined start and end– Avoid open-ended tasks like “research” or “market

analysis.”

• Accountability and control are important! Break the work down so that one individual is clearly responsible for each unit.

WBS Planning Tools

• Work Flow Diagram

Visually demonstrates the pacing and relationship between work packages within a project.

Example Work Flow Diagram

Risk Assessment Revisited

Risk Assessment Methodologies

• The goal of risk assessment is to reduce risks to an acceptable level, through risk reduction and mitigation efforts.

• By necessity, there is no cut-and-dried method for risk assessment.– Industries and professions use their own set of

metrics to calculate risk and its impact.

• Risk assessments are conducted primarily to aid in the planning and decision-making process.

A Generic Risk Assessment Method

• Risk assessment is often framed within three critical concerns:– Probability: The likelihood of its occurrence within the

current project.– Impact: The degree of change (budget and schedule) which

can be expected from its occurrence. Not all risks have the same degree of impact.

– Exposure: The resulting negative effects to the organization, i.e. professional reputation, market share, revenue reductions, etc.

• There are many other methodologies used to determine risk, often determined by the industry within which the project occurs.

Determining Probability

• Probability can be measured on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).

• Since probability is specific to the project in question, the value assigned to each risk is based upon:– Technical expertise– Experience– Research

Determining Impact

Use of an inappropriate methodology

Lack of customer involvement

Lack of formal project management practices

Similarity to previous projects

Project complexity

Requirements volatility

Low Risk (1) Medium Risk (2) High Risk (3)

Impact is a multiplier representing the relative risk level which are generic to projects of similar type. Typically a scale of 1 to 3 is used to gauge the seriousness of this risk factor.

Other impact multipliers are often used, depending on the project type and scope.

Risk Identification Probability x Impact = Exposure

Reduced Stakeholder involvement 6 x 2.0 = 12.0

Loss of resources 4 x 3.0 = 12.0

Failure to meet feature set requirements 2 x 1.5 = 3.0

Inadequate reviews 4 x 2.5 = 10.0

Budget cuts 2 x 2.5 = 5.0

Schedule slippage 5 x 1.5 = 7.5

Overall Project Risk Score: 49.5

Overall Risk Score: 10-28 29-46 47-64 65-82 83-100

Project Risk Level: High Moderately High Medium Moderately Low Low

Interpreting the score:

Risk assessment worksheet:

A Risk Assessment Worksheet

Questions??Comments??