1、Lessons Learned Entry: 1401Lesson Info:a71 Lesson Number: 1401a71 Lesson Date: 2003-01-01a71 Submitting Organization: ARCa71 Submitted by: Donald R. MendozaSubject: Program and Project Management: Strategic Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Abstract: A detailed WBS is critical to the initial formulatio
2、n and planning of a Program/project. The absence of a WBS or one without sufficient detail will hinder the successful implementation of the Program/project, as resources will not be allocated effectively or efficiently, especially with respect to critical activities that are system-wide.Description
3、of Driving Event: The Project (one of several within a Program), which was formulated to develop and demonstrate technologies that contribute to a reduction in the aviation fatal accident rate, was initially organized into three elements. These three elements, while distinct from each other, also sh
4、ared many common aspects of Human Factors (HF). The Project was not initially intended to supply human factors expertise to other Program Projects. Each Project was responsible for their own integration within the Program and for addressing independent human factors issues related to their specific
5、products. Because of budget reductions and re-planning exercises, cross-cutting HF (i.e., HF issues that cut across several products within the Program) were not being addressed. In addition, independent HF issues were not sufficiently funded and scheduled. Thus, as the Project progressed under sche
6、dule and budget reallocations, both common and independent HF issues became the first items to be descoped or cut entirely from the Program. Since these HF issues are critical to the overall success of the Program, a solution was adopted that integrated all the crosscutting HF aspects into its own P
7、roject element. It was decided by the Program Manager, that the Project in question was the best suited to manage this new effort. No solution was identified for the Programs lack of sufficient human factors work within individual Projects.Provided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking p
8、ermitted without license from IHS-,-,-References: none Additional Key Words: WBS, Budget, Resource Allocation, Human Factors & Systems Engineers Lesson(s) Learned: 1. A detailed WBS is critical to the initial formulation and planning of a Program/project. The absence of a WBS or one without sufficie
9、nt detail will hinder the successful implementation of the Program/project, as resources will not be allocated effectively or efficiently.2. 3. Aspects of a project that do not have explicit mappings to the projects objectives will be at a higher risk of being descoped or cancelled completely.4. Ind
10、ividual tasks, which by themselves may represent a small fraction of a major project element, may add up to a significant portion of work. When these tasks are common or system-wide, they should be considered for their own element in the WBS. If not, the resources required to accomplish the work may
11、 not be accurately estimated.5. Organizing all of the common (system-wide) activities, such as human factors and systems engineering, into its own Project sub-element (even after a project is in implementation) will help the Program recover from insufficient up-front planning and lower the risk of h
12、aving these items descoped or cancelled.6. The use of regular reviews to identify and resolve issues, in this case a yearly issues review, that involves participation from all significant stake-holders helped re-configure the Project (added an element to the WBS) such that the programmatic threats t
13、o the HF activities were minimized.Recommendation(s): To minimize the risk of descoping and/or cancellation of project work, formulation studies and planning activities should be aided by a detailed WBS and other planning tools/resources. 1. Projects should consider using WBS generation software, wh
14、ich can be linked to other tools such as project management/business suites (e.g. MS Project). These tools may give the project the capability to do sufficient “what if“ planning in order to arrive at the best allocation of resources and division of work.2. Projects should consult planning expertise
15、, both in and out of house, especially those that have experience in creating WBSs from system level requirements. The WBS should then be mapped to other project management tools such as those used for scheduling and budget and resource loading. This expertise may be found in the Centers Systems Man
16、agement Office (SMO) and other projects.3. Projects should hold regular reviews to determine the appropriateness and usefulness of their existing WBS. The WBS, along with other planning documents, should be updated accordingly.Provided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted with
17、out license from IHS-,-,-Evidence of Recurrence Control Effectiveness: N/ADocuments Related to Lesson: NPG 7120.5Mission Directorate(s): a71 Exploration Systemsa71 Sciencea71 Space Operationsa71 Aeronautics ResearchAdditional Key Phrase(s): a71 Program and Project Managementa71 Risk Management/AssessmentAdditional Info: Approval Info: a71 Approval Date: 2004-05-20a71 Approval Name: Andrew Hockera71 Approval Organization: ARCa71 Approval Phone Number: 650-604-4120Provided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS-,-,-
