■ THE CRITICAL PATH FOR COMPLETING THE WBS

 In assembling your WBS, there are several chicken-versus egg issues that need to be

resolved, such as whether to plot your own activities as a project manager, whether to

include planning itself as a task and whether to include project management function of a

project be included in the work breakdown structure.

■ INTERNAL RESOURCESVERSUS EXTERNAL RESOURCES

 Project managers have an easier time maintaining visibility of internal resources,

including staff, equipment, and facilities, than they do when managing external resources,

such as consultants, rented equipment, and leased facilities.

■ HELPING YOUR STAFF WHEN IT’S OVER

 The WBS needs to reflect the added measure of staff meetings, reviews, and one-on-one

encounters that are often vital to maintaining performance near the end of a project. In

such cases, the project manager needs to account for issues related to diverted attention,

divided loyalties, and perhaps leading several project staffers who simply don’t have their

“heads” in the project anymore. Remedies can be meeting with each team member, one-

on-one, to solicit their ideas and perspectives, or holding a half-day, team member input

session offsite

■ WHAT KINDS OF TASKS CONSTITUTES THE WBS?

 Whether you employ an outline, tree, or combination WBS, it’s useful to acknowledge

distinctions between types of tasks. Parallel tasks can be undertaken at the same time as

other tasks, without impeding the project. Dependent tasks are those that can’t begin until

something else occurs. When you combine the outline and tree diagram type WBS, you
 end up with an extended outline describing the tasks and subtasks associated with the

elements on the tree diagram where a full WBS, by contrast, includes the sequence and

interdependence tasks where it can be employed to create a network diagram.

 A milestone is marker of accomplishment. They are vital, particularly to project team

members, because they offer a visible point of demarcation. They represent a completion

of sorts from which the project staff can gain new energy, focus, and direction for what

comes next.

■KEEPING THE BIG PICTURE IN MIND

 In many ways, the challenge of establishing an effective WBS is likened to meeting the

challenge of various constraints. The WBS needs to reflect realistic delays in receiving

feedback from stakeholders following the reception of the scheduled deliverables.

■THE BIG PICTURE VERSUS ENLESS MINUTIAE

 In assembling your project plan, avoid going overboard. The quest is to maintain control

of the project and have a reasonable idea of what each project team member is doing on

any given day. The goal in constructing a suitable WBS and of being an effective project

manager is to help your staff members achieve predetermined milestones in pursuit of an

overall desired project outcome.

■ FROM PLANNING TO MONITORING

 Once you nail the WBS, the primary responsibility for the project duration is monitoring

mode which entails a lot of obligations like keeping tabs on the progress, modifying tasks

if needed, barriers are effectively overcome and maintaining effective relationship with

the stakeholders.