Many industries and organizations routinely use the following terms in an interchangeable fashion: WBS, project plan, project schedule, and work plan. As you know by now, these terms do represent different project management elements and should not be used interchangeably. However, as with all less-than-ideal practices, there are reasons they develop. Understanding the reasons is always helpful and, in this case, can provide additional insights as to why projects can get into a troubled state.
When you think about the process for developing a schedule (see Figure 6.3), determining the work (detail tasks) that is required is the first step.
After you have identified the work tasks, you can determine what resources are required for each task, how much effort each task will take (process details discussed in “Estimating the Work”), and what logical dependencies exist between the tasks (details covered in “Developing the Project Schedule”). At this point, you can begin to construct the first of several iterations of a project schedule.
Sounds logical enough—so, where’s the problem?
In general, the problems lie with the use and application of project scheduling software such as Microsoft (MS) Project. Here’s a common scenario:
- Joe Manager is told to build a work plan for the project.
- Joe goes to his desk and opens up MS Project and starts entering and organizing the tasks that need to be performed.
- Joe enters estimated durations and start and end dates for some of the key or most visible tasks.
- Joe presents results to his supervisor for review.
NoteAvoid judging a current work practice or process or the people involved before you understand why it is done this way or how it evolved to the current point.This approach keeps you results-focused, improves your ability to develop solution alternatives, increases your effectiveness in leading change, and enhances your relationships with all stakeholders.
So, what did Joe present to his boss? A WBS? It does have work tasks listed. A project schedule? It was created in MS Project. A work plan? That’s what his boss asked for. Well, what you probably have here is a high-level WBS and an initial milestone schedule summary, at best. This example illustrates how an inadequate project planning and schedule development process combined with inadequate training on the project scheduling software can lead to terminology confusion. Table 6.1 summarizes these terms and the factors that lead to their interchangeable use.
TABLE 6.1 Terms Used for Planning Project Work
| Term | Description | Key Factors | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project Plan | All-encompassing planning document used as basis for execution and control. | Often incorrectly used to describe project schedule or work plan. | Common tendency to think of project “scheduling” software as project “management” software. |
| Project Schedule | Shows when the work will be done and by whom. Drives project execution. | Many “schedules” are more like task lists (WBS) because the task dependencies and resource assignments are not properly captured. | Inadequate training on project scheduling software; inadequate schedule development and review process. |
| Work Plan | A generic term used to refer to either of the other three. | Usually refers to project schedule. | Need to clarify terms upfront. |
| WBS | WBS hierarchical representation of work to be performed. | WBS often created with project scheduling software (MS Project); WBS templates often created and saved with project scheduling software (MS Project).For agile projects, WBS can be captured as the Product Roadmap with breakdown of epics, stories, enablers, and tasks. | Use of project scheduling software is acceptable as long as the proper process is followed.For agile, a product management tool can be used (e.g., Jira). |
Key Differences Between the WBS and the Project Schedule
The key differences between the WBS and the project schedule include the following:
- Task dependencies—WBS does not show them; a project schedule does.
- Scheduled tasks—WBS does not show when tasks occur; a project schedule shows start and end dates for each task.
- Task assignments—WBS does not show who is assigned to an individual task; a project schedule does.
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