Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Software
Project
Design
Development
Implementation
Software
Design
Hardware
Design
Coding
Testing
Fig. 4.2
Generic work breakdown structure
of a WBS that describes an entire software project, the root node will be the final
piece of software itself. Figure
4.2
provides a basic illustration of this concept.
If created properly, a WBS will describe an entire project by all of the activities
that will comprise it. That is, an ideal WBS will identify all of the activities that
must be accomplished in order to complete the project as a whole. When con-
sidered alongside a timeline, this will describe exactly what must be performed
when, and if the project is to be realized. Tools such as this can be invaluable
during the planning and estimating phases of a software engineering project. Given
sufficient specificity, the development team is able to accurately predict the
resources required for the entire project by calculating those needed for each
individual activity (a much more reasonable task, which produces a higher degree
of accuracy) and compiling that information into a final estimate. In addition, once
the activities involved in the project have been identified and ordered, they can be
assigned to developers. Because the WBS is centered around manageable units of
work, the activities it generates are designed with assignment and implementation
in mind. To further aid in this process, a WBS can be extended to the desired level
of specificity through the addition of important information, such as tasks and
resources needed to the nodes. This will create a model of the project based on not
only the activities to be performed, but all of the information required for a basic
understanding of those activities. In this way, a WBS is a multipurpose diagram
which helps with the organization of the activities of a project, and also with
resource allocation, cost estimation, task assignment, and timeline creation.
Finally, a properly formatted WBS can be a useful tool in communicating with the
client by describing what activities must be performed when, and for what reason,
in order to complete the project successfully and on time.
