Have the Right Kind of Breakdown

A key to project success is getting everyone on the same page, but is it the right page?

Over time, client prospects have described simple project management missteps with big consequences, such as important training sessions that had to be cancelled because no one had reserved the specially-equipped room.

In that case, their Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) had a common flaw. To save time, they broke tasks down by functional areas (engineering, marketing, production). That encouraged a “silo” approach to planning and executing the project…and there was no silo for “booking the room for training.”

In our materials and training, we stress the cross-functional nature of projects and offer guidelines on WBS categories (project deliverables vs. project phases), special WBS cases, and how to determine the appropriate level of detail and duration. (It’s less time than you’d think.)

Sometimes prospects share their concern that the Project Success Method ‘takes too much time.” If only I could put them in touch with the project manager who had to reschedule the trainer, contact the attendees to cancel their flights, and explain all the cancellation charges to management!