Projects Possible

In looking at the projects that I work on there could literally be thousands of small little tasks in the jigsaw puzzle we call a project.  The tasks could range from simple little 20 or 30 minute things, to tasks that may require days or even weeks to complete.  At one time, I went down the road of creating a Work Breakdown Structure that would allow me to assign and track all of those thousands of tasks.   What I found is that I was spending more time tracking tasks than some of those tasks even took to complete.   I also found that I was creating an atmosphere in my projects that did not allow my team members the flexibility that they needed to exercise their expertise.  

I learned after doing a couple of these extensive WBSs that I needed to trust my team and hold them accountable for their portion of the project but to let them handle the small details that they had control over.  As a result I had a slimmed down WBS that really focused on key components of the project with a few “touch points” within each component that I could effectively monitor and measure.  My team members were empowered to complete their jobs without me hovering on each and every task and instead of me spending hours trying to keep tasks updated I was now able to focus my attention more on the things that really mattered.

In my web surfing today I ran across an interesting website called 4PM.com that deals with a concept in project management called Achievement-driven Project Management.  While I haven’t had full opportunity to review everything they have to offer, there was an article that I wanted to share with you that is similar to my current approach to WBS.   Written by Dick Billows – Work Breakdown Structure: Project Design Issue or Clerical Task – discusses the WBS as a “TO DO” list being the potential launchpad for project failure…check out the blog post and the associated article linked in the text.

I’d be real curious how other project managers deal with their work breakdowns.  Do you poll your team members as to the tasks they believe need to be completed and then compile the final list?  Do you build it yourself and send it out to the team for review and edits?  What tools do you use to assist?   As a “rookie” project manager I’m always looking for ways to streamline the processes.  Anything that I can do to make me and my staff more productive is a positive thing.  What are some of your thoughts?