5.3. Coordinating WBS Components

Some project managers would recommend that you continue to break down each task until you cannot break down the activity anymore. However, conventional wisdom contradicts a continual decomposition of any activity, as it eventually leads to units of work that are too small. While some control over the work to be completed is required, a project manager needs to put faith in her team to complete the tasks necessary to finish the job.

As a rule, find an acceptable amount of time that will serve as the smallest increment of work. For example, with a small project, you may only break work down into days. With a larger project, you may choose to break work down into weeks. The key is to not continue to break down each ...

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