Chapter 9. Preventing Scope Creep: The Work Breakdown Structure and WBS Dictionary

Goals of This Chapter

Upon completion of this chapter, you should be able to:

• Explain how to create a work breakdown structure (WBS)

• Describe the business value of using a WBS

• Understand common problems with the WBS

• Define the elements that make up a WBS dictionary

• Identify the ways a WBS dictionary is used

We don’t manage a project. We manage the small pieces. The work breakdown structure is the foundation of everything we do to organize the project. It is created during the beginning of the planning process. It ia also used throughout the project, whenever the scope of the project needs to be reevaluated.

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