The
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) can be incorporated
into software packages to provide ease of manipulation
and analysis. Features include:
Task-level
Work Breakdown Structure.
Resource
assignments for each project task.
Task
dependencies (What things need be to done first?)
which help determine the sequence of project work.
Use
of a Critical Path Method (CPM) algorithm to determine
project duration. (Based upon the sequence of tasks
which must be completed as planned in order for
the entire schedule to be maintained.).
Identification
of key milestones (significant events).
Measurement
of progress by tracking progress at several levels
(eg. Actuals by task, Actuals by resource).
Software
facilitates development of baseline schedules and
analysis of delays that may be encountered. When
a project is delayed, a recovery plan is needed.
Because Schedule tasks may be concurrent, shortening
of the critical path may require different approaches.
See the recovery figure below, depicting both sequential
and concurrent approaches.
