Paulo RoqueChartered Civil Engineer, PMP| BECHTELSetubal, Portugal
Early scope definition is critical in controlling projects in an efficient and cost-effective manner and the Work Breakdown Structure ( WBS ), while reflecting all and only the work required to produce project deliverables, could be used to legally tie stakeholders to project scope assignments, in order to prevent scope creep and potential risk for claims, in a confrontation situation where nobody knows where scope assignment starts and/or ends.
Should Owners ( Buyers ) provide Contractors ( Sellers ) with a pre-defined WBS for the project and include it in a Statement of Work (SOW) of the Contract Agreement ? And if so, how effective the inclusion of a WBS would be in a such context? Saving Changes...
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Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
First thing to take into account is the degree of information you have when you create the contract. That level of information will impact all related to project (project scope) because all related to project must be considered as an estimation. To understand that, just take a look to Barry Bohem´s Cone of Uncertainty that was originally created for software but it is used in lot of other domains. Second, key to each contract and something that must be specified as "not acceptable for change" is the change management process. Then change management process must be clear, agreed and must be kept along the whole project (in fact you can find IEEE standards about change mangemen process). With that on hand you will address any "grey zone". Saving Changes...
In general, I would say absolutely not. The WBS needs to be broken down in a fashion that fits the organizational structure of the project. It's possible to organize the work into a WBS in many different ways. If the customer specifies a WBS that doesn't fit the way it will be managed, you're just going to have to translate it into your own internal WBS with some sort of "decoder ring" to relate how you're managing tasks, back to the customers organizational model. That level of customer micro-management adds complexity and waste. Saving Changes...
The level of detail always relates to the specific context of the project as well as the desired relationship between the vendor and client. If you want to encourage a shared goal of achieving certain business outcomes, then it is better to focus on a shorter list of "must haves" but let the "how" be flexible to take advantage of the vendor's creativity. If this is a very predictable project and one vendor will pretty much do the same work as another, you can be more specific...
Kiron Saving Changes...
Paulo RoqueChartered Civil Engineer, PMP| BECHTELSetubal, Portugal
It is not negligible the ability of both Owners and Contractors for taking advantage of the change management in construction projects, based on incomplete information ( the so called grey zones ) inside the Contract Agreements.
The Scope Base Line ( Project Scope Statement, WBS and WBS Dictionary ) is useful to establish project scope boundaries making clear for both Owners and Contractors what is within or out of scope, which oftentimes is a source of conflict that increases the potential risk for claims.
How to use most effectively the Scope Baseline and particularly the WBS in this context, seemed to me a pertinent question.
Thanks to all for the valuable insights. Saving Changes...
Sucre AliR&D Project Manager| Neogen NV Part of Alter Pharma Group BelgiumBarranquilla, Atlantico, Colombia
Hi Paulo,
From a project planning perspective, a WBS template as a lessons learned input from the buyer can be found truly valuable. However, it is not necessary to attach it to the contract. A detailed, agreed and, well-stablished SOW is sufficient for both parties.
By experience I can say that surely the scope of a project from the Seller perspective is only a part of the Buyer’s. Usually, a Seller WBS and future schedule is managed in greater detail and is considered an input by the Buyer.
