Project Management

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How do you manage WBS brain fatigue?

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Brigitte Fortin Deputy Director for Business Systems| ICF Myersville, Md, United States
I'm working on my first "starting from nothing" project plan (apart from academic work). The goal is to re-architect and upgrade a complex and highly visible app, which has fallen woefully behind release versions and security patching. Since it is a strategic business app, I want to get my first draft as absolutely polished as possible before sharing with stakeholders for feedback & collaboration.

I am now at the point where I'm running out of ideas about things that could be missing or improved. I have 150 tasks and have planned out 7 months. But I have that nagging feeling that there is still more I could add. So ... here's my questions.

What do you do to freshen up your perspective and look at the project plan in a different way? Sleep on it? Stop there and share with stakeholders because so much is going to change anyway?

Also, how do you manage the "wish list" of misc ideas that come up along the way (but aren't really in scope)? Is there a convenient way to add this to the MS Project doc?

Thx in advance
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Brigitte Fortin Deputy Director for Business Systems| ICF Myersville, Md, United States
Jan 09, 2019 11:01 AM
Replying to Valeria Mapelli
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I think you got both the main strategies I use: sleep on it, then try sharing with stakeholders to get feedback.
I would not share with all stakeholders, maybe choose a small group or some peers you can talk through it. I find that if I can explain the plan to someone (or even to myself!), it means it makes sense.
I refer to it as a "3D picture": if looking at my "2D" MS project I can picture the flow of information and activities in my head, then I am on the right route.
Do not go crazy with details, you can always apply a rolling wave planning strategy to add details. Keep a list of potential activities to add on one side (a One note/Excel dump will be good enough) and review every few weeks/months to add details to the next stages.
Also remember people working with you on the project may not be pro MS project/Gantt chart users, so going over 3-4 levels in the WBS may not add value as your reporting to Project board is at very high level and daily work is very detailed. You may be better off using a task management tool to communicate with the team the detailed tasks each team member has to work on. Good luck!
Hi Valeria, good advice... what kind of task management tools work well?
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Keith Novak Tukwila, Wa, United States
Jan 10, 2019 4:21 PM
Replying to Brigitte Fortin
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I will cross-reference to Operational & Capability Views. Thanks!
No problem. Those 2 are just examples. The OV is used very widely. Simply looking at what other views are commonly used might give you some ideas, but you don't necessarily need all of them for all applications.
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MOHAMED ANSARI M A Independent Consultant| Freelance Kozhikode, Kerala, India
What i observed in my career was that there is always a clear bias on one's vision/ ideas and to break this what i usually do is to discuss the matter with someone (u can call that fellow as an expert) who has just opposite in view as yours.
It may look awkward to many, but it worked for me...
Also what i feel that the issue is more of a technical knowledge you are struggling to crack and would doubt whether it's a PMs job.
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Kenya Owens Diplomatic Chief Technology Officer| U.S. Department of State Dulles, Va, United States
I certainly believe that the idea of sharing with stakeholders is crucial in getting a fresh perspective. However, my idea of sharing is not scheduling a meeting and handing out copies of a WBS. I like to converse with my peers and colleagues and just ask questions, usually one-on-one. My experience has found that through these general conversations I often walk away with a wealth of new ideas and information. So far as the wish list, I would agree with the other PMs that commented on the importance of having a clearly defined scope. If you don’t, your ‘project’ can turn into something that is never completed. Once you have a clearly defined scope, each new idea or addition should go through change management.
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Drew Craig Sr. Agile & Product Coach| Vanguard Philadelphia, Pa, United States
I would really hope this activity is not happening in a silo. The experts need to be engaged and part of this activity. There would be inputs from 'user' feedback, input from leadership on vision and direction, and input from the SME's, including architecture.
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