Going from a WBS to tasks
So far, we have discussed the various techniques, guidelines, and best practices when creating an effective WBS. The question now is, "How do we turn the WBS into a schedule?" Specifically, how do we take our WBS into a schedule managed in Microsoft Project? Let's start with a simple definition of the project schedule: a schedule is the chronological listing from start to finish of a project's tasks, milestones, and deliverables.
The transition process from a WBS to a schedule is usually accomplished through a series of well-defined steps, which are presented briefly ahead, in line with what's presented in the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK):
- Define tasks (activities).
- Sequence tasks.
- Estimate task durations.
At this point after these first three steps, we will have a functional but minimal schedule. You can stop schedule development at this stage for smaller projects.
- Estimate costs (and/or determine...
