Question

Two IT acquisition planning teams worked together to study the same problem and develop alternative solutions for solving it. The teams then separated and each developed a work breakdown structure for the same alternative solution. The teams then compared the resulting work breakdown structures and found that they were significantly different. Is only one of the work breakdown structures correct? Could both be correct? Could both be incorrect?

100-word minimum

Answer 1

In WBS, the total work of the project is broken down into the major subtasks. It starts with the end objective required and successively subdividing it into manageable components in terms of size and complexity: program, project, system, subsystem, components, tasks, subtasks, and work elements. In this regard, when two IT acquisition planning teams were working together, it could be assumed that the overall task and the main objectives, would have been decided right at the start of the WBS activity itself. However, once the teams got split to work separately upon it, their respective manageable deliverables could have changed resulting into two different work breakdown structures but with the same broad level objectives. Hence both could be correct in this regard as the end result is to achieve the main task and produce the desirable deliverables.