Identifying the Criteria Used for Establishing Work Package Size for Project WBS

Authors

  • Shlomo Globerson Dean of School of Engineering Ruppin Academic Center Israel Israel
  • Sivan Vardi Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. Israel
  • Izack Cohen Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. Israel

Keywords:

WBS, Work Breakdown Structure, work package, criteria

Abstract

A successful completion of a project entails the proper use of project management. Project management includes different areas of which scope, as a major one, requires identification of the work that should be completed in a project. This is greatly facilitated by the use Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), of which Work Packages (WPs) are the basic components. This study aimed at identifying major criteria used by project managers, to establish the work content of the WPs included in the project. The study is based on analysis of 25 projects by their project managers. As part of the analysis, project managers requested to analyze a sample of WPs from each project generating a total of 219 WPs that were analyzed. Five major groups of WPs nature were identified, namely' design, testing, management, production, and procurement. Project managers were asked to identify the rule used by them to stop further decomposition of WPs. Six major rules were identified, which captured 93% of the rules used by project managers in establishing the WP size.

Author Biographies

  • Shlomo Globerson, Dean of School of Engineering Ruppin Academic Center Israel Israel

    Full professor Ameritus - School of Business Administartion, Tel Aviv University Present, Dean of School of Engineering, Ruppin Academic Center

  • Sivan Vardi, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. Israel

    Ms. Sivan Vardi is a Project Controller and Operator in a leading Aerospace and Defense company. Ms. Vardi Received her B.Sc in Industrial Engineering from Braude College, and her M.E in Industrial Engineering, with Quality and Reliability Expertise, from the Technion, Israel.

  • Izack Cohen, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. Israel

    Izack Cohen is a lecturer in the Industrial Engineering and Management Faculty at the Technion, Israel. Izack received his B.Sc in Chemical Engineering, his M.Sc in Materials Engineering and his Ph.D in Industrial Engineering and Management, all from the Technion. Before joining the academy, Dr. Cohen has held senior logistics, engineering and management roles in the Aerospace and Defense industry. Dr. Cohen has a long-time interest and experience in managing projects and in researching and teaching project management.

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Published

2022-05-20

How to Cite

Identifying the Criteria Used for Establishing Work Package Size for Project WBS. (2022). The Journal of Modern Project Management, 4(1), 173. https://journalmodernpm.com/manuscript/index.php/jmpm/article/view/226

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