Defining Activities

Activities that need to be performed to produce the project deliverables are identified using the activity definition process shown in Figure 4.2. The starting point for defining the activities is the lowest level of the WBS that contains work packages. Each work package can be broken down into one or more activities. So, the key input items to the activity definition process are the WBS and the WBS dictionary.

The Define Activities process: input, tools and techniques, and output. Input to Defining Activities Identifying project activities starts with the work packages in the WBS, which in turn are derived from the project scope statement. These two obvious input items, along with others, are discussed here. Project scope baseline. Elements of the scope baseline, such as deliverables, assumptions, and constraints, will be useful in defining activities. All the following three components of the project scope statement are needed to define activities:

◆ WBS and WBS dictionary. The work packages in the WBS are decomposed into project activities. To define activities in detail so that you can assign appropriate resources to them, you need the details about work packages, which are provided in the WBS dictionary.

◆ Project scope statement. The WBS is built from the project scope statement. While dealing with the WBS, you might need to go back to the project scope statement. The following elements of the project scope statement are especially important to consider while identifying activities:

◆ Assumptions related to the activities or schedule planning, such as work hours per week

◆ Constraints that will limit the schedule options, such as predetermined deadlines on project milestones

◆ Project deliverables, to ensure that everything is covered in WBS work packages

◆ Environmental factors. The enterprise environmental factors relevant to identifying schedule activities include project management information systems and project scheduling software tools.

◆ Organizational process assets. Following are examples of organizational process assets that can be useful in the process of identifying activities:

◆ Organizational policies related to activity planning

◆ Organizational procedures and guidelines used in defining activities (i.e. Project in a Box)

◆ Knowledge base of lessons learned from previous projects regarding activity lists

So, the major input to the activity definition process is the WBS, whose work packages are decomposed into activities using some tools and techniques ...........