With the availability of a detailed and logical WBS, the estimating and scheduling functions will be significantly more methodical and accurate. The process involves assigning resources to each element-specific activity through the use of a resource breakdown structure (RBS). Typically, an RBS is a detailed listing of all of the project's resources, divided into the following major categories: personnel, hardware, tools, and other expenses (Figure 2.9). The intensity and duration of each resource provide the total resource expenditure, which, in turn, will provide the cost of that activity if the unit price of the resource is known (Rad, 2002). In turn , the resource duration will provide one of the two elements that are necessary for the development of a schedule. The second item necessary for the development of a schedule is the sequence of activities that need to be performed for that element, or for the project for that matter. A fully developed project schedule will include start and finish dates for all activities of the project and, most importantly, a delivery date for the integrated project deliverable . Naturally, the predicted delivery date will vary somewhat throughout the life of the project because schedule variances can be caused by changes to the requirements, activity durations, and the logical sequence of those activities. If the same WBS is used for the estimate and the schedule, the project manager can make logical and informed tradeoffs when the project environment is changed, when the client modifies the project requirements, when one of the triple constraints is changed as a result of forces external to the project, or when the scope is altered as a result of discoveries and accuracy refinements made during project execution.
Project Personnel
Equipment Embedded in Deliverable
Tools for Project Personnel
Fees, Licenses, and Insurance