LEARN. PRACTICE. GROW.Understand the concept
A WBS decomposes scope into deliverables and manageable work; a schedule organizes activities and relationships over time. Effort is not duration: availability and calendars change the result. Dependencies and the critical path help identify activities whose delay may affect completion under the model’s conditions.
Apply and decide
Make assumptions explicit and use a technique suited to available information. Analogous estimates use comparable experience; detailed decomposition allows component estimates to be aggregated. An approved baseline provides a reference; forecasts change with reality. Do not silently alter the reference to hide variance.
Guided application
To plan a migration, decompose deliverables such as validated connectivity, reconciled data, and prepared support. Then identify activities and predecessors. In the exercise A=3 days, B=4 and C=6 in parallel, D=2 after both, minimum duration is 11 days if resources and calendars impose no other constraints. A-C-D constrains completion; shortening B alone does not advance delivery in this model. Record availability assumptions. Eight person-days at 50% allocation require roughly 16 working days of distributable work. The baseline is the approved reference; the forecast should incorporate new information without erasing comparison with the original commitment.
An eight-person-day activity at 50% availability needs roughly sixteen working days before other constraints.
Common pitfalls
Confusing WBS and schedule; ignoring availability and predecessors.
Related topics: Control cost, risk, and change · Learn and adapt delivery
A plan needs scope, sequence, capacity, and traceable assumptions.
Reference: Schedule Assessment Guide · CAPM ECO 2023; official outline consulted 2026-09-29