Secret Strategy to Define Activities in Project Management

In project management, an activity represents a collection of discrete tasks required to transform inputs into desired outputs. The process of defining activities involves the systematic identification and documentation of all tasks necessary to achieve specific project deliverables. This requires project managers to decompose large work packages into smaller, manageable task sets while strategically assigning appropriate teams to execute these activities. Breaking down work packages into granular activities enables managers to more accurately estimate timeframes and costs, develop realistic schedules, execute implementation plans effectively, monitor project progress systematically, and maintain comprehensive project control.

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Project managers employ two primary methodologies for defining activities: decomposition planning and rolling wave planning.

Define Activities Project Management Definition

Secret Strategy to Define Activities in Project Management 1

Define Activities is the process of identifying and documenting the specific actions to be performed to produce the project deliverables. The key benefit of this process is that it decomposes work packages into schedule activities that provide a basis for estimating, scheduling, executing, monitoring, and controlling the project work. This process is performed throughout the project. (PMVBOK 6.2)

Define Activity Tools & Techniques

Decomposition Planning

Decomposition is the systematic process whereby project teams break down all work components to the activity level, enabling comprehensive project scheduling. These activities typically contain minimal unknowns, particularly in traditional project environments such as construction and civil engineering. The decomposition approach enables project managers to estimate both the time and cost required to complete each project deliverable. For project managers, estimating individual project components proves significantly more precise than attempting to estimate the entire project scope.

For example, determining the cost of executing an acceptance software test is considerably more accurate and manageable than estimating the comprehensive cost of developing multiple software packages for three telecommunications companies. Through project decomposition, managers gain enhanced capability to provide strategic direction to their teams while maintaining comprehensive oversight of each project phase. This approach enables managers to develop precise, actionable instructions for the successful completion of specific tasks. Managers can also proactively identify, track, and mitigate potential risks throughout the project lifecycle.

Rolling Wave Planning

In projects where there are expected unknowns, you can use the rolling wave planning technique. This is commonplace in agile project management. Rolling wave project planning focuses on frequent updates and changes to the plans set for a project. The strategy realizes that a project may not offer all the necessary details needed to create a plan upfront. Although the project starts with a plan, the project manager fills in the work breakdown structure based on their current knowledge. As more details roll out, the plan evolves. You will be placing new pieces of data into the plan, which can change the activities and other details of the plan.

You can use the rolling wave project management when dealing with a project with a lot of uncertainty. If there are any risks associated with the project, the manager will plan for such risks and have ways to resolve any issues that might come up before they turn into unmanageable problems. Managers can also identify key details of a project scope before they start executing any plans.

Secret Strategy to Define Activities in Project Management 2

Define Activities Project Management

Project managers define activities from work packages. These work packages are items set out in a project’s work breakdown structure (WBS). A WBS is a tool in project management where a manager takes a step-by-step approach to handling large projects. With a WBS, the manager divides a project into small components. Each of these components can integrate scope, cost, and project deliverables. The components of a WBS form the work packages that are then broken down into activities.

With WBS, the manager organizes the total scope of a project in a hierarchy. Each level of the hierarchy shows a more detailed definition of the project work compared to the level above it. The bite-size components of WBS provide a roadmap for the teams handling a project when they are further broken down into activities. The project manager will distinguish activities that need to be carried out with a specific objective and within a specified period to deliver project deliverables.

A manager needs to show all the details of the tasks and an estimate of the resources and time needed for each of the tasks. Managers create a project activity list that shows activity identifiers with a description for each scope of work in detail. This ensures that each team member understands what needs to be done.

Define Activities Process

Defining activities in project management is part of the overall project plan. A project manager will need to carry out several activities before the plan and after the plan. These activities include:

Develop a project management plan
Plan scope management
Collect all the requirements
Define the scope of work
Create the work breakdown structure using the WBS dictionary
Plan schedule management

The above activities will act as a guide to the project manager when they are breaking down the scope into small, manageable tasks. A project manager will collect all the data needed to create the best project breakdown and set milestones, and later the activity list.

An activity list sets out the following:

Creating a sequence of activities
Estimating the activity resources
Estimating the duration for each activity
Developing a schedule of activities
Plan cost management
Estimating the costs
Determining a budget

After creating an activity list, the project manager needs to ensure that the teams are ready and that each activity is executed and implemented the way it is supposed to be.

Example of Defining Activities

You can apply this project management tool to different projects. For instance, in software development, the project manager can set out the WBS to include the following components:

Information gathering and analysis
Design
Coding and implementation
Testing
Deployment
Maintenance
Scheduling and resource management

The project manager further breaks down these components of the WBS into activities or sets of tasks that help deliver on the set milestones for each of the above components. For the first component, collection of data, the manager can set out teams for the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data on the needs of the people the project targets. Another team can be in charge of features to be added to the project, while another can be in charge of how the product will be used when it is complete.

During design, the manager can set teams for component analysis, system design, requirements modification, and development and integration. These teams work together in their various roles to create the app. Teams can also work on the various features of the products, where one team works on the graphics, and another one works on the content to be included in the software.

For each of the other steps, the manager identifies activities to be performed and assigns teams. While some people test for software integration, others test functionality, performance, regression, unit, stress, usability, and acceptance. This way, each team has a task to handle, and the manager is able to keep track of the progress of the WBS components and the entire project.

Define Activities FAQs

What are defined activities in project time management?

It is the process of breaking down a project into small, manageable activities that help towards achieving project deliverables. These small tasks are easy to assign and track.

What is the activity definition process?

The process involves decomposition, which is the breakdown of the scope, setting of activity sequence, setting the budget, identifying materials, and implementation. Each step is documented as the process rolls out.

What is the purpose of defining activities?

It makes a project easy to manage and easy to create resources, manpower, and materials budget. The process also allows project managers to track the progress of a project with ease.

What is the main objective of the define activities process?

Defining activities aims at decomposing work packages or milestones into small scheduled activities that offer a good basis for estimating, scheduling, monitoring, executing, and controlling a project. Each of the actions is documented to make it easier for the project manager to produce the project deliverables.

What are the outputs of the define activities process?

The outputs include an activity list, activity attributes, and a milestone list. These outputs come from inputs, such as the scope baseline, schedule management plan, enterprise environmental factors monitoring, and organizational process assets.