The case study below offers an excellent perspective on how projects are often initiated under less than ideal circumstanceswhich often lays the ground work for project failure.

Companies that provide a service for another company usually respond to a bid document from a company that needs help.  This case study is a good example of this situation.  The bid document can be as simple as an email from the buyer to the seller or as complicated as a request for proposal (RFP) outlining the objectives of the project and asking a seller to develop a proposal that provides a solution.

Each company (seller and buyer) will have a business case for doing the project. The Peters Company is outsourcing for a reason.  The Corwin Corporation is taking on the project for a different set of reasons.  One of the reasons the Corwin Corporation is taking on the work is the looming, potentially very lucrative production contract if they are successful.  There are no guarantees in research and development project that there will be success.

Part 4 (25 points) Create a WBS and WBS Dictionary.  Now that your group (at Corwin) has a firm understanding of the product scope (i.e., the features and functions that characterize [the new rubber material] p. 154, PMBOK 5e), as well as the project scope (i.e., the work necessary to deliver the product), use the scope statement and other requirements documentation you group has prepared to create a WBS (no deeper than Level 4 on any tranche) and WBS Dictionary using the template provided.  The following elements of the WBS dictionary must be completed:  WBS ID, WBS Element Name, Description, Accountable Person, Acceptance Criteria, Assumptions, Constraints.  For project management-related work deliverables (e.g, plans, meetings and reviews, reports), also complete the Activity ID and Activity for each work package,

Additional considerations: The project will be completed in phases so preparing a WBS with phases at level 2 is a sensible way to design the WBS.  The project phases are: 1.1. Project Planning, 1.2. Rubber Material Research, 1.3 Rubber Material Development, and 1.4 Project Close.  The work required to complete the project associated with project management for execution, monitoring and controlling processes, can be sub-elements in the research and development phases.  The lucrative production contract (a hopeful outcome) is not part of this project, but could be part of the business decision by Corwin to expend their own funds to complete the development if additional funding is needed.

The scope statement, WBS and WBS Dictionary constitute the scope baseline.