Project Management

the WBS as a fill-in-the-blank worksheet for capturing and dis-
playing some of the dimensions as they become known. Figure
7-4 illustrates this nifty use of the WBS.
Another application of this technique is cost estimating,
which I’ll discuss later in this chapter.

Identifying Who Does What: The Responsibility Assignment
Matrix

The Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) is a tool that iden-
tifies how project participants interact with the activities of the
project. The most common type of interaction is responsibility
for completing an activity. But consider other situations, such as
these: a technical expert who must be consulted on several
activities, management approvals that are required before initi-
ating an activity, or a client representative who must be notified
when certain activities have been completed. The RAM provides
an opportunity for documenting these types of people-project
interactions. Figure 7-5 illustrates an example of a Responsibil-
ity Assignment Matrix.
Along the left of the RAM are the project activities—again, a
direct output of the WBS. (These should be elements of work,
notfunctional responsibility.) Across the top are the major proj-
ect participants. (These should be specific individuals. You may
indicate just the departments, before individuals are assigned.)
In each cell is a letter that denotes the type of people-project

Preparing a Detailed Project Plan: Step by Step 119

Project

XYZ

$785,000

10X-Design

$70,900 101-Mechanical

102-Electrical

103-Software

WBS Work Package & Cost

Account Numbers

M. Jones

R. Smith

H. Baker

Responsible RequiredEffort

8 Weeks

6 Weeks

10 Weeks

2 Designers

2 Technicians

3 Programmers

Resources EstimatedCost

$20,500

$18,000

$32,400

Precedent

Task

—

101

101, 102

Figure 7-4. Using the WBS to capture activity data