Actio Help

Action Management: Capability

The "How" Question? Why should “how” be important in delivering actions? Surely that is the job of the action owner to determine how best to do it. Well yes and no. The answer depends upon the confidence and trust the organisation has in its ability to deliver actions.

The Work-Breakdown-Structure (WBS)

Documenting how something should be done - highlighting the principle steps to be taken - is the creation of a work-breakdown- structure (WBS). The WBS is the first step in creating smaller tasks that can be delegated to others - each with their own timescale, ownership, scope etc.

If you have low confidence in delivery then the WBS should be delivered early, so that others can confirm that it follows the best practice for the organisation.


WBS Benefits

There are many benefits of documenting the WBS including:

  1. Clarity - everyone on the team can see how the whole fits together.
  2. Delegation - sub-tasks can easily be delegated - passing the ownership but not the accountability.
  3. History - it creates an historic record of what you did - so it is easy to replicate if you have to do it again.
  4. Change Control - if you change what you do, then change the wbs to keep up to date.