Work breakdown structure (WBS) helps improve the future project estimation, has better control executing the project, and also helps speeding up the project process. In my opinion, WBS won’t work in some environment, especially in learning process, where everyone should know each and every project details and tasks. While I am still in learning process, I would prefer combination of all, so I would get an opportunity to experience the overall project. I have worked on several projects, but this medical device project I was part of a good example and got an experience how the real industrial based job looks like. The project was broken down into 6 departments and everyone assigned to his/her own department task and deliverables. Despite limited to our own department work, everyone got an opportunity to know what was other team members’ duties and responsibilities during project meetings. Without the project meetings, it would have been very hard to communicate with each other. In the WBS, it is important to have meetings for the project to go smoothly. In our project, project manager decided the meetings and set a due date in order to complete the project on time. And the important thing was everyone’s work and grades were depend on others’ work so team members were actually paying attention to others’ task as well.

Hello, for my capstone design project, my team was in charge of developing an app for autistic individuals. The app would be created in an android system and it would connect via Bluetooth to a watch (which we develop). The messages send to the watch would be positive reinforcement such as good job and bad reinforcement such as “don’t do that.” The reason for why we did this project is because a lot of autistics kids have difficulties adapting to regular social life. I explained in more details what this project is about in a previous post. However, the way we assigned tasks was that the students broke down the product into sections. For example: 1) The app, 2) Circuitry of Watch, 3) Case and strap to be printed for watch. All the students brainstormed about each individual task that had to de bone in order to get a successful project. Although we did not call it Work Breakdown Structure, now I come to realize that this is concept is exactly what we did when we brainstormed the way we did. Additionally, the members of the group had different tracks in the Biomedical Engineering department. Therefore we tried to assign the tasks based on what was the previous experience of the student.

One of the big projects going on around the time I was interning was this change from one method of sterilization technique to a new method of sterilization technique. The project manager had broken down the schedule into different phases. During when I was interning, they were just starting to test materials. So there would be different groups testing various implants. They were gathering all these implants and sterilizing them in this new method and sent them out for testing. Then once testing was done, they would receive the parts and perform more analysis on them. Within that entire process, there were sub-processes. So the manufacturing team would make a few lots and send them out for testing. Then receiving would get the parts back and send them to packaging. Packaging would then process the parts and package them where they would be sent back to sterilization for Gas Plasma sterilization in the "new" method. This was just a small phase. There were other phases which involved regulatory, marketing, R&D, etc. It was a very wholesome project because it was interesting to see how every department plays a role in a project.

For my capstone project to build a robotic arm control we had to use the work breakdown structure to outline the hierarchy of tasks. In order to build our controller we divided the responsibilities into mechanical, electrical and software. All of these three categories each had their own subcategories such as testing, evaluating and creating. Since I was in charge of the mechanical aspects of the project Ill explain what I had to do for the mechanics of the controller. The first phase was creo modeling where I had to think of a design which met our customer needs and aesthetic desires. This category was further broken down into measuring and modeling. The second phase consisted of 3D printing all the creo designs. After the printing was completed, we entered the assembling phase. The fourth phase was testing and evaluating the controller in terms of strength, mobility and outputs. Since this is a project that I worked on in college I never had to breakdown a project in terms of departments. But in the medical industry I believe a combination of all the types of breakdowns will be efficient and effective to produce a product.

In my time as a research assistant at a drug discovery & development laboratory, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) was utilized to effectively break up the different tasks required to publish a new drug compound. The task breakdown included R&D, Drug Design, Chemical Synthesis, Assay Testing, and Publishing. In this case the project was broken down by phases to effectively keep all researches informed about what was required of them currently and what tasks still remained. Large broad category titles were given to general phases of the project while there were numerous smaller subcategories that were enveloped within each. Also, I believe that the type of breakdown of the WBS is highly dependent on the preference of the project manager. Each projects breakdown will come down to whichever way he/she is most comfortable approaching the task at hand.

My capstone project involved programming a 3-DOF admittance control hand exoskeleton for robotically facilitated training of the hemiparetic hand and an interactive, virtual 3D environment for its platform. We broke the project down by task and order of completion because the next task of the project could not imagine fruition without the successful completion of its previous task. In this way each task's completion was in itself a milestone and strict adherence to out Gantt chart was vital and, often times, difficult. The scope of the project prevented my team from being able to breakdown the work for the project in any other way. Admittance control programming for the robot had to be completed before any inverse kinematics could be done; inverse kinematics had to be working properly before any game could be designed; and only after the game was running smoothly could the hardware be built, assembled, and tested. We put in place verification and validation (troubleshooting) measures in order to make sure we successfully completed the task and reached our milestone.

One of the huge activities going ahead around the time I was interning was this change from one strategy for cleansing system to another technique for disinfection method. The venture chief had separated the calendar into various stages. Amid when I was interning, they were recently beginning to test materials. So there would be distinctive gatherings testing different inserts. They were assembling every one of these inserts and sanitizing them in this new strategy and sent them out for testing. At that point once testing was done, they would get the parts and perform more examination on them. Inside that whole procedure, there were sub-forms. So the assembling group would make a couple parts and send them out for testing. At that point accepting would recover the parts and send them to bundling. Bundling would then process the parts and bundle them where they would be sent back to sanitization for Gas Plasma disinfection in the "new" strategy. This was only a little stage. There were different stages which included administrative, showcasing, R&D, and so on. It was an exceptionally wholesome venture since it was fascinating to perceive how every division assumes a part in a venture.

I'm also currently working on my capstone project, and we also broke down the project into categories. We split up the project into hardware and software. The project is developing a smart-cast, a cast that can measure the degree of inflammation around the affected area and give a more accurate representation of the healing process. We further split up the hardware into categories based on components and the software based on the hardware components. We could have tried a different method, but since our project is built from so many components, using a category system was more beneficial to us in the long run because it allowed us to focus on each component separately before creating a system design. If we had to do it differently, perhaps a phase breakdown would also be suitable. Hardware and software would be developed simultaneously, and each phase would constitute a different component.

I did worked for my undergraduate project where we designed a neural network for the detection of short awakenings in sleep for the persons who are affected with Parkinson disease. It's a severity detection using the variability in the sleep cycle. In this project we divided it into different phases.Recruitment of subjects, Data collection, Data Analysis, Application of Neural Network, Statistical Analysis. Since three of us where involved in the project. Two of us where taking in charge of recruitment and data acquisition and one of us was totally taking the analysis part. Data collection and data analysis where done side by side and so the time period was reduced.

One of the crucial projects going on while I was in my co-op was to manufacture the knee implant. The project manager had broken down in several phases including validation, testing, cleaning, and packaging. This was the first time for us making a knee implant for a specific customer. As we received the material, we first did a prototype lot and began performing more analysis on the parts. After the process was clear and verified, we needed to start manufacturing the actual lot. Now, the validation engineer gets involved and must validate the machine to manufacture the knee implants. Then, once the validation is done, the quality department is involved in performing inspection on the parts. Within the inspection, there are sub inspections, in which the parts are checked for different measurements. Once the inspection is finished, the parts are passed on the packaging and shipping department. This project really showed how each department contributes to a project and the hierarchical breakdown of tasks performed for the project.

For my Capstone project, we were tasked to create a controller for a robot. To do this, my team and I divided the project into stages: planning, research, building, and testing. In the planning stage, we decided on who is doing what, when each task should be completed, what components we need to have, what types of information do we need, etc. In the research stage, we looked into the components, such as their attributes and prices. We also looked into RS-232 and other information about electrical circuits. We also looked more into 3D printing and about our target market which are people who suffer from the specific neuromuscular disease. In the building stages, we started developing the project. This portion of the project was also divided into 3 parts: electrical, mechanical, and software. We divided the project into components which allowed us to build the project from the inside out to minimize the chances that mistakes can be made. Each member was also assigned a task that they were comfortable with and were able to accomplish.

While working at General Dynamics Electric Boat, I worked on projects that were broken down into departments and other projects that were broken down into "area of expertise" or categories. I can honestly say that breaking a project down by departments was the worst. This was due to people in that department not actually having a formal background in that department. A lot of times in industry, it is assumed that most things can be picked up on the job. The problem is that usually when solving a new problem, you need more information. Breaking a project down and considering the talent that you have on your team helped projects move along. When I discovered that I had an area and no one on my team had the talent to do it, I found someone who was an expert on it such as an outside company. The breakdown by talent would have the following components: regulations, prototype design, funding, electrical, testing. Looking at these from the outside, I'm sure it doesn't make much sense because prototype design alone looks like a huge job but when people are an expert in doing that, they output a better product than anyone would have imagined.

My only experience working in product development was during my senior capstone project as an undergraduate. My team was tasked with developing a testing apparatus for surgical staplers that simulated associating force profiles expected when using the stapler. We followed a generic 12 step engineering design process which helped organize and guide us through the various stages of the project. Once user needs were established and a particular solution was selected, we entered the design and prototype stage. During this stage, we broke the project down into 3 major categories; structural, electrical, and software. The structural category consisted of the framing, layout, and overall assembly of the device. The electrical category contained the sensors, motherboards, and associating connections within the system. The software section dealt with the logic controlling and processing the system as a whole. Breaking this project down into categories certainly helped organize the workload, however there were many points throughout development where the categories had to overlap during testing. For example, our project consisted of a load cell that controlled the displacement of a linear actuator depending on the force detected. Before combining the load cell and linear actuator into a feedback system, we had to develop code for the load cell and the linear actuator individually. This process required an overlap between the software and electrical categories. Since this is my only experience working in product development, I understand that a product development work breakdown structure typically consists of a combination of category, phase, and departmental breakdown.  

Posted by: @djr32

In this week’s lecture, we learned about the term Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), which a hierarchical breakdown of tasks performed for the project.

I have not yet had the opportunity to work in industry, but I did take part in many projects at NJIT. One of the projects was my capstone project, AudiQ. Unknowingly, we applied the broke down the project into categories, like the mountain bike example. My team and I broke the project into four parts: internal database, external database, GUI of the game, and sound production. Within each component, it was broken down into further categories. For example, GUI of the game was broken down into Speech-In-Noise section, Pitch Discrimination section, and the sound localization sections.

Find a medical device or project you worked on and share how you would break down or broken the project into tasks. Would you break down the project into categories, phases, by department or all? Is one hierarchal breakdown better than the other or do you need a combination of all types of breakdown?

I also have no yet worked in industry but I did work on a project in capstone. My capstone project was a canine prosthetic limb. This project highly relied on cad designs. Since our project was mostly CAD design we split the work up into the different parts of the prosthetic. Knowing this we split up the prosthetic into four main parts: the vest, the socket, the length adjustment mechanism and the cheetah blade. With these four parts there were other categories. For example, the socket's outer shell was created in CREO but there was also an interior lining that needed to be assembled as well. The length adjustment mechanism also needed a locking mechanism. The cheetah blade also needed the addition of a rubber sole. Each member was in charge of one of the four parts and the subparts that go with them. We also decided that the first four main parts should be designed first and printed and perfected then the sub parts would be added.