What are the identified risks for doing excessive decomposition in a WBS?

Question

Options

• AInsufficient project funding and disqualification of sellers
• BInsufficient project funding and ineffective use of resources
• CDisqualification of sellers and non-productive management efforts
• DNon-productive management effort and inefficient use of resources

• A
  3% (1)
• B
  13% (5)
• C
  8% (3)
• D
  77% (30)

Explanation

Option D is correct because excessive decomposition in a WBS - breaking work down into unnecessarily small work packages - creates non-productive management effort (time spent planning, tracking, and controlling tiny tasks that add no real value) and inefficient use of resources (team members spending more time on reporting and administration than on actual work).

Options A and C are wrong because insufficient project funding and disqualification of sellers are unrelated to decomposition depth - they involve budget allocation and procurement processes, not how finely you break down scope. Option B is a near-miss: it pairs the plausible "inefficient use of resources" with the unrelated "insufficient project funding," making it a trap for test-takers who recognize one correct element but miss the pairing error.

Memory tip: Think of "too much decomposition" as "micro-managing your own schedule" - you waste manager time babysitting tiny tasks (non-productive management effort) and burn team capacity on overhead instead of deliverables (inefficient use of resources). Both harms are internal and operational, so any answer mentioning funding or sellers is immediately out of scope.

No community discussion yet for this question.