The Core Elements of Program Planning and Controls - Organizing

    Here's the essential elements of the organizing processes for a project:

1. Are all the authorized work elements of the project defined? Who gets to say what the project is doing? This is sorted out in the project chartering session. Chartering defines the "rules of engagement" for the project.
2. Is there a credible Work Breakdown Structure? By credible I mean one that describes the deliverables? A WBS should NEVER describe the functions of the organization. The customer bought a product or a service, not the functional organization that produces it. If you succumb the notional that there are alternative WBS, including ones describing functions, your project is Level of Effort and has no tangible measures of progress.
3. What is the project's organizational structure? Build a RAM (Responsibility Assignment Matrix) and define the Accountable people first. Then stop. Have those Accountable define the Responsible people. Ignore the Informed and Consulted useless you really think this will add value. Hold those Accountable for being Accountable, everything else will flow form there.
4. Integrate the planning, costing, WBS, OBS (Organizational Breakdown Structure) and risk management into some sort of "seamless" system. 
5. Make sure Cost and Schedule are inseparable. By inseparable I mean they are one and the same. No disconnects between cost and schedule.
6. Define the deliverables, what the measures of "done" look like, what the incremental measures of "done" look like, in units of measure meaningful to the stakeholders.