Define Activities

 We’re tackling the Define Activities process from the PMBOK Guide.

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Transcript

Hey there, project pros! Welcome back to PMP in a Snap, the podcast where we take project management concepts, break them down, and serve them up in bite-sized, easy-to-digest pieces. I’m your host, Kaye B., and today, we’re tackling the Define Activities process from the PMBOK Guide.

Now, if you’ve ever had a project where tasks seemed to pop up out of nowhere like surprise guests at a party—yeah, that means someone skipped Define Activities. And trust me, that’s not a party you want to be at.

So, before we get into it, let’s do a quick recap of where this fits into Project Schedule Management.

Let’s do a Quick Recap of project schedule management

Time—or, as the PMBOK calls it, Project Schedule Management—is all about making sure the project gets done on time. It includes six processes:

1. Plan Schedule Management – Setting the ground rules for how we will create and manage the schedule.
   
   
   
2. Define Activities – Identifying all the tasks needed to complete the project. This is what we’re focusing on today!
   
   
   
3. Sequence Activities – Putting tasks in the correct order.
   
   
   
4. Estimate Activity Durations – Figuring out how long each task will take.
   
   
   
5. Develop Schedule – Combining everything to build the project timeline.
   
   
   
6. Control Schedule – Monitoring the schedule and adjusting as needed.
   
   
   

Alright, now let’s get into the Define Activities process—the step where we go from broad project deliverables to a real, actionable task list.

Let’s get down to what is Define Activities

Define Activities is the process where we identify and document all the individual tasks needed to complete the project work. This step is crucial because if you don’t know what needs to be done, how can you plan for it?

Think of it like planning a road trip. You wouldn’t just say, “We’re going to New York.” You’d break it down: Pack bags, check the car, map the route, get snacks (because snacks are non-negotiable), and so on. That’s what we’re doing here—breaking down the project into smaller, manageable tasks.

Time to go through the Inputs, Tools & Techniques, and Outputs

To define activities, you don’t just start listing random tasks. You need a solid foundation. The key inputs are:

1. Schedule Management Plan – This tells us how we’re going to manage scheduling, including guidelines for breaking down tasks.
   
   
   
2. Scope Baseline – This includes the project scope statement, WBS (Work Breakdown Structure), and WBS dictionary—basically, what work needs to be done.
   
   
   
3. Enterprise Environmental Factors – Things like organizational culture, scheduling software, or external regulations that might impact your tasks.
   
   
   
4. Organizational Process Assets – Company policies, past project templates, and best practices that help define activities more efficiently.
   
   
   

Once we have the inputs, we need some methods or tools and techniques to actually define activities. PMBOK gives us a few. These are:

1. Decomposition – This fancy term just means breaking down deliverables into smaller tasks until you get to a level where they can be assigned, estimated, and scheduled.
   
   
   
2. Rolling Wave Planning – If you don’t have all the details upfront, you can plan in waves—define near-term activities in detail and leave future activities at a higher level until more info becomes available.
   
   
   
3. Expert Judgment – Ask the people who’ve done it before. Whether it’s experienced team members, industry experts, or consultants, their input is gold.
   
   
   
4. Meetings – Get stakeholders, team members, and experts together to brainstorm and refine the list of activities.
   
   
   

After going through the Define Activities process, you walk away with the following outputs:

1. Activity List – A complete list of all tasks required to complete the project. Think of this as your ultimate to-do list.
   
   
   
2. Activity Attributes – Additional details about each task, such as who’s responsible, dependencies, location, and constraints.
   
   
   
3. Milestone List – Major checkpoints or significant events in the project that must be met, like project kickoff or final approval.
   
   
   

Now, you might be thinking, “Do I really need to go through all of this?” The answer is YES—if you want to avoid chaos. Here’s why:

• It prevents scope creep. Clearly defining tasks keeps extra, unplanned work from sneaking in.
  
  
  
• It improves scheduling. If you don’t know what needs to be done, how can you estimate time and resources?
  
  
  
• It boosts accountability. When tasks are well-defined, there’s no confusion about who’s responsible for what.
  
  
  
• It reduces surprises. Ever had a project where a crucial task was “forgotten” until it was too late? Yeah, Define Activities helps prevent that.
  
  
  
• It lays the foundation for everything else. You can’t sequence, estimate, or develop a schedule if you don’t have a clear list of activities.
  
  
  

Let’s sum it all up:

• Define Activities is the process of breaking down project work into individual tasks.
  
  
  
• Inputs include the Schedule Management Plan, Scope Baseline, and Organizational Process Assets.
  
  
  
• Tools & Techniques include Decomposition, Rolling Wave Planning, Expert Judgment, and Meetings.
  
  
  
• Outputs include the Activity List, Activity Attributes, and Milestone List.
  
  
  

Without this step, your project schedule is basically built on guesswork—and guesswork doesn’t

 That’s it for today’s episode of PMP in a Snap! If you found this episode helpful, go ahead and subscribe, share, and leave a review—it helps more project managers like you get the insights they need. Until next time, keep your projects tight, your meetings short, and your activity lists crystal clear. See you in the next episode!