Work Breakdown Structure

What is a Work Breakdown Structure?

• A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables
• It is not a description of the processes followed to perform the project
• It is one of the essential steps to planning a project

Advantages of using a WBS

• Helps the project manager to be both comprehensive and specific
• Helps to define the scope of a project which is essential in ensuring the delivery of the project's objectives and outcomes
• Makes it easier to:
• Estimate required resources
• Create a realistic project schedule
• Control each stage of the project
• Especially useful for bigger projects that involve many elements

Importance of the WBS

• A poorly constructed WBS can result in:
• Ongoing, repeated project re-plans and extensions
• Unclear work assignments
• Scope creep
• Budget overrun
• Missed deadlines
• Unusable new products or delivered features
• 

Developing a WBS

• Determine the major deliverables or products of the project. These are what must be produced in order to meet the project's objectives.
• Divide major deliverables into component/intermediate deliverables.
• Divide each of these work pieces into its component parts.
• 8/80 rule: Continue to subdivide components until the lowest level component requires between 8 and 80 hours of work.
• Work packages: When components are defined in sufficient detail for management and planning purposes, they are known as work packages.

Example of Work Breakdown Structure

Example of Work Breakdown Structure

WBS interacting with other planning tools

• WBS Dictionary: Contains detailed information about each element of the project, including definitions of each work package, effort level and duration of tasks, resources and more
• Scope statement: High level elements of WBS should match, word for word, the nouns used to describe the project outcomes in the scope statement
• Resource breakdown structure: Describes the project's resource organisation - Can be used in conjunction with WBS to define work package assignments.
• Network diagram: A sequential arrangement of the work defined by the WBS
• Project schedule: Elements of the WBS are starting points for defining the activities included in the project schedule.