World Business Satellite? West By South? White Buffalo Society? Whole Body Scan? War Between the States? Write Back Soon? In project management, WBS stands for work breakdown structure. The name is rather self-explanatory. A work breakdown structure starts with a large project or objective and breaks it down into smaller, more manageable pieces that you can reasonably evaluate and assign to teams.
Rather than focusing on individual actions that must be taken to accomplish a project, a WBS generally focuses on deliverables or concrete, measurable milestones. These deliverables may also be called work packages, tasks, sub-tasks, or terminal elements. If you're still unclear on what is a work breakdown structure , it looks something like this:. All of these benefits essentially arise from working with chunks of a project that you can accurately visualize rather than trying to digest and interpret a mysterious and overwhelming task in one fell swoop.
This is a work breakdown structure for building a house. Notice how the rules of building a WBS are applied in this example. First, the house building project is subdivided into three large sections that seem to make sense: foundation, exterior, interior. Those sections are further subdivided to one or two more levels for a maximum of three levels. There is no duplication of work represented in this diagram. To further enhance this diagram, it would be possible to add the budget for each work package and assign a team.
You can choose from several different format options when creating a work breakdown structure. The example above uses a tree format, which is the most visual option. It structures the WBS like an org chart and shows the hierarchy of tasks in addition to providing space for additional information about each work package. No overlap aka mutual exclusivity. Make no tasks in your WBS overlap in scope definition. A WBS dictionary that describes each component in detail can help void mutual exclusivity.
Follow the percent rule. In other words, the elements in level two total percent, and the level three and lower elements roll up into the level two percentage. Your finished project should never total more or less than percent. Look at the level of detail. Generally, work packages should provide work that can be completed by a team or team member within a reporting period. If status meetings are weekly, then the work must be completed within one week.
If some deliverables are not known, you can enter as much information as you know currently, then update the document as you learn more details. The first step to creating a work breakdown structure is to bring the team together. Whether your team is all working onsite or remotely, it is essential for the members to participate in identifying the subdeliverables. You will also need to assemble these key documents to begin development of the WBS: the project charter, the project problem statement or scope definition, all applicable contract and agreement documentation, and the existing project management practice processes at your organization.
An effective work breakdown structure should contain each of the following elements or components:. Your tools for capturing information can be as simple as a stack of 5-by-3 cards or a pad of sticky notes that you use to write down the deliverables and related parts.
Then you can arrange them on a whiteboard, cork board, or even a wall. Virtual teams can perform a similar activity through collaborative whiteboarding software. To begin creating a WBS, define level one, the main deliverable of the project. Then add as much detail as possible to level two before moving to smaller chunks of work in level three and beyond, if needed.
Take these important preliminary steps first:. Although you can capture your WBS with index cards or pen and paper, electronic templates and tools make it easier to record, edit, and disseminate the chart to team members, then save it with document control settings so that updates are recorded through the change control process.
Templates simplify the job. Your team or company may already have a template. If not, you can create your own WBS or download one of the templates from the web and customize it. Look for these useful features in a template:. While work breakdown structures are and should be flexible and tailored to each project, these tips will help project managers and organizations create the most useful WBS:. An effective work breakdown structure cannot be slapped together overnight or by one person.
To be truly effective, a WBS should:. The WBS structure, or dictionary, is a fluid document, but will always include certain information. Here are the elements of a thorough, reliable WBS dictionary. Note that the elements that roll under each phase can be moved or adjusted as desired. Here is one example, involving the development of software, but notice that the project is not simply about the phases of software creation and testing.
With the sensibility required to avoid to-do lists and keep work packages manageable, measurable, and deliverable-oriented, how does a new program manager or new work breakdown structure user gain competence?
Project managers can gain confidence through mentoring newbies as they work their way through the ranks from such positions as project analyst to associate program manager.
Bennett echoes this notion that practice is the key to mastering work breakdown structures. But confidence is built through a combination of study, getting close to those who are using the method successfully, watching, asking questions, doing it oneself, soliciting feedback, learning from that feedback, and doing it again.
Bennett says the best way to learn is probably from finding out where and how the WBS was used to create a good result. Empower your people to go above and beyond with a flexible platform designed to match the needs of your team — and adapt as those needs change.
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Simple, powerful project management with Smartsheet. See for yourself. Here are some of the advantages and benefits of creating a WBS: Provides a visual representation of all parts of a project Offers an ongoing view for management and team members into how the entire project is progressing Defines specific and measurable outcomes Breaks the work into manageable chunks Provides a way to make successful experiences repeatable Sets a foundation for estimating costs and allocating human and other resources Ensures no overlap and no gaps in responsibility or resources Minimizes the chance of adding items outside the scope of work or forgetting a critical deliverable In addition, organizations have found other benefits in using work breakdown structures.
Teams can determine project schedule and budget quickly. As the project progresses, teams can track specific sections of the work breakdown structure to determine project cost performance and flag issues and problem areas in the organization. A well-crafted work breakdown structure can keep your team humming along like a well-oiled machine with these benefits: Improves productivity Helps project managers predict results based on various scenarios Helps with project organization Assists in describing the project scope to stakeholders Helps to distribute responsibilities Allows correct estimation of costs, risks, and time Increases communication Enables more creativity and brainstorming Focuses on end goals Organizes details Potentially prevents problems Addresses scheduling issues Helps manage risks Allocates tasks Gives teams flexibility Eliminates confusion Gives every team member clear task descriptions Helps write and support the statement of work Provides foundation for clear status report on project, since each work package is a measurable unit The Visual Advantage of Work Breakdown Structures The work breakdown structure chart or dictionary easily displays project details and status.
The most helpful WBS plans contain these components: Identification of which organization, department, or individual is responsible for each specific work piece The scheduled start and end dates Required resources Estimated cost of the project Charge numbers Contract details, requirements, and milestones Protocol for quality control, requirements, and standards Technical information and resources needed to achieve desired results At a higher level, the WBS can also serve directional and organizational roles.
A good Work Breakdown Structure is created using an iterative process by following these steps and meeting these guidelines:. Caution: It is possible to break the work down too much. How much is too much? Since cost and schedule data collection, analysis and reporting are connected to the WBS, a very detailed WBS could require a significant amount of unnecessary effort to manage. There are many WBS software tools available. Some of them are based on mind mapping and others are drawing tools.
You can read about these tools in this WBS software review. The Work Breakdown Structure is used for many different things. Initially, it serves as a planning tool to help the project team plan, define and organize scope with deliverables.
The WBS is also used as the primary source of schedule and cost estimate activities. But, its biggest contributions to a project are is use as a description all of the work and as a monitoring and controlling tool.
Estimateable—duration can be estimated in time required to complete, and cost can be estimated in resources required to complete. Independent—minimum interface with or dependence on other ongoing elements i.
Integratable—integrates with other project work elements and with higher level cost estimates and schedules to include the entire project. Measurable—can be used to measure progress; has start and completion dates and measurable interim milestones. Guidelines for Developing Work Breakdown Structure The development of Work Breakdown Structure involves subdividing the major project activities or sub-activities into smaller, more manageable activities until the activities are defined in sufficient detail to support the management and development of project works.
Here are some tips in developing a Work Breakdown Structure that can express works effectively: Always express Work Breakdown Structure activities at the lowest levels of granularity in verb form. Review the Work Breakdown Structure. Make sure all deliverables have been fully covered by the works defined in the Work Breakdown Structure.
Ensure that testing and training have been taken into account. Ensure that non-IT work packages are also included such as, documentation and review activities are included in the structure. Ensure that delivery approval cycles are taken into account. Include project management deliverables on the project as well e. Include any deliverables that must be met or delivered by the customer or any external parties.
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