Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) In Project Management

What is Work Breakdown Structure?

The PMBOK® Guide—Third Edition from the Project Management Institute defines the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) as a hierarchical breakdown of project work, organized by deliverables and aimed at achieving project objectives. It encompasses the entire scope of the project and becomes more detailed at each lower level. The WBS is divided into work packages and encompasses both internal and external deliverables.

In WBS project management, several terms are commonly associated:

1. Acceptance Criteria: Defined standards required to meet stakeholder or customer expectations.
2. Budget: Project-related expenses categorized by deliverables or phases.
3. Deliverables: Products, services, or outcomes produced at different project stages. For example, in a website design project, a deliverable-focused WBS might outline items like URL, layout, and written content.
4. Milestones: Key project stages identified within the WBS.
5. Phases: Different stages of a project’s lifecycle. In a website design project, a phase-oriented WBS might encompass stages like discovery, design, and launch, rather than specific deliverables.
6. WBS: Abbreviation for Work Breakdown Structure, the hierarchical decomposition of project work.

This framework helps in organizing and managing project tasks, ensuring clarity in objectives, and facilitating effective communication among team members and stakeholders.

Key Characteristics and Components of the WBS

The 100% rule stands as a pivotal element within a work breakdown structure (WBS). It dictates that the WBS comprehensively covers all project aspects, including the accountable individual or team for each component.

Another significant attribute of the WBS is its tiered arrangement. Adhering to the 100% rule, the initial tier (Level 1) of the WBS encapsulates the entirety of the project. In instances where the project’s essence isn’t self-evident, some WBSs may incorporate a summary or project overview at this top tier. Subsequent tiers progressively dissect the project into finer details, ensuring compliance with the 100% rule at every level. For example, in crafting a WBS for a fresh website, Level 1 might encompass “Website for New Brand.” Level 2 segments then delineate the specific deliverables essential for project fruition, such as securing the website URL, designing the layout, and developing content. Each ensuing tier further dissects these elements, refining the breakdown into more granular specifics.

Why a WBS Is Helpful for Project Management

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) proves its value in project management through various avenues. To start, it dissects the project into manageable segments, alleviating the sense of overwhelm.

Moreover, it serves as a navigational guide for disparate individuals and teams engaged in the project. With numerous teams concurrently operating, coordination and integration are vital. The WBS allows these groups to concentrate on their distinct responsibilities and outcomes while comprehending their role within the broader project framework.

Lastly, the WBS acts as a robust instrument for gauging project progress, pinpointing pivotal milestones, and distributing budgetary resources. Adherence to the 100% rule assures project managers of accurate budgeting, preventing surprises stemming from unforeseen deliverables that could impede progress.

How to Create a WBS in Project Manager

To effectively utilize a work breakdown structure (WBS), it’s crucial to encompass all project components (remembering the aforementioned 100% rule) while maintaining an optimal level of detail. Surprisingly, an excess of detail within the WBS can prove counterproductive.

Below outlines the procedure for crafting a WBS:

1. Define the project: Clearly outlining the project marks the initial phase in crafting a work breakdown structure. While some projects may present a straightforward definition, others might necessitate refining the project’s scope to ensure the WBS remains appropriately scaled and manageable.
2. Set project boundaries: Once the project is articulated, establish clear boundaries regarding what falls within the purview of the WBS.
3. Identify project deliverables: High-level deliverables associated with the project, such as a Project Scope Statement or Mission Statement, should be clearly identified.
4. Define Level 1 elements: Adhering to the 100% rule, articulate the Level 1 deliverables.
5. Break down Level 1 elements: Decomposition, the process of breaking down tasks into smaller fragments, follows for each Level 1 element. Apply the 100% rule iteratively, questioning whether further decomposition enhances project management. Continue until the answer indicates no further breakdown is necessary. Upon completion of this process for each Level 1 element, the WBS is finalized.
6. Identify team members: Assign responsibility to individuals or teams for each element delineated within the WBS.
7. Create a Gantt chart: Accompany the WBS with a Gantt chart illustrating project activities across time. This visual representation aids in comprehending project scheduling and its various tasks.

These steps ensure a systematic approach to constructing a comprehensive yet manageable WBS for effective project management.

Get a quick overview of how to create a WBS using a Gantt chart on the Web site www.projectmanager.com:

1. Identify Project Deliverables

The project life cycle encompasses five key stages: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure. Each stage yields specific deliverables crucial for achieving the ultimate project completion.

Distinguish the phases within your project beyond a simple task list. Utilize our milestone feature integrated into the Gantt chart tool to highlight and set these stages apart. For enhanced clarity, consider color-coding to distinctly mark and differentiate each phase.

2. List Subtasks, Describe Tasks & Set Task Owner

Side quests constitute integral components within broader and intricate quests. Similarly, in your WBS work package, they fit seamlessly as a feature. Incorporate summary tasks or work packages positioned above interconnected tasks. Depending on your WBS type preferences, these can represent either your project phases or project deliverables. Ensure to indent them for organizational clarity and structure.

3. Link Dependencies

Task dependencies refer to tasks that rely on the completion or initiation of another task. Establish connections between dependent tasks by dragging one task to the other. All four types of task dependencies are supported for linkage. Identifying these interdependent tasks at this stage prevents potential bottlenecks during the execution phase.

4. Set Resources & Costs

Resources encompass everything necessary to fulfill project phases, deliverables, and work packages. This includes team members, materials, supplies, and equipment. Leveraging your WBS enables the breakdown of project scope into work packages, facilitating resource and cost estimation.

5. Add Start & End Dates & Estimated Completion

Each task comes with a designated start and end date. Enter the task’s intended start date in the planned start date column and its projected completion date in the planned finish date column. Additionally, include an estimated completion column to denote the anticipated duration you’ve planned for each task.

6. Track Status of Control Accounts & Work Packages

Monitoring progress is the key to assessing if a project aligns with its planned trajectory. That’s where a WBS proves valuable with its control accounts and work packages. In terms of tasks, monitoring provides insights into various aspects: recorded hours, costs, priority, new communications, percentage completion, and a comparison between actual progress and the planned milestones.

7. Write Notes

Maintaining a section for notes is a wise practice. Despite the comprehensive nature of the WBS, there might be specific aspects that require attention and don’t neatly fit into its structured framework.

8. Generate Reports

Project reports glean insights from the project, providing visibility into its progress, overall status, costs, and other vital elements. Utilize our reporting tool to create a detailed report derived from your WBS. These reports condense project data and provide options to filter and showcase specific information. Moreover, they facilitate effortless sharing with stakeholders, enabling review and valuable insights.

Tips for making a work breakdown structure

When creating a work breakdown structure, adhere to these guidelines for optimal outcomes:

1. The 100% Rule: Ensure that your WBS covers 100% of the work needed to accomplish the primary goal, without incorporating irrelevant tasks. Additionally, child tasks within each level must encompass all the work required to complete the parent task.
2. Mutually Exclusive: Avoid duplicating sub-tasks or accounting for work multiple times. Violating the 100% rule can lead to miscalculations in determining project resources.
3. Focus on Outcomes, Not Actions: Concentrate on deliverables and outcomes rather than specific actions. For instance, in a bike-building project, a deliverable might be “the braking system,” while actions would involve tasks like “calibrating the brake pads.”
4. The 8/80 Rule: Determine suitable work package sizes using guidelines like the 8/80 rule, suggesting that a work package should demand no less than eight hours but no more than 80 hours of effort. Other suggestions involve considering no more than ten days’ effort or aligning with standard reporting periods. Apply common sense and judgment to decide what makes sense for your project.
5. Three Levels: Aim for around three levels of detail within your WBS. While some branches might have more subdivisions, maintaining an average of three levels ensures an appropriate scope and level of detail.
6. Assign Responsibilities: Assign each work package to a specific team or individual. A well-structured WBS eliminates work overlap, ensuring clear responsibilities for each task.

WBS Examples, Templates, and Tools

Work breakdown structure example

Consider this example while contemplating the creation of a work breakdown structure—a breakdown for constructing a house.

Observe how the principles of building a WBS are applied here. Initially, the house construction project is segmented into three major sections: foundation, exterior, and interior. These sections are then subdivided into one or two more levels, keeping the total levels to a maximum of three. The required effort for building the house is distributed among all the work packages, summing up to 100% effort. Notably, there’s no repetition of tasks depicted in this diagram. To enhance this representation further, consider incorporating the budget for each work package and assigning specific teams to each task.

Work breakdown structure template

Here are several work breakdown structure templates to kickstart your project. Easily access each template by clicking to open it, allowing you to personalize the information, layout, and design according to your needs.

Work breakdown structure tools

If you need additional support or require a more detailed and comprehensive WBS, consider using software tools. Platforms like WBS Schedule Pro and Microsoft Visio offer user-friendly software solutions to streamline the process. If you are still not satisfied, I can recommend more: EdrawMax, SmartDraw, Matchware, Lucidchart, Visual Paradigm, Creately, GanttPro, Zoho Projects.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is meant by work breakdown structure?

A work breakdown structure dissects a sizable project into smaller, manageable components. This simplifies the process for teams, aiding in scope identification, cost assessment, and the delegation of tasks to the most suitable team members for the job.

Why should project managers use a WBS?

A work breakdown structure enables project managers to grasp the project’s intricate details by displaying its individual components in a single document. It serves as a vital tool for communicating project budget and timeline details to key stakeholders, involving both individuals and project teams. Additionally, by dissecting the project into smaller elements, a WBS consolidates scope, cost, and deliverables into a unified and comprehensive tool.

How can a project manager get started with a WBS?

Numerous tools and software exist to aid in WBS creation. Platforms like Monday, ProjectManager, and Wrike provide templates and tools for guidance. For a more comprehensive approach, consider software options such as WBS Schedule Pro and Microsoft Visio.

Should you use a Gantt chart with WBS?

Quite a few project managers have discovered that Gantt charts complement WBS effectively. They assist teams in estimating the duration of individual tasks and visualizing the complete project timeline from initiation to completion.