International Journal of Commerce and Management Studies (IJCAMS)

Vol.3, No.2, June 2018

www.ijcams.com

Work Breakdown Structure: Simplifying Project

Management
Dr. Mukul Burghate

HOD, MBA Dept, DNC, RTMNU, Nagpur

[email protected]

Abstract ​- ​The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a 4. Procedure

powerful tool for project management. It is the cornerstone of
effective project planning, execution, controlling, statusing, and 4.1 Structure
reporting. All the work contained within the WBS is to be
identified, estimated, scheduled, and budgeted. The WBS is the A project WBS is a product-oriented grouping of project
structure and code that integrates and relates all project work work elements that organizes and defines the total scope of
(scope, schedule, and cost). the project. The WBS is a multi-level framework that
organizes and graphically represents elements showing
Keywords - ​WBS, work breakdown structure, Project,
work to be accomplished in logical relationships. Each
management tool, Project Management
descending level represents an increasingly detailed
definition/division of a project component. It is the
1. Introduction structure and code that integrates and relates all project
work and is used throughout the life cycle of a project to
WBS is the grouping of the work involved in a project identify, assign, and track specific work scopes. The WBS
oriented towards the deliverables that defines the total will be established in sufficient detail so that each control
scope of the project. This scope of the project further account has a unique WBS element. The WBS is described
breaks down the total work required for the project into in the Project Execution Plan (PEP), or attached as an
separate tasks, and groups them into a logical hierarchy. appendix.

4.2 Responsibility
2. Purpose
Project Managers are responsible for the creation of a
The Work Breakdown Structure separates the complete WBS for their assigned projects, with input from other
project into its component elements in order to track the members of the project team.
cost, time and technical performance at all levels of the
project life cycle. 4.3 Creating the Work Breakdown Structure

Take the committed deliverables from your project charter,

3. Scope statement of work, or other project concept documentation.
This list of deliverables becomes your Level 1 (highest
The WBS is a product-oriented, hierarchical representation level) entries within the WBS. All WBS Entries that
of all activities/work elements required to accomplish the directly correspond to deliverables should be named as
complete work scope of the project. Project Managers are noun deliverables or adjective/noun deliverables.
responsible for the creation of a WBS. Examples include “Specification” or “Design
Specification”. Take each of these highest level entries,
and decompose them into their component parts (each
 International Journal of Commerce and Management Studies (IJCAMS)
Vol.3, No.2, June 2018
www.ijcams.com

becoming a WBS Entry). Each component must be occur, can often be traced to a poorly developed or
logically distinct, as everyone who sees the WBS needs to nonexistent WBS. A poorly constructed WBS can result in
understand what the deliverable or outcome will be from adverse project outcomes including ongoing, repeated
each WBS Entry. Continue the decomposition until you project re-plans and extensions, unclear work assignments,
reach an appropriate level of detail. When all committed scope creep or unmanageable, frequently changing scope,
deliverables have been decomposed to the appropriate budget overrun, missed deadlines and unusable new
level of detail (becoming Activities), examine each WBS products or delivered features. The WBS is a foundation of
Entry and Activity to see if there are required deliverables project initiating, planning, executing, and monitoring and
that are not already in the WBS but that will be needed to controlling processes used to manage projects.
create something that already is in the WBS. Take all these
required deliverables, and decompose them to the For example, the WBS utilizes the Project Charter as its
appropriate level of detail, just as you did for the starting point. The high-level elements in the WBS should
committed deliverables. Level the hierarchy to the extent match, word-for-word, the nouns used to describe the
that it is possible. At this stage of development, the WBS outcomes of the project in the Scope Statement. In
may have some Activities/Tasks at level two, some at level addition, the Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS)
three, and so on. See if the hierarchy can be modified so describes the project’s resource organization and can be
that the number of levels that Activities/Tasks fall into is used in conjunction with the WBS to define work package
reduced to a short range. Do this for every WBS Entry, assignments. The WBS Dictionary defines, details, and
attempting to get each entry in the WBS to decompose into clarifies the various elements of the WBS. The Network
5 to 9 lower level entries. You should never make these Diagram is a sequential arrangement of the work defined
changes if the merger or split of a WBS Entry does not by the WBS and the elements of the WBS are starting
make logical sense. When you think you have a completed points for defining the activities included in the Project
WBS, validate it using a bottom-up approach. A Schedule.
bottom-up validation works like this: - For each WBS
Entry that decomposes into Activities, ask yourself the
question: “If I had all the deliverables from each of these
Activities, would my WBS Entry deliverable be
complete?” If the answer is yes, move on to the next WBS
Entry. If the answer is no, add in the missing Activities.
Once the evaluation of the lowest level WBS Entries and
Activities is complete, examine the next higher level of
WBS Entries. Keeping with our three-level example, for
each Phase ask: “If I had the deliverables from the WBS
Entries that are part of this Phase, would the Phase
deliverable be complete?” If the answer is yes, move on to
the next one, if the answer is no than add in the missing
WBS Entries or go back to step 4 and rebalance the
hierarchy, or both. When you have completed your
bottom-up validation, it is now appropriate to re-evaluate
the entire WBS one last time by comparing the currently
Fig1. The work breakdown structure illustrated in a block diagram
defined WBS deliverables to the originally defined
objectives for the project. Ask yourself the question, “If I
The PERT Coordinating Group (1962) defined a work
had all these deliverables, would I achieve the planned
package (WP) as ‘‘The work required to complete a
objectives for the project?” If the answer is yes, you can
specific job or process, such as a report, a design, a
move on to the next step. If the answer is no, you still
documentation requirement or portion thereof, a piece of
have a lot of work to do.
hardware, or a service.’’ PMI (1996) states: ‘‘[A] work
package is a deliverable at the lowest level of the WBS.’’
4.4 Why Work Breakdown Structure? Unfortunately, there is no accepted definition of the WPs
nor accepted approach to link them with other related
The Importance of the WBS Experienced project managers structures (foremost among them the OBS). In most cases,
know there are many things that can go wrong in projects the WPs are defined in an informal, intuitive manner and
regardless of how successfully they plan and execute their without proper feedback loops to verify their definition.
work. Component or full-project failures, when they do
 International Journal of Commerce and Management Studies (IJCAMS)
Vol.3, No.2, June 2018
www.ijcams.com

When a project is falling behind, referring the work

4.4.1 Work breakdown structure and milestones breakdown structure will quickly identify the major
deliverables impacted by a failing work package or late
In the work breakdown structure element (work package, a sub- deliverable. The work breakdown structure can also
middle-tier or work breakdown structure) when completed, be color coded to represent sub- deliverable status.
will output a series of deliverables. However, according to Assigning colors of red for late, yellow for at risk, green
the actual situation of the project, the team can make this for on-target, and blue for completed deliverables is an
unit of work associated with a milestone. Milestone marks effective way to produce a heat-map of project progress
one of the results or stages of work completed. Specially, and draw management’s attention to key areas of the work
the milestone is closely associated with and deliverables. breakdown structure.
When reaching milestones, project team members can
subscribe to a project summary, reflection. If obstacles are 4.4.3 Benefits of Work Breakdown Structure
found, you can take the necessary measures. Milestone
exists to make specific for team goals, compared with the 1. A WBS helps the project planners identify the work to
main objective of the project and deliverables, milestones be done and determine the best way to decompose the
more easily and control, to reduce project risks. According work.
to the work breakdown structure, a point in the process of 2.
the project is running social milestone is meaningful. A WBS provides an overview of the project, which st
akeholders can review at any level of detail they wan
4.4.2 Work Breakdown Structure need Project Teams t.
3.
The work breakdown structure has a number of benefits in A scope statement is only a high-level view of the b
addition to defining and organizing the project work. A oundaries of a project. A WBS exposes the detailed t
project budget can be allocated to the top levels of the asks that comprise the overall project scope.
work breakdown structure, and department budgets can be 4. Team members appreciate
quickly calculated based on the each project’s work clear instructions about what they are supposed to del
breakdown structure. By allocating time and cost estimates iver. A work package communicates the extent of an
to specific sections of the work breakdown structure, a assignment. The relationship of the work package to t
project schedule and budget can be quickly developed. As he rest of the WBS increases workers’ commitment b
the project executes, specific sections of the work y showing how their efforts contribute to success.
breakdown structure can be tracked to identify project cost 5. Project deliverables that
performance and identify issues and problem areas in the don’t have corresponding summary tasks or work pac
project organization. For more information Project work kages in the WBS are a warning that you haven’t yet
breakdown structures can also be used to identify potential identified all the work that the project requires.
risks in a given project. If a work breakdown structure has 6. Work Breakdown Structure helps the planners develop
a branch that is not well defined then it represents a scope more accurate estimates of a project schedule and costs
definition risk. These risks should be tracked in a project 7. Once you begin executing the project, work
log and reviewed as the project executes. By integrating packages and summary tasks are not yet started,in pro
the work breakdown structure with an organization gress, or complete. By breaking work into smaller co
breakdown structure, the project manager can also identify mponents, you have more points at which you can ac
communication points and formulate a communication curately measure progress.
plan across the project organization.
Project work breakdown structures can also be used to
identify potential risks in a given project. If a work 5. Facts and Information
breakdown structure has a branch that is not well defined
then it represents a scope definition risk. These risks
A WBS is not an exhaustive list of work. Rather it is a
should be tracked in a project log and reviewed as the
comprehensive classification of project scope. A WBS is
project executes. By integrating the work breakdown
not a project plan or a project schedule and it is not a
structure with an organization breakdown structure, the
chronological listing. It is considered poor practice to
project manager can also identify communication points
construct a project schedule before designing a proper
and formulate a communication plan across the project
WBS. It is very difficult to follow the 100% Rule at all
organization.
levels of the WBS hierarchy. It is not possible to recover
 International Journal of Commerce and Management Studies (IJCAMS)
Vol.3, No.2, June 2018
www.ijcams.com

from an improperly defined WBS without starting over, so project. Project teams should start thinking of WBS as an
it is worthwhile to finish the WBS design before starting a instrument which can be twisted to suit the specific project
project plan or project schedule. A WBS is not an scope needs. There is no hard and fast rule that one needs
organizational hierarchy. Some practitioners make the to break-up a requirement into three levels or four levels. It
mistake of creating a WBS that shadows the organizational is up to the project teams and the project manager to
chart. While it is common for responsibility to be assigned decide on the degree to which a particular
to organizational elements, a WBS that shadows the requirement/scope needs to be broken-down to in order to
organizational structure is not descriptive of the project make it meaningful and reasonable for successful
scope and is not outcome-oriented. Short-term memory implementation, monitoring and delivery. There might be
capacity should not dictate the size and span of a WBS tree some requirements that are straightforward and which
structure. Some reference material suggests that each WBS would not take a couple of weeks to implement- then in
level be limited to 5-9 elements because that is a that case the requirement itself can be assumed as a work
theoretical limit to short-term memory. It is far more package spanning across two weeks duration and the
important to construct a logical grouping of planned output of the final deliverable also is clearly understood
outcomes than to worry about the limits of short term since the original requirement defines it with precision.
human memory. WBS updates, other than progressive One other vital aspect that projects teams need to bear in
elaboration of details, require formal change control. This mind is to ensure that they always keep an open
is another reason why a WBS should be outcome-oriented communication channel with the Customer/Client and the
and not be prescriptive of methods. Methods can and do various stakeholders of the project throughout the process
changes frequently, but changes in planned outcomes of WBS creation. One should not assume that since the
require a higher degree of formality. If outcomes and team is breaking-up scope into smaller elements and
actions are blended, change control may be too rigid for creating a WBS, discussion with the stakeholders is not
actions and too informal for outcomes. necessary – that would be one of the biggest blunders.
Bottom line is that how can one break-up a larger scope
5.1. Avoid Common Mistakes into the required smaller elements unless they are clear on
the final product change or the functionality that is
The process of creating a WBS should be considered as a expected from the project. Breaking-up scope into smaller
team building activity. For projects of normal size, a WBS activities is not going to help unless one is clear on the
cannot be created by one team member. It needs various actual output desired from the given requirements.
team members to take-up each high level requirement
within the given scope, the whole team and then each lead 7. Conclusion
team members need to come-up with the
activity/work-package break-up details related to that WBS is an effective tool for Project Management in the
specific requirement. Likewise, the activity details are planning and execution of a successful project. It is very
arrived at the other lead team members and the project useful in tacking cost, schedule and quality failures in
team consolidates all the deliverables information received project management life cycle.
and collates back to a fully blown WBS which can then
further be sued for the next steps of project planning and References
scheduling. A WBS is not a project plan or a project
schedule. It only provides detailed information on the [1] PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES Work Breakdown
given initial scope and on the final deliverables that need Structure (Rev E, June 2003)
to be implemented to achieve the project goals and [2] Creating WBS : Copyright © 2000 Artemis Management
objectives. It should be understood that WBS helps in Systems
giving an accurate input for creating a project schedule by [3] Practice Standard for WBS 2nd edition by Project
Management Institute, Inc.
way of the activity/work package information. Project
[4] How to plan and organize a project by Michael D. Taylor
teams typically assume that as part of a WBS creation, [5] Building a Project Work Breakdown Structure: Visualizing
they need to go into details of the high-level requirement – Objectives, Deliverables, Activities, and Schedules by
which is correct. But one needs to understand that this Dennis P. Miller, PMP
drilling down of the high-level requirement should not be [6] Work package: Work Breakdown Structure BOAZ GOLANY
taken down to the lowest level of the detail which makes it AVRAHAM SHTUB Technion—Israel Institute of
cumbersome for the project team members itself to Technology
monitor and it also leads to micro-management from a
project managers perspective which is not healthy for any
 International Journal of Commerce and Management Studies (IJCAMS)
Vol.3, No.2, June 2018
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[7] Successful Project Management Applying Best Practices and

Real-World Techniques with Microsoft® Project by Bonnie
Biafo