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What is a Work Breakdown Structure

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14 views

What is a Work Breakdown Structure

Uploaded by

Ruben0110
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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What is a Work Breakdown

Structure?
➔Free 30-day WBS Software Trial
Breaking work into smaller tasks is a common productivity technique
used to make the work more manageable and approachable. For
projects, the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is the tool that
utilizes this technique and is one of the most important project
management documents. It singlehandedly integrates scope, cost and
schedule baselines ensuring that project plans are in alignment.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) Project Management Book of


Knowledge (PMBOK) defines the Work Breakdown Structure as a
“deliverable oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be
executed by the project team.” There are two types of WBS:
1) Deliverable-Based and 2) Phase-Based. The most common and
preferred approach is the Deliverable-Based approach. The main
difference between the two approaches are the Elements identified
in the first Level of the WBS.

Deliverable-Based Work Breakdown Structure


A Deliverable-Based Work Breakdown Structure clearly demonstrates
the relationship between the project deliverables (i.e., products,
services or results) and the scope (i.e., work to be executed). Figure 1
is an example of a Deliverable-Based WBS for building a house. Figure
2 is an example of a Phase-Based WBS for the same project.

FIGURE 1 – DELIVERABLE BASED WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE


In Figure 1, the Level 1 Elements are summary deliverable
descriptions. The Level 2 Elements in each Leg of the WBS are all the
unique deliverables required to create the respective Level 1
deliverable.

Phase-Based Work Breakdown Structure


In Figure 2, a Phase-Based WBS, the Level 1 has five Elements. Each
of these Elements are typical phases of a project. The Level 2
Elements are the unique deliverables in each phase. Regardless of
the type of WBS, the lower Level Elements are all deliverables. Notice
that Elements in different Legs have the same name. A Phase-Based
WBS requires work associated with multiple elements be divided into
the work unique to each Level 1 Element. A WBS Dictionary is created
to describe the work in each Element.

FIGURE 2 - PHASE BASED WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE

A good WBS is simply one that makes the project more manageable.
Every project is different; every project manager is different and
every WBS is different. So, the right WBS is the one that best answers
the question, “What structure makes the project more manageable?”.

How to Make a Work Breakdown Structure


A good Work Breakdown Structure is created using an iterative
process by following these steps and meeting these guidelines:

1. GATHER CRITICAL DOCUMENTS


a. Gather critical project documents.
b. Identify content containing project deliverables,
such as the Project Charter, Scope Statement and
Project Management Plan (PMP) subsidiary plans.
2. IDENTIFY KEY TEAM MEMBERS
a. Identify the appropriate project team members.
b. Analyze the documents and identify the
deliverables.
3. DEFINE LEVEL 1 ELEMENTS
a. Define the Level 1 Elements. Level 1 Elements are
summary deliverable descriptions that must
capture 100% of the project scope.
b. Verify 100% of scope is captured. This requirement
is commonly referred to as the 100% Rule.
4. DECOMPOSE (BREAKDOWN) ELEMENTS
a. Begin the process of breaking the Level 1
deliverables into unique lower Level deliverables.
This “breaking down” technique is called
Decomposition.
b. Continue breaking down the work until the work
covered in each Element is managed by a single
individual or organization. Ensure that all Elements
are mutually exclusive.
c. Ask the question, would any additional
decomposition make the project more manageable?
If the answer is “no”, the WBS is done.
5. CREATE WBS DICTIONARY
a. Define the content of the WBS Dictionary. The WBS
Dictionary is a narrative description of the work
covered in each Element in the WBS. The lowest
Level Elements in the WBS are called Work
Packages.
b. Create the WBS Dictionary descriptions at the Work
Package Level with detail enough to ensure that
100% of the project scope is covered. The
descriptions should include information such as,
boundaries, milestones, risks, owner, costs, etc.
6. CREATE GANTT CHART SCHEDULE
a. Decompose the Work Packages to activities as
appropriate.
b. Export or enter the Work Breakdown Structure into
a Gantt chart for further scheduling and project
tracking.

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.

Here is an example of how to make a WBS with MindView:

How to Use a Work Breakdown Structure


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.

WORK PACKAGES
Figure 3 shows the House Project Work Breakdown Structure
expanded to Level 1, 2, and 3 Elements. The lowest Levels of each
Leg and Branch of the WBS are called Work Packages. Work
Packages cover information related to the deliverable, such as owner,
milestones, durations, resources, risks, etc. This information is
described in the WBS Dictionary.

PLANNING PACKAGES
There is another type of Work Package called a Planning Package.
When the project management plan is approved, scope is known, but
not necessarily all of the details. In order to apply the 100% Rule and
capture all of the scope, Planning Packages are created. It is
understood that as details are defined, the Planning Packages
eventually evolve to Work Packages. In the House Project, the project
manager knows that the house will have fixtures, but at the time
construction begins, there is only a fixture allowance and no fixtures
identified. Once the fixtures are determined, the associated Planning
Package becomes a Work Package. This planning process is call
Rolling Wave Planning and is a from of Progressive Elaboration.

FIGURE 3 – WBS WORK PACKAGES AND CONTROL ACCOUNTS


CONTROL ACCOUNTS
The other application of the WBS is as a monitoring and controlling
tool. This is accomplished by defining Control Accounts. Control
Accounts are WBS Elements at which the project plans to monitor and
report performance. The Control Accounts can be any Element in the
WBS. In the House Project, the project manager decides that the
project risks associated with using subcontractors can be better
managed if the project reports performance for each subcontractor.
To monitor their performance, Elements 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 have been
identified as Control Accounts. However, the remaining work in
Elements 1.0 and 2.0 will be performed by company resources with
less risk and the project does not feel like monitoring and controlling
is needed at lower Levels. To assist with the monitoring and reporting,
project management information tools are used to collect, analyze
and report information at any Element within the WBS.

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