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How to Create a Work Breakdown Structure

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4 views

How to Create a Work Breakdown Structure

notes

Uploaded by

prasanna murthy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How to Create a Work Breakdown Structure: A WBS Masterclass - YouTube

By Mike Clayton

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.

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.

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.

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