What Is A Work Breakdown Structure in Project Management

WHAT IS A WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE IN PROJECT
MANAGEMENT?
The Project Management Body of Knowledge, an internationally recognized
collection of processes and knowledge areas accepted as best practice for the
project management profession, defines the work breakdown structure as a
"hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the
project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required
deliverables." With a WBS, you begin with the desired outcome or product, which
you then break down or decompose into the smaller deliverables or tasks needed
to create it.
In a WBS, the deliverable can be an object, a service, or an activity. By focusing

on deliverables rather than methods — the what, not the how — a work
breakdown structure helps eliminate unnecessary work to get the intended result.
A well-thought-out WBS aids in scheduling, estimating costs, and determining risk.
It is usually a visual chart or diagram that spells out a project's timeline and
process while capturing each task, subtask, and deliverable that will be created
and executed throughout. It’s often rendered as an outline, like a table of contents,
but can be organized using tabs or other visual organizational systems.
Rod Baxter, co-founder of Value Generation Partners and author of the Project

Management for Success Handbook, calls the WBS “a necessary element to the
product management lifecycle. It takes skill and practice to create, but it is
essential to help you meet release dates and become efficient.”
HISTORY OF WBS: A TIMELINE AND A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE
In 1957, the U.S. Navy’s Fleet Ballistic Missile (Polaris) Program was behind
schedule and needed help resolving the delay. The team developed a formula to
determine tasks and estimate effort needed for a project based on outcome, which
became known as PERT (program evaluation and review technique).
With PERT as a model, the Department of Defense (DOD) and NASA published
the first description of the work breakdown structure process in 1962, but the first
reference by name didn’t come until 1968. The Work Breakdown Structures for
Defense Materiel Items(MIL-STD-881) established work breakdown structures as
a standard across the DOD, with templates published for specific military
applications, such as aircraft or ships. Even civilian contractors working with the
DOD must use the appropriate work breakdown structure template.
In 1987, the Project Management Institute, through PMBOK, established work
breakdown structures as standard practice for a range of nonmilitary applications.
The term “work breakdown structure” was introduced in 1993 for applications in
corporate and other organizational projects.
In June 1999, the PMI Standards Program issued a project charter to develop the
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Practice Standard. According to the PMI, the
Planning Process Group begins with three essential steps: scope planning
(3.2.2.2), scope definition (3.2.2.3), and work breakdown structure development
(3.2.2.4).
Many organizations skip the step of creating a WBS plan, or dictionary, in the
interests of nimbleness and agility — or because they are being asked to “build
the plane while flying it.” While it’s possible to deliver a project without proper
planning and visibility, it will likely take a toll on the team members and, potentially,
the ultimately quality of the deliverables. Those risks aren’t sustainable over time,
so using WBS when possible is always preferred.
As businesses amass and need to parse more data within every project as well as
to anticipate how data will affect a project after it’s launched, it’s clear that the
WBS and attentive planning will continue to be critical elements. Other variables
on the horizon include globalization, currency fluctuations, political changes, and
regulations — so a strong project needs advance planning to navigate these
potential dependencies.
Good resources on WBS include “The ABC Basics of the WBS” by Paul Burek
and “The Intelligent Structure of Work Breakdowns Is a Precursor to Effective
Project Management,” Homer & Gunn, 1995.
WHAT ARE THE USES AND PURPOSES OF WORK BREAKDOWN

STRUCTURES?
Although often skipped in the planning process, a work breakdown structure or
dictionary is a powerful tool for finishing projects efficiently and on time. 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. These benefits can be realized through a specific project, but may also
help improve the processes and culture of your whole organization. They include:
 By taking into account each project’s WBS, the organization can quickly calculate
the budget for whole departments.
 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

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WHAT IS A WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE IN PROJECT

In a WBS, the deliverable can be an object, a service, or an activity. By focusing

Rod Baxter, co-founder of Value Generation Partners and author of the Project

WHAT ARE THE USES AND PURPOSES OF WORK BREAKDOWN

 Provides a visual representation of all parts of a project

 Defines specific and measurable outcomes

 Breaks the work into manageable chunks

 Provides a way to make successful experiences repeatable

 Ensures no overlap and no gaps in responsibility or resources

In addition, organizations have found other benefits in using work breakdown

 Teams can determine project schedule and budget quickly.

 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

 Enables more creativity and brainstorming

 Focuses on end goals

 Potentially prevents problems

 Addresses scheduling issues

 Helps manage risks

 Gives teams flexibility

 Gives every team member clear task descriptions

 Helps write and support the statement of work

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