Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Why It’s Useful

A key to successful project scheduling is to break down the project goals into tasks BEFORE you
consider delivery dates, resource constraints, specific named resources, or task dependencies. This
helps you to objectively identify all of the work necessary without subconsciously leaving out real
work in order to fit date constraints.

The WBS step helps accomplish the following key objectives:

 Develops an objective, rational view of the amount of work required

 Helps team grasp the skills required and amount of resources required for the project
 Provides a clear framework for assigning to individuals a clear task definition and delegate
the responsibility for completion
 Lays a foundation for analyzing the task dependencies and for isolating and managing risks
 Lays a foundation for developing a bottom-up estimate for the project schedule
 Allows tradeoffs to be made consciously and with the proper consensus involved.

STEPS.

1) Start with: The Scope

Defines at the highest level what has to be done—what must be created and delivered to the
project’s customers.

2) Create: The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

A top-down hierarchical description of the work required to produce what is called for in the Project
Scope and achieve the mission, satisfy stakeholders

• Provides approach for ‘decomposing’ the work into measurable units, which allows
easier and more accurate estimates of duration, needed resources, and time required

• Helps ensure that the scope is completely defined and the team has not forgotten any
work.

• Allows breakdown of work to deliverables, activities, tasks that can be assigned to an

owner.

3) Based on the WBS, develop: The Project Schedule

Created by adding resource assignments, task work effort and duration estimates, and dependencies
to all tasks in the WBS

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The Work Breakdown Process: From the Top Down

Use the following top down approach to iteratively create your WBS:

1. First identify the major components of work to be accomplished.

Identify 5-10 major work groups which primarily set up how the work is expected to be organized, to
form the highest level or first level of the WBS. Choose this top level of your WBS to match your
organizational and internal work methodology—the best way to organize the work for this project
given the project complexity; how the work is spread across your organization; and how the work
will be tracked and managed. Identify the next level of work (Level 2) under each major
component and list them under their top-level groups. This can be done with indented lists or
graphically in an organization chart.

Graphical Chart

3. Continue to break down the work under each Level 2 items.

Break down to the level of task detail that ensures the top-level components are broken down far
enough for identification of all the work that needs to get done. Details under some may break into
three or four levels. Others may require no more detail, or only one additional level.

Write preliminary plans if necessary to help scope the later cross-functional efforts: documentation,
manufacturing, testing, etc.

The following is one possible work breakdown approach starting with project lifecycle phases at
Level 1, major deliverables of each phase as Level 2, and the activities, then tasks, to create each
deliverable as levels 3 and 4.

Phases Identify major phases of work (e.g. specify, design, build, test…)
Major Project Identify the major component deliverables of work required (e.g.,
Deliverables and subsystems that must be designed, built, tested, during each
related milestones phase.)
Activities Identify the activities needed to create those deliverables. (Some
interim, smaller deliverables such as documents may be involved.)
Tasks Break the activities down to an appropriate level of task detail.

Level 1 – Phases: A project plan, or schedule, is made up of the deliverables and milestones of the
project, and depending on the level of detail required, the activities/tasks. Typically, this information

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can be organized into a number of natural groupings. In project planning, each group is called a
phase and a name is given to it for ease of communication and reporting.

Level 2 – Deliverables & Milestones: Deliverables are the clearly defined and recognizable results or
tangible work products of successfully completed activities/tasks performed during the project. They
appear on a project plan in the past tense, to represent the completed activity/task and the
accomplished result.

“Receivables” should also appear on the project plan. They are deliverables owed to the project by
others outside of the project (usually other project teams), and upon which the project is
dependent.

Milestones are interim events or points in time during the project which identify the completion of a
significant segment. They are most useful as measuring or tracking points to gauge the progress of
the project.

Some milestones are “business-critical” milestones, in that they are not just a mechanism for giving
the team interim targets; they have special significance, such as a contractual date with a customer.

Different individuals may identify different numbers of milestones based on their role in the project.
For example, the project sponsor may identify three significant milestones as indicators of how the
project is progressing, whereas a team leader may identify eight milestones or checkpoints within a
particular phase.

A milestone should be identified to indicate the completion of each phase of the project.

Levels 3 and 4+ – Activities & Tasks: Each phase of a project is composed of a number of major
activities that will lead to achieving one or more deliverables. Activities are composed of a series of
tasks that are the lowest level of detail that can comfortably be managed. Team members who will
be performing the tasks should be involved in the activity/task planning process. Estimates of time
to complete each task should be based on typical work effort required and then may be adjusted to
reflect "real world" conditions.

Example 1: WBS for Building a House (Indented List Format)

(ref : Effective Project Management, Wysoki et al, Pg. 120)

I. SITE PREPARATION
A. Layout
B. Grading
C. Excavation

II. FOUNDATION
A. Erect Forms
B. Pour Concrete
C. Remove Forms

Ill. FRAMING
A. Floor Joists
1. Install first-floor floor joists
2. Install second-floor floor joists
B. Sub-flooring
1 Install first-floor sub-flooring

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 2. Install second-floor sub-flooring
C. Stud Walls
1. Erect first-floor stud walls
2. Erect second-floor stud walls
D. Frame Roof

IV. UTILITIES
A. Electrical
1. Rough In
2. Building inspection
3. Finish work
B. Plumbing
1. Rough in
2. Building inspection
3. Finish work
C. Gas
1. Rough in
2. Building inspection
3. Finish work

V. WALLS
A. Hang sheetrock
B. Tape and bed

VI. ROOFING
A. Install sheathing
B. Lay shingles

VII. FINISH WORK

A. Interior
1. Install cabinets
2. Install appliances
3. Install furnace
4. Lay carpet
5. Paint walls and molding
6. Hang wallpaper
7. Lay tile

VIII. LANDSCAPING

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