Company owners and project managers use the work breakdown structure wbs to make complex projects more manageable. Project teams can use lowtechnology tools like a white board, note cards, or. Plan project tasks in sharepoint with your free template. Whether you prefer big chunks or minute details, youll benefit from creating a wbs with the help of our killer guide and free work breakdown structure template. The template includes instructions to the author, boilerplate text, and fields that should be replaced with the values specific to the project. The development of work breakdown structure involves subdividing the major project activities or subactivities into smaller, more manageable activities until the activities are defined in sufficient detail to support the management and development of project works. Work breakdown structure element dictionary preliminary engineering procedures are subject to change without notice. To establish a project schedule, you need to create a work breakdown structure. A work breakdown structure for implementing and costing an erp project communications of the ibima volume 6, 2008. Have you encountered work breakdown structures and wondered how they can help in your project management efforts. Work breakdown structure whitemarsh information systems corporation 2008 althea lane bowie, maryland 20716 tele.
This standard presents direction for effectively preparing, understanding, and presenting a work breakdown structure wbs. A work breakdown structure is an outline of key project deliverables and the work needed to get there. Check the capital project delivery website to ensure this is the current version. Creating the work breakdown structure by kim colenso, managing principal, artemis management systems the work breakdown structure wbs is the foundation for project planning and control. A typical example is documented in the bible where moses divided the people of. An important point to remember is that in design decomposition, only the lower. To develop and maintain a wbs, you must have a clear understanding of the projects. The work breakdown structure visually defines the scope into manageable chunks that a project team can understand, as each level of the work breakdown structure provides further definition and detail.
To construct the work breakdown structure, we must know all of the deliverables, requirements and the work activities. This work breakdown structure example shows that all the elements are listed under wbs levels. How to create your project work breakdown structure. Figure 1below depicts a sample work breakdown structure with three levels defined. However, before jumping into the steps to create a wbs, it is important to understand the need for a wbs. One of the first steps in the initiation phase of the project is to come up with a project schedule. All about work breakdown structures wbs smartsheet. A work breakdown structure wbs is a description of the work that will be done for a project.
Nasa work breakdown structure wbs handbook page viii preface p. It is a product oriented structure, not an organizational structure. The following discussion will examine the current trends and practice regarding work breakdown structures. It is the connecting point for work and cost estimates, schedule information, actual work effortcost expenditures, and accountability. The lowest levels of wbs shows the project deliverables. A work breakdown structure defines all the things a project needs to accomplish, organized into multiple levels, and displayed graphically. Aside from any senior administration necessities for reporting or hierarchical prerequisites for documentation or procedure, the task chief is allowed to build up the. Section 2 focuses on the work breakdown structure wbs as a. The project manager and project team use the wbs to develop the project schedule, resource requirements and costs. The building blocks of a schedule start with a work breakdown structure wbs. The project schedule is the tool that communicates what work needs to be performed, which resources of the organization will perform the work and the timeframes in which that work needs to be performed. The work breakdown structure wbs is a hierarchical decomposition of the work to be completed in order to achieve the project deliverables. Managers use wbs to break down their projects into easily manageable components. The responsibility assignment matrix ram shows the intersection of the organizational breakdown structure obs and the work breakdown structure wbs.
A work breakdown structure in every project management and system engineering is an effective tool that is used for defining and group the discrete elements of work in any project so that it can help the organization, build it in some way and boost the work scope of the whole project. A work breakdown structure for implementing and costing. For example, some organizations refer to different levels as tasks, subtasks and work packages, whilst others use the terms. Its a hierarchy of tasks that represents the project teams understanding of the composition of work, and of the size, cost, and duration of each component or task. In short, we did not create a work breakdown structure wbs. The team jumped straight into the work without planning the tasks needed to deliver our requirements. How to create a work breakdown structure wbs pm documents. In reality, wbs is a simple and easy visual breakdown of deliverables for product, result, or service. Instead, wbs provides useful inputs for cost estimating and budgeting, scope control, activity definition, and more. The importance of the wbs experienced project managers know there are many things that can go wrong in projects. A coding scheme also helps wbs elements to be recognized in any written context. This matrix is an example from a software development program. For the purpose of examples, the wbs entry at level 2 will fall below the phase and. This guideline is intended to help the project manager organize project materials by providing a simple set of rules for creating and storing project documentation, and illustrates the application of.
What is wbs work breakdown structure in project management. Creating a work breakdown structure wbs can seem simple conceptually, but there are factors to consider when applying it practically. P a g e 3 work breakdown structures a work breakdown structure is a deliverableoriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. The project schedule should reflect all of the work associated with delivering the project on time. In order to produce these deliverables, work must be performed. The work breakdown structure wbs is the foundation for project planning and control.
A work breakdown structure is the core of project planning, resource management and helps to prevent project scope creep. Resources on the project will look at the wbs dictionary to determine the scope of the work package. A work breakdown structure wbs is a visual tool used to create, define, and track a project deliverable and all of its subsequent components. How to improve productivity with a work breakdown structure. Work breakdown structure rev e, june 2003 work breakdown structure a project work breakdown structure wbs is a deliverable or product oriented grouping of project work elements shown in graph ical display to organize and subdivide the total work scope of a project.
These components are further decomposed until a required person from the team can be assigned. Doe office of management, budget and evaluation work breakdown structure project management practices guide, revision e dated june 2003. This article will give a few work breakdown structure examples and will give you an overview of how wbs can. The wbs is used to organize the work into manageable sections, often measured in time, for example, two weeks. During the process of developing a visual work breakdown structure, youll identify and fill in your project planning blind spots. Many people have mistaken wbs as a list of tasks, a schedule or an organization chart. Deliverableoriented wbs structures are the preferred type according to. A wbs is a decomposed visual of a total scope of work that determines the project objectives, the steps needed to complete the objectives, and the desired outcome or product. It provides the framework for department of defense dod program managers to define their programs wbs and also to defense contractors in their.
The successful implementation of any six sigma project depends on the ability of six sigma professionals such as black belts to break down a large project into smaller manageable subprojects. It is a tool which helps to easily communicate the work and processes involved to execute the project. Work breakdown structure wbs is a tool to identify what must be done in order to accomplish project objectives. Work breakdown structure a work breakdown structure wbs is a decomposition of all the work necessary to complete a project.
Work breakdown structure wbs software project management. Systems development life cycle sdlc methodology information technology services july 7, 2009 version 1 authors. Standard pm wbs template for non infrastructure projects. A wbs is arranged in a hierarchy and constructed to allow for clear and logical groupings, either by activities or deliverables.
Task identification and work breakdown structure san jose state. The obs breaks down to engineering which breaks down to design which breaks down to interface design. Project documentation naming conventions and repository. This breaking down of mammoth projects into several smaller projects is technically referred to as work breakdown structure wbs.
The project schedule reflects all the work associated with delivering the project on time. Preliminary engineering wbs work breakdown structure. Mel barracliffe, lisa gardner, john hammond, and shawn duncan. The wbs is designed to help break down a project into manageable chunks that can be effectively estimated and supervised. A work breakdown structure wbs is a decomposition of all the work necessary to complete a project. The work breakdown structure presented here represents all the work required to complete this project.
Notes to the author this document is a template of a work breakdown structure document for a project. A complete guide to the waterfall project method smartsheet. Work breakdown structure examples and overview brighthub. One effective technique is to organize a brainstorming session with the various departments that will be involved with the project. The work breakdown structure wbs is the decomposition of a software project into low level work tasks. Applying the work breakdown structure to the project. This goal is further broken down into work packages and tasks. Using wbs, project objectives can be decomposed into many smaller tasks required to achieve the objectives.
Schedule a project with a work breakdown structure. It defines and structures the total scope of the project because it starts from the deliverables as stated and. In your project you will want to develop them down to a much more detailed level using the 8 to 80 rule where the wbs is broken down to where a work package contains between 8 and 80 hours of work to complete. View work breakdown structure research papers on academia. Free work breakdown structure templates project management. Design the end of this document is delivered to the client what this is this guideline lists the process steps for developing a work break down structure that identifies all the tasks in the projects work, the first step in creating a detailed project plan and schedule. Tasks and activities will be grouped under these lowest levels. If you have any questions regarding this document or if you have a suggestion for.
Creating a work breakdown structure is a team effort and is the culmination of multiple inputs and perspectives for the given project. With a work breakdown structure, you can stay focused on what you need to accomplish. Pdf many people have mistaken wbs as a list of tasks, a schedule or. A work breakdown structure wbs is a visual tool for defining and tracking a project deliverable and all the small components needed to create it. Breaking down the work is the first stage of project planning and essential for managing project scope. The purpose of the project documentation naming conventions and repository guideline is to establish project documentation naming standards and structure for project repositories. A work breakdown structure wbs is a hierarchical structure of things that the project will make or outcomes that it will deliver this one is far better. Create a project structure with a work breakdown structure, which helps you. The wbs is a hierarchical reflection of all the work in the project in terms of deliverables. Work breakdown structures overview finance dynamics.
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