Checklist: WBS Completion
1. Break work into appropriately-sized tasks
 Each task has a single owner
 Deliverables for each task are clearly defined
 Each task/deliverable has clearly-defined completion criteria
 The work at any given level is 100% of the work needed to begin the work at the next
level up
 The person responsible for the work can clearly understand what the task entails
 Tasks are small enough that effort estimates are credible. Tasks at the lowest level
should be ≤ 5% of the total project
 Tasks provide visibility into overall project progress, making it easy to see if/when
the project goes off-track
2. Capture All Work
Ensure you have included items for the following:
 Project planning
 Approval cycles
 Key project meetings
 Management and customer meetings
 Training
 Management
 Test planning
 Test development
 Test execution
 Defect repair
 Project reviews
 Project closing
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WBS Process Overview
1. Start with the project Scope
The scope defines, at the highest level, what must be created and delivered to the project’s
customers to satisfy the objectives of the project.
2. Identify major components of work to be accomplished
At the top level, your WBS should comprise 5-10 areas of work, based on the best way to
organize the work for the project, and how the project will be managed. Following are
several ways you might choose to organize your WBS. (Reference: Effective Project
Management, Wysoki et al, p. 120)
Noun-Type

Physical Decomposition: break the work down based on the physical pieces of the
project

Functional Decomposition: break the work down by functional area
Verb-Type

Design-Build-Test-Implement: Focus on the project methodology or life cycle

Objectives: Focus on reporting or deliverables to be provided to customers or senior
management
Other Types

Geographical: Coordinate and communicate focus across project locations

Business Function: Focus on business processes with integration complications

Departmental: Focus on the organizational control of a single manager
3. Identify Levels of Tasks
You can do this with an indented list, or with some sort of hierarchical chart. For example:
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Level 1
Level 2, item 1
Level 2, item 2
Level 3, item 1
Level 3, item 2
Level 2
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 3
Level 3
4. Break down work components into individual tasks
Continue to break the upper-level components down until each component is represented
by one or more tasks that each have a clear deliverable and that can be accomplished by a
single person. Some work components may break into three or four levels, while others may
only need one or two levels.
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WBS Creation: Engage the Project Team
Creating the WBS requires the participation of the entire project team and must not be created
by the project manager in isolation. Consider the following process to engage the team in
creating the WBS.
1. Project Manager proposes the top level of the WBS.
2. Project Manager calls a core team meeting to review the proposal and agree on the top level.
Define the next level of the WBS and brainstorm a list of appropriate work items (e.g.
deliverables for each major phase of the project).
3. Core team works collaboratively to identify subsequent levels of WBS detail, using flip
charts or a white board, or by using sticky-notes to place tasks under the appropriate areas
of work.
4. Individuals thoroughly consider their own work and identify any missing items, including
“secondary” work such as reviewing the deliverables of others
5. With the core team, the Project Manager drafts early plans for major activities to help think
through the lower-level tasks that might need to be included in the WBS. For example, write
preliminary plans to help break down later cross-functional efforts, such as documentation,
manufacturing, testing, etc.
6. With the core team, the Project Manager creates a “WBS dictionary” that provides
descriptions of each task in the WBS, including explicit deliverables for each.
7. Project Manager circulates a draft of the WBS for review and comment. The WBS should
include input from the following sources:
a. Team members
b. Other Project Managers who have done similar work
c. Previous project reviews
d. Other appropriate groups
e. Expert opinions
f.
Existing WBS templates, if available
8. Team reviews and comments on WBS.
9. Project Manager incorporates feedback
10. Project Manager reviews the updated WBS with the core team and determines whether it
meets the WBS thoroughness criteria.
11. Project Manager updated the WBS as needed as activity owners assign resources, estimate
work, estimate dependencies, and builds an integrated schedule.
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Providing Sufficient Detail
The levels of work included in a WBS vary based on the size and complexity of the project.
Greater levels of detail are required for projects that are

large

risky

dissimilar from past projects

difficult to define or susceptible to change

performed by internal work groups

planned for the near future
The WBS must be updated regularly to evolve during the Planning and Scheduling process. As
this process goes forward, additional work items are likely to come to light and will need to be
added to the WBS. This is a good thing. It means that people are actively thinking through the
project.
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Planning Worksheet: Create a WBS
The following table can be broken up to correspond to major groups of work as defined by the top levels of the Work Breakdown
Structure to aid completion of the WBS for the entire project by different team members or different functional groups working in
parallel
WBS Level
Activity
Name
Activity
Description,
including
Deliverable
Owner
Name
[FTE*]
Other
Resources
Needed
Name +
FTE
Specific
Competencies,
Skills,
Experience
Needed
Estimated
Effort and
Duration
Estimated
Costs
Dependencies
and any true
date
constraints
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
*FTE means “Full-Time Equivalent” This expresses a person’s or generic resource’s involvement as a percentage of that person’s
time. For example, 0.5 would indicate the person was needed half-time.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Question: What is a Work Breakdown Structure, and should I create one before scheduling
my project?
Answer: A Work Breakdown Structure is a tool that helps to systematically identify the work
required to achieve the goals of a project. It is the first decomposition of what the project must
deliver into “chunks of work,” that is, groups of activities and tasks that must be accomplished.
The WBS is a key step to complete before trying to create a project schedule with detailed tasks
and dependencies. In general, the WBS shows you where you are going and how you will get
there on time.
Question: How much detail and how many levels should my WBS have, and how do I know
when I’m finished?
Answer: The general answer to this question is that you should go far enough down in levels
and detail to be sure that your schedule estimates will have a high degree of accuracy. A general
rule is to break the WBS down into activity blocks of no more than 2 weeks’ duration. However,
the level of detail and what constitutes the “right” degree of accuracy is ultimately a judgment
call for the Project Manager. Remember that the schedule will generally go into a lower level of
detail than the WBS to yield good task estimates and “hooks” for tracking and control.
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