Work Breakdown
Structure
What is a Work Breakdown Structure
(WBS)?
• Breaks the project down into manageable parts
• Organizes the team’s work into sections
• According to The Project Management Body of Knowledge
(PMBOK) it is a “deliverable oriented hierarchical
decomposition of the work to be executed by the project
team”
• WBS defines the project by dividing it into its major
subcomponents (or tasks), which are then subdivided into
more detailed components, and finally into a set of activities
and their related costs
WBS Diagram
• Are just like “To Do Lists” except more detailed
• WBS decreases in size from top to bottom
• Deliverable
• Components
• Elements
• activities that create the components
Example of a WBS for the
construction of a house
Decomposition
• Level one is the deliverable
or project (Construction of
the house)
• Level two are the
components (internal,
foundation, and external)
• Level three are the
elements or activities that
create the components
• Any level below level three
are considered subdeliverables (1.1.1 and
1.1.2)
Who creates the work
breakdown structure?
• Project team
• Identify the major deliverables
• Subdivide those deliverables into smaller systems (subdeliverables)
• Further decomposition is done until a single person can be
assigned
Complete WBS for the
construction of a house
Notice the budget ($215,500) and
work percentage (100%)
The percentages(45.6%, 24%, and
30.4%) and budget ($86,000,
$46,000, and $83,500) in level two
add up to the total work percentage
and budget
The percentages are a way to
determine how much work and time
will be placed on an individual subdeliverable and the budget is used
for allocation of funds
Another example of a WBS
used for a wedding party
WBS Guidelines
The following guidelines should be considered when creating a work
breakdown structure:
• The top level represents the final deliverable or project
• Sub-deliverables contain work packages that are assigned to a organization’s
department or unit
• All elements of the work breakdown structure don’t need to be defined to
the same level
• The work package defines the work, duration, and costs for the tasks
required to produce the sub-deliverable
• Work packages should not exceed 10 days of duration
• Work packages should be independent of other work packages in the work
breakdown structure
• Work packages are unique and should not be duplicated across the work
breakdown structure
References
• Heizer, J. & Render, B. (2008). Principles of Operations
Management (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
• http://www.brighthub.com/office/projectmanagement/articles/2645.aspx
• http://www.matchware.com/en/templates/wbs-templateconstruction-of-a-house.php
• http://workbreakdownstructure.com/