According to ISO 21511:2018, work breakdown structures are a decomposition of the entire scope of work that should be completed in order to achieve the defined project or program objectives. The document incorporates practices that align with project planning and control. Overall, it breaks down the program guide and includes the project's complexity, size, and duration.
A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) single handedly integrates the overall cost, scope, and schedule baselines intended to ensure that the entire project aligns. In fact, it includes a hierarchical decomposition of the work required from the project team. For project managers, it is considered a crucial aspect of the deliverable-based approach in which the different elements of the work required are laid out.
In the project management world, there are two main types of WBS. These include the deliverable-based and the phase-based. The latter displays the deliverables at the very top, with the consequent levels showing the different phases of a project, including initiation, planning, execution, control, and the close of the project.
On the other hand, the former identifies the different deliverables for the project. This should include the scope of the project, thus fully covering the various aspects of the project.
Work breakdown structures include a verb-oriented WBS, which should define the different deliverables in terms of actions. Additionally, the noun-oriented WBS defines work in terms of the various components included within the WBS. Finally, the time-phased WBS breaks down the project into phases that cover the long-term aspects of the project.
Fortunately, most project managers can rely on a predefined guideline to create an effective work breakdown structure. The steps required include:
The first step of making your work breakdown structure is identifying and gathering the critical project documents. This requires that you figure out the project deliverables and make the plan in consideration of the same. Specifically, you need to identify the Project Management Plan (PMP), any subsidiary plans, and the Scope Statements, to name a few.
To run a successful project, you need to start by identifying all the key team members. This will require that you continuously analyze the documents for the project you are working on and identifying the different deliverables. Altogether, these are instrumental in determining the individuals you want working with you throughout the project.
Level 1 Elements are a summary of the deliverables you require for the project. These will often be captured within the project scope. As a project manager or a lead within the team, you want to identify the entire scope in what is referred to as the 100% rule.
For a complete Work Breakdown Structure, you need decomposition of the Level 1 deliverables and the lower level deliverables. This breakdown of the elements should help with identifying the different individuals within the organization tasked with each of the elements. Besides, this decomposition should yield a report that shows how each of the elements is mutually exclusive. Overall, you want to continuously ask the question of how additional decomposition is likely to make the project more manageable.
The initial step in the creation of your WBS dictionary is defining the content of the same. The document should also contain an all-compassing description of the work that will be covered throughout the different elements of the WBS.
Overall, your WBS dictionary should ensure that it captures 100% of the project scope. It should include information on the different boundaries, milestones, risks, owners, and costs, all of which are part of the Work Package Level.
The last step in creating your Work Breakdown Structure is decomposing the work packages into activities as appropriate. You will then need to enter or export this WBS into a Gantt chart which should come in handy during further scheduling and project tracking.
There are different types of Work Breakdown Structures including:
This list refers to an outline view that contains the different tasks, deliverables, and subtasks.
The WBS tree diagram has the same elements as the list as it provides a diagrammatic representation of the project. It features the different phases, deliverables, work packages, and sub deliverables of the entire project.
The WBS spreadsheet is essential as it shows the timeline of the project. Every element of the project is laid out in columns and rows, which makes understanding the project's different aspects relatively easy.
Experts consider the WBS Gantt Chart more efficient than the static spreadsheet. With the dynamic Gantt chart, it is increasingly possible to set milestones and work with milestones, all of which work to ensure that you can effectively break down and guide your entire building construction project.
Other than deciphering the different milestones for a construction project, the WBS works as a monitoring and controlling tool. Using the latter, managers and subcontractors can better manage their projects to ensure there is a performance that measures up with the company resources and the risk considered during the project's planning. Overall, the tool should help with collecting, analyzing and reporting the information necessary for the adequate running of the project.
Concisely a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) decomposes the entire scope of work. It should include the work the project management team means to complete with the rest of the team members. With GigOver, you should be able to delegate tasks to your team members and track progress in real-time. As part of our customer-centric
approach, we do not require a credit card or to store your files online. We,
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