Work Breakdown Structure WBS: What Is It? 2023

Governance & administration Configure and manage global controls and settings. Measurable—can be used to measure progress; has start and completion dates and work breakdown structure measurable interim milestones. Manageable—a meaningful unit of work where specific responsibility and authority can be assigned to a responsible individual.

definition of work breakdown structure

Work breakdown structure software is used to outline a project’s final deliverable and define the phases that are necessary to achieve it. Your project goals and objectives set the rules for defining your project scope. Your project scope, team members, goals and objectives should be documented on your project charter. To create a WBS for your project, you’ll need information from other project management documents. Here are six simple steps to create a work breakdown structure.

Any Key Relationships between WBS and Typical Organizational Charts?

Your project might also include phases based on the work needed and the overall project timeline. Structure – The most common format of the work breakdown structure and traditional organizational charts are the hierarchical structure, which means each parent level has a number of child levels. However, in a matrix org chart or a flat org chart, links between staffs can be inter-crossed. A work breakdown structure can be shown in a number of different formats including textual , tabular tables with columns, graphical and organizational charts .

You can also use it to collaborate with your colleagues in real time while working on a project together. A cost breakdown structure shows the estimated cost of each element of the project. For example, the cost of a website is made up of hosting, programming, design, and content creation. The CBS makes it easier to estimate a project budget and control costs. A risk category would be something like cost, schedule, quality, or scope.

The real costs of decommissioning

After shutdown the residual radiological and hazardous material will be stable and can be inventoried by measurement and calculation. This site characterization phase is critical to identifying the scope of work https://www.globalcloudteam.com/ to be performed. If the applicant/licensee elects to subcontract the decommissioning management to a DOC, the applicant/licensee will solicit bids from prospective DOCs and select the DOC to perform the work.

  • Modern Project & Portfolio Management Connect projects with organization strategy.
  • By using a WBS, the various individuals and teams can focus on their specific tasks and deliverables while also seeing how their piece fits into the project as a whole.
  • That includes a feature to make sure their workload is balanced.
  • Content management Organize, manage, and review content production.
  • The costs for the engineering elements are based on experience and knowledge of the project requirements.
  • The level of detail provided should be less for WBS elements that are higher in the hierarchy and more detailed for lower-level elements.
  • Being able to monitor your progress is what keeps your project on schedule.

Once you know the order in which the tasks must be finished, you will be able to create a solid schedule, manage time more effectively and predict the roadblocks. If there’s any ambiguity about the project deliverables, make sure that you clear them up before diving into the work breakdown structure. A work breakdown structure shows who is responsible for which task, making it easier for everyone involved in the project to cooperate with each other in order to complete the project activities. Better communication, fewer conflicts, and more chances of the project being successful. Changes in a project usually happen when the project scope isn’t clear. However, WBS shows the breakdown of the project scope in a much clearer way, which helps in preventing changes.

The work breakdown structure (WBS) for project management: What it is and how to use it

Calculate the percentage of each team member’s time for every stage of your project. Besides the 100% rule, another important rule of a WBS is mutual exclusivity. Make sure that every element of your WBS is independent, and you don’t need to rely on one element to complete the other.

This type of WBS is most appreciated by project teams and management. The existence of risk causes negative impact on project schedule, costs and quality. In project management, Project Manager is responsible for managing risks and to ensure that the project will be delivered on time, within project and up to the standard user expected. One of the popular risk management tool is the Risk Breakdown Structure. A deliverable-oriented WBS is a hierarchical tree structure of the project and its components. It decomposes work into tangible products or services, such as database schema, and user manuals.

Create a Gantt chart schedule.

We do not offer financial advice, advisory or brokerage services, nor do we recommend or advise individuals or to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. Performance information may have changed since the time of publication. Once the project is defined and described, you can set boundaries on what is and isn’t included in the WBS. More easily identify which tasks should be done by whom because you can see where the expertise is needed most. As you move from the planning to the execution stage, you’ll need a reporting feature that can deliver critical project data on progress and performance. This information will feed your decision-making and help you steer the project to a successful conclusion.

definition of work breakdown structure

Secure request management Streamline requests, process ticketing, and more. Portfolio management at scale Deliver project consistency and visibility at scale. Workflow automation Quickly automate repetitive tasks and processes. Export or enter the Work Breakdown Structure into a Gantt chart for further scheduling and project tracking. Ask the question, would any additional decomposition make the project more manageable? Ensure that non-IT work packages are also included such as, documentation and review activities are included in the structure.

Why Use a WBS In Project Management?

This is the final and most detailed level in your work breakdown structure. It is basically a list of individual tasks that can be completed by one person. With a responsibility-based structure, you define all the project activities according to the responsibility each project executive has. When everyone has a clear idea about who needs to work on which tasks and what they need to achieve in the stipulated time, the chances of the project being successful increase dramatically. A work breakdown structure is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical diagram that breaks down all the components of a project into smaller, more manageable sections. If you create a hierarchical breakdown of all the work that is required to complete your project, you can manage all the challenging projects smoothly and more efficiently.

definition of work breakdown structure

Even if there are a few changes that you need to make as the project evolves, having a WBS will make the transition easier. Basically, the WBS defines the ‘what’ of the project – what needs to be done in order to meet the desired goals, what the total costs would be, and what resources are required. There are just so many complex tasks and deliverables during the whole project lifecycle, and it can get a little overwhelming. Analysis of the model must include thorough evaluation of the critical path and near critical path activities.

6.2 Transformation of non-ISDC cost formats to the ISDC ­format

Each of the activities can be further divided into more specific tasks. Being a regional refinery with no other refineries in the area meant that this refinery had to stockpile product for the duration of the TA. As a result of the late startup, the stockpile ran dry and product had to be railed in from other refineries at great cost. Not only the company was affected, though, the fuel shortage also had a detrimental impact on the local economy. A major refinery TA was planned using an Open-Plan Professional CPM model.

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