Work breakdown structure

lastmod 2024-11-06created 2017-07-213 edits

A work-breakdown structure (WBS) — also rendered in Korean under several other names meaning work decomposition structure, work classification system, or work division structure — is, in project management and systems engineering, a deliverable-oriented breakdown of a project into smaller components. The work breakdown structure is the key project deliverable that organizes the team's work into manageable sections. The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK 5) defines the work breakdown structure as "a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables."

A work breakdown structure element may be a product, data, a service, or any combination of these. A WBS also provides the necessary framework for detailed cost estimating and control, along with providing guidance for schedule development and control.

In short

What is a work breakdown structure (WBS)?

A breakdown of the "work" the team will carry out to achieve its goals and produce "deliverables", organized into a "deliverable-oriented hierarchy".

It organizes and defines the total scope of the project, showing increasingly detailed definitions of the project work at each lower level.

A WBS is subdivided into work packages, is organized around deliverables, and includes both internal and external deliverables.

Why a WBS is needed

• Serves as the basic unit for establishing and controlling cost and schedule plans
• Very useful for assigning clear responsibilities
• Serves as a basis for communication with the customer
• Improves the accuracy of schedule, cost, and resource estimates
• Serves as a basis for risk identification
• Can be used as a baseline for requirements change management
• Provides a powerful means of visible project management
• An essential element of earned value-based project management
• Serves as the basic unit for quality assessment
• As the basic unit for project initiation, execution, control, and closure, a WBS can be seen as the smallest-level project

Favorite site

• Wikipedia (en) Work breakdown structure
• Work breakdown structure - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (ko)
• What is a WBS (Work Breakdown structure)
• Web planning guide - Shall we try making a WBS? 1
• WBS, the beginning and end of a project - Work Breakdown Structure by sample ¹
• Introduction to work breakdown structure (WBS) and how to use it (2024) • Asana

References