A work breakdown structure is a key project deliverable that organizes the teams work into. Company owners and project managers use the work breakdown structure wbs to make complex projects more manageable. Applying work breakdown structure to project lifecycle. A work breakdown structure wbs is a hierarchical structure of things that the project will make or outcomes that it will deliver this one is far better. Level 3 shows the major deliverables and level 4 is the. A brief synopsis, a pharmaceutical work breakdown structure in both word and excel, and a pdf appendix of the pharmaceutical work breakdown structure wbs example. The wbs is designed to help break down a project into manageable chunks that can be. May 07, 2018 how to create a work breakdown structure whether delivering a product or service, you and your team need to know what work needs to be done, when, and by whom. Tasks and activities will be grouped under these lowest levels. A work breakdown structure wbs in project management is a tool used to define and group a projects discrete work elements or tasks in a way that helps organize and define the total work scope of the project. The wbs is designed to help break down a project into manageable chunks that can be effectively estimated and supervised. Figure 1 wbs construction example the above wbs is from pmis practice standard for work breakdown structures. This is a way of describing the work so that the team knows exactly what work is needed in order to meet the goals of the project.
A work breakdown structure or wbs for short is a chart or document used to organize project work into a list of focus areas so that all work stays on track to meet project goals. See a large image and download a visio or pdf of the wbs. These components are further decomposed until a required person from the team can be assigned. This work breakdown structure example shows that all the elements are listed under wbs levels. Unfortunately, the business pressures driving projects have often prevented project managers from developing a comprehensive wbs. The work breakdown structure presented here represents all the work required to complete this project. With a work breakdown structure, you can stay focused on what you need to accomplish as. Before we dive further into the benefits and impact of a wbs, there are a few additional definitions you should know. Create a work breakdown structure outline, diagram, or dictionary template, or choose a. Managers use wbs to break down their projects into easily manageable components.
It organizes and defines the total scope of the project. A work breakdown structure is usually used in companies or start ups that would like to handle their projects more efficiently. A work breakdown structure element may be a product, data, a service, or any combination. Work breakdown structures wbs are frequently used by project teams to break the project into smaller, easily identifiable components.
Wbs examples for a software project, construction projects, a conference, finding a job, selling a house, planning permission and other real projects. Office relocation plan work breakdown structure the project. With the help of a work breakdown structure wbs you can successfully plan events by breaking them down into controllable subtasks and task packages. Even on larger projects, the wbs can fit on a page or two. The project management body of knowledge defines the work breakdown structure as a deliverable oriented hierarchical. The lowest levels of wbs shows the project deliverables. The work breakdown structure is the idea of taking a project and breaking it down to manageable portions and pieces for completion. This zip file contains the white paper the work breakdown structure. The work breakdown structure is a hierarchical breakdown of all work required to complete a project. It is also a good layout to use when developing the wbs because you can easily make changes, especially since the microsoft word auto numbering feature. Smart leaders understand the underlying wisdom of the wbs work breakdown structuresystem. How to create a work breakdown structure lucidchart blog.
How to create a work breakdown structure whether delivering a product or service, you and your team need to know what work needs to be done, when, and by whom. A work breakdown structure showing ovatemp marketing plan. For example, the marketing department can be divided geograph. The basic work breakdown structure addresses a single question. A work breakdown structure wbs is a crucial document that details a projects major and minor work components, timeline, and resources. Work breakdown structure template for a company large scale project. You can edit this work breakdown structure using creately diagramming tool and include in your reportpresentationwebsite. You can edit this template and create your own diagram. The wbs will assist with determining the content for the concept note decomposition. The wbs is a hierarchical reflection of all the work in the project in terms of deliverables. A work breakdown structure, commonly abbreviated wbs, is a key project deliverable that is utilized to organize a project teams work and responsibilities into compact sections that are more manageable. Its a way for you to build out a flowchart that breaks all of the deliverables down into manageable tasks and provide your team with a guide for developing a product or completing a project.
Mar 15, 2018 for example, if youre creating a work breakdown structure for manufacturing a car, youll include items such as car body a deliverable, not welding steel an activity. If there were a bridge between planning work and doing work, it would be called a work breakdown structure. The work breakdown structure wbs has long served as a valuable tool in helping project managers plan deliverables and detail project scope. A work breakdown structure is a key project deliverable that organizes the teams work into manageable sections. Create a wbs for the project before completing a concept note. This deliverable is the most important for the company and it can achieve it through effective marketing research and establishing public relations. Work breakdown structure imagine that you are in charge of a. These resources are presented from the pmi practice standard for work breakdown structures. In your project you will want to develop them down to a much more detailed level using the 8 to 80 rule where the wbs is broken down to where a work package contains between 8 and 80 hours of work to complete. The work breakdown structure provides a common framework for the natural development of the overall planning and control of a contract and is the basis for dividing work into definable increments from which the statement of work can. It identifies all the tasks in a project and breaks the larger project down into a series of manageable and discrete tasks.
Todays work breakdown systems can be traced back to u. The outline view presents an easy to view and understand layout for the wbs. One work breakdown structure example that will make it clear. The example in this file wont be an appropriate wbs for every marketing project, of course, and some may find the task breakdowns too precise for a standard work breakdown, and some resource assignments may be different if youre doing more or less of the work inhouse or with an agency. The wbs provides the foundation for all project management work, including, planning, cost and effort estimation, resource allocation, and scheduling. A work breakdown structure wbs is a crucial document. How to improve productivity with a work breakdown structure. They are usually in the form of a flow chart where the orientation of a product or a service is done by the use of boxes and. The work breakdown structure provides a view into the project which shows what work the project includes. A clearly defined work breakdown structure allows you to make sure every detail and phase of a project is accounted for before you begin. A good wbs template would be a visual definition of the whole project scope which divides it into manageable parts which would be more. Today, work breakdown structures are widely used for projects of all types, both business and personal. Free work breakdown structure templates smartsheet.
These components are further decomposed until a required person from the team can. Once the dod saw how well these work breakdown systems functioned, they applied them across the. Wbs work breakdown structure is a deliverableoriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. According to the project management body of knowledge pmbok, a work breakdown structure wbs is 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 wbs is a key project deliverable that organizes the teams work into manageable sections. In order to produce these deliverables, work must be performed. What is work breakdown structure in project management. The wbs was originally developed by the us department of defense, which mandated their use across the dod. Ovatemp marketing plan work breakdown structure use createlys easy online diagram editor to edit this diagram, collaborate with others and export results to multiple image formats.
However, it provides a solid baseline for comparison, and a good outlook on the level of detail required for highquality customer interviews. This allows the teams to more easily inspect the results and make adjustments. The wbs structures used in projects follow strict rules like 100% rule and the mutually exclusive rule, but in general, they can be used to break down almost any complex task. Along the way, the work breakdown structure template provides columns for assigning the owner of the task, if there are any dependencies that are linked to the task, what resources are needed, the status, resources required. The wbs was originally developed by the us department of defense, which mandated their use across. Click here editable work breakdown structure wbs template with both tree and tab views.
Creately diagrams can be exported and added to word, ppt powerpoint, excel, visio or any other document. A brief synopsis, a web design work breakdown structure in both word and excel, and a pdf appendix of the web design work breakdown structure wbs example. It is the connecting point for work and cost estimates, schedule information, actual work effortcost expenditures, and accountability. The subdivision of project deliverables into smaller, more manageable components until the work and deliverables are defined to the activity, subactivity or. What is wbs work breakdown structure in project management. There is nothing that 90% of the population of customers love spending their money on than good food. The work breakdown structure visually defines the scope into manageable chunks that a project team can. The project schedule should reflect all of the work associated with delivering the project on time. Since a work breakdown structure is displayed visually and contains summary information, it is easy to share across a team and with managers in an organization. A work breakdown structure wbs is a fundamental project management technique for defining and organizing the total scope of a project, using a hierarchical tree structure. The work breakdown structure wbs is essential for getting a project off the ground. All about work breakdown structures wbs smartsheet. A work breakdown structure wbs in project management and systems engineering, is a deliverable oriented breakdown of a project into smaller components. Work breakdown structure rev e, june 2003 work breakdown structure a project work breakdown structure wbs is a deliverable or product oriented grouping of project work elements shown in graph ical display to organize and subdivide the total work scope of a project.
Simply click to open the template, and then customize the information, layout, and design. Department of defense dod systems from the late 1950s and early 1960s organizations like nasa and the u. A work breakdown structure, commonly abbreviated wbs, is a key project deliverable that is utilized to. In the tree structure of a wbs, project deliverables and activities are broken down into manageable parts, making it easier to estimate required resources and costs, create a realistic schedule, and control each stage of a. Work breakdown structure templates editable wbs templates. A work breakdown structure is a deliverableoriented grouping of the work involved in a project that defines the total scope of the project. They can be used to break down data, services or a product or a combination of these three. The example in this file wont be an appropriate wbs for every marketing project, of course, and some may find the task breakdowns too precise for a standard work breakdown, and some resource assignments may be different if youre doing. The project management body of knowledge pmbok defines the work breakdown structure as a deliverable oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team. The project management body of knowledge defines the work breakdown structure as a deliverable oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team. Work breakdown structure template click on image to modify online.
Ovatemp marketing plan editable work breakdown structure. This beginnerfriendly guide will help you understand the work breakdown structure and create one on your own. It visually communicates the big picture, and helps everyone stay on the same page throughout the entire project when all of your deliverables are broken down into smaller tasks, its easier to establish dependencies and create an accurate. Detailed work breakdown structure using a marketing. These work breakdown structure templates will help you schedule the plan and will encompass the entire project giving it a birds eye view. Therefore, one should take creating wbs as a critical step in the process of project management.
The project schedule is the tool that communicates what work needs to be performed, which resources of the organization will perform the work and the timeframes in which that work needs to be performed. Work breakdown structure examples and overview brighthub. The efficiency of a work breakdown structure can determine the success of a project. Includes engineering, technical drawing, educating and enterprising. What pmi and the guide to the project management body of knowledge, the pmbok guide, says a work breakdown structure is deliverableoriented hierarchical decompositions so that were breaking something apart of the work to be executed by the team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. The example in this file wont be an appropriate wbs for every market research project, of course, and some may find the task breakdowns too precise for a standard work breakdown. In short a work breakdown system provides a mirror for determining and examining all aspects of a project before digging in and finding your blind spots as you stumble into them.
Oct 27, 2016 managers use wbs to break down their projects into easily manageable components. To achieve at least a 15% increase in the profits of the company. Section 2 focuses on the work breakdown structure wbs as a tool that supports. Wbs examples for a software project, construction projects, a conference, finding a job.
Work breakdown structure information, software and wbs samples. A work breakdown structure wbs is a project management tool designed to capture project tasks in a visual, organized manner. Creating the work breakdown structure by kim colenso, managing principal, artemis management systems the work breakdown structure wbs is the foundation for project planning and control. A coding scheme also helps wbs elements to be recognized in any written context. Since many projects involve many people and many different deliverables, it is important to organize and divide the work into logical sections based on how the work will be performed. The importance of the wbs experienced project managers know there are many things that can go wrong in projects. Pharmaceutical work breakdown structure wbs example. Work breakdown structure wbs the building blocks of a schedule start with a work breakdown structure wbs. The following discussion will examine the current trends and practice regarding work breakdown structures. How to create a work breakdown structure workfront. Pdf integrating process and work breakdown structure with.
In wrike, you can build a wbs by creating folders and subfolders, and can even go further to divide individual tasks into subtasks. Work breakdown structure or wbs is a hierarchical tree structure that outlines your project and breaks it down into smaller, more manageable portions. Project planning event and conference management event. But to confront the challenges of working in todays volatile economic environment, project managers are increasingly using. A work breakdown structure wbs is a visual tool for defining and tracking a project deliverable and all the small components needed to create it. Example from milhdbk881, which illustrates the first three levels of a typical aircraft system. Applying the work breakdown structure to the project. To get you started, here are a number of work breakdown structure templates you can use.