In this movie, author richard harrington walks you through how to create a work breakdown structure. Oct 27, 2016 managers use wbs to break down their projects into easily manageable components. Figures 1 and 2 provide examples of a wbs for the building of a table. These resources are presented from the pmi practice standard for work breakdown structures. Figure 1 at the construction stage, a wbs helps manage. Work breakdown structure imagine that you are in charge of a. Thinking in detail is critical when planning your project, but you also need to consider the big picture.
It is the connecting point for work and cost estimates, schedule information, actual work effortcost expenditures, and accountability. Creating a work breakdown structure wbs helps you be both comprehensive and specific when managing a project. How many pms produce wbs in a formal or consistent manner for each project. It is a product oriented structure, not an organizational structure. A gantt chart uses horizontal bars in a lineartype calendar. On the other hand, things such as design engineering, requirements. Creating a work breakdown structure is a team effort and is the culmination of multiple inputs and perspectives for the given 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. In reality, wbs is a simple and easy visual breakdown of deliverables for product, result, or service. Figure 1 below depicts a sample work breakdown structure with three levels defined. So, all efforts and resources will be assigned to a clearly defined piece of work. Having a structured approach makes it easier to control the project. The main project tasks have been subdivided separating the new work from the existing installation that needs to be reworked. Work breakdown structure organizes the work to provide value and work towards producing tangible results.
Editable work breakdown structure template to plan your work. A work breakdown structure wbs is a decomposition of all the work necessary to complete a project. A coding scheme also helps wbs elements to be recognized in any written context. Edit this wbs template online using our tool and easily visualize your project work. These components are further decomposed until a required person from the team can be assigned. The wbs provides the foundation for all project management work, including, planning, cost and effort estimation, resource allocation, and scheduling. Structure the work based on the organizational structure example. You can edit this work breakdown structure using creately diagramming tool and include in your reportpresentationwebsite. Breaking down the work is the first stage of project planning and essential for managing project scope. A work breakdown structure is a key project deliverable that organizes the teams work into manageable sections. Company owners and project managers use the work breakdown structure wbs to make complex projects more manageable. If youre building a house, the entire project may take 3 months. The work breakdown structure is the idea of taking a project and breaking it down to manageable portions and pieces for completion.
Nazila mazaheri artinarsing rao sharmithas madhukumar sandhya urs j 2. Used to identify the project deliverables, the wbs starts at a high level and decomposes the project deliverables to a. Deliverableoriented wbs structures are the preferred type according to. Presenters christopher bucksa, senior project manager, university services pmo. To get you started, here are a number of work breakdown structure templates you can use.
A wbs work breakdown structure is a project management tool that is planned to capture project activities in an illustrative diagram. Webinar slides available in pdf on mndot webiste within 5 days. Blank risk management plan templatejpg risk management plan template 9 download free documents in pdf risk management plan template. Cdc unified process practices guide work breakdown structure up version. In addition, templates relevant to this practice are provided at the end of this guide. Work breakdown structure relativistic heavy ion collider. Before starting, determine the minimum number of hours to complete a deliverable. The first approach structures the wbs primarily from a deliverables perspective, in that the highest level level 1 entries represent the major deliverables that the project is committed to create. Have your badge scanned at the door attend 90% of this presentation.
Project teams can use lowtechnology tools like a white board, note cards, or. Use pdf export for high quality prints and svg export for large sharp images or embed your diagrams anywhere with. Wbs examples for a software project, construction projects, a conference, finding a job, selling a house, planning permission and other real projects. The concept is used each time a new project is designed and is created before entering any data into a microsoft project file. Developing and elaborating effective work breakdown structures. Pdf project management system based on workbreakdown. The work breakdown structure is a document that is important to project management its a simple hierarchy document like a tree that shows you all of the major elements of a project that need to be planned for. Nabil dmaidi the smallest unit of the wbs is the work package.
Chapter 1 introduction to the work breakdown structure 1. A wbs is arranged in a hierarchy and constructed to allow for clear and logical groupings, either by activities or deliverables. The purpose of this document is to provide guidance on the practice of developing a work breakdown structure and to describe the practice overview, requirements, best practices, activities, and key terms related to this requirement. Once the elements of the wbs have been defined, resource requirements are determined for each element.
Creating the work breakdown structure the wbs can be structured in either of two ways. The obs breaks down to engineering which breaks down to design which breaks down to interface design. Work breakdown structure examples and overview brighthub. 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. A work breakdown structure wbs is a fundamental project management technique for.
Applying a work breakdown structure figure 1 shows an example of a wbs that lays out a plan for a generator installation to an existing distribution system. For these hours to appear on your certificate, you must. Work breakdown structure templates editable online or. Example of work breakdown structure applied in a nasa reporting structure. Figure 1 wbs construction example the above wbs is from pmis practice standard for work breakdown structures. The work breakdown structure wbs provides the foundation for defining work as it relates to project objectives. Pdf work breakdown structure pdf work breakdown structure download. Work breakdown structure a product oriented family tree of phases.
A signal processor, for example, is clearly a product, as are mock ups and computer software configuration items. Unfortunately, the business pressures driving projects have often prevented project managers from developing a comprehensive wbs. Many people have mistaken wbs as a list of tasks, a schedule or an organization chart. Learn how to develop work breakdown structure wbs to represent the work that must be done to complete the deliverables of a project.
A work breakdown structure or wbs is a common term in project management. A brief synopsis, a telecom work breakdown structure in both word and excel, and a pdf appendix of the telecom work breakdown structure wbs example. Ebook workflow editable work breakdown structure template. 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. The work breakdown structure wbs has long served as a valuable tool in helping project managers plan deliverables and detail project scope.
Work breakdown structure rev e, june 2003 do not include elements that are not products. Blank risk management plan templatejpg risk management plan template 9 download free documents in pdf risk. In this movie, author richard harrington walks you. Organizational breakdown structure who the organization breakdown structure is a practical method to decompose the pool of human resources needed to execute all of the tasks into different competence areas and then into project roles, independently of the number of individuals that will be assigned the specified role example of obs who. The efficiency of a work breakdown structure can determine the success of a project. Project management system based on workbreakdownstructure. Collaboration features to do the breakdown as a team. This work template tells us about how the total work can be distributed amongst the members in a. To develop and maintain a wbs, you must have a clear understanding of the projects. Applying the work breakdown structure to the project. Ppt powerpoint, excel, visio or any other document. See how the guidethrough process can help you get your it. Work breakdown structure project management business. Pdf work breakdown structure major revisions to a wbs require both substantial effort and resources, due to pdf reader aloud its.
Work breakdown structure a work breakdown structure wbs is a decomposition of all the work necessary to complete a project. The work breakdown structure in software project management. How to create a work breakdown structure lucidchart blog. Usually, the project managers use this method for simplifying the project execution. Work breakdown structure managing an efficient construction workflow work breakdown structure managing an efficient construction workflow ed coffin conest software systems this session is eligible for 1 contact hour. Tausworthe jet propllsiotl lrrhoultop the work breakdown structure wbs is a vehicle for breaking an engineering project down into subproject, tasks, subtasks, work packages, and so on. The work breakdown structure in software project management robert c. The wbs is designed to help break down a project into manageable chunks that can be effectively estimated and supervised.
One effective technique is to organize a brainstorming session with the various departments that will be involved with the project. View work breakdown structure research papers on academia. Project work breakdown structure wbs september 28, 2012. Work breakdown structure wbs a hierarchical system which subdivides larger elements of the project into smaller elements. Approaches to develop work breakdown structures resultoriented approach structure the work based on the work products activityoriented approach structure the work based on development activities and project functions geographical area approach structure the work based on geographical location organizational approach. Breakdown structures wbs as they begin the process of. This matrix is an example from a software development program. The highlevel elements in the wbs should match, wordforword, the nouns used to describe the outcomes of the project in the scope statement. Sep 25, 2017 a work breakdown structure or wbs is a common term in project management. If you fail to identify a major part of your projects work, you wont have the chance to detail it. Therefore, one should take creating wbs as a critical step in the process of project management. Jun 08, 2017 learn how to develop work breakdown structure wbs to represent the work that must be done to complete the deliverables of a project. One work breakdown structure example that will make it clear.
Applying work breakdown structure to project lifecycle. Used to identify the project deliverables, the wbs starts at a high level and decomposes the project deliverables to. Pdf we have developed a wbswork breakdown structure process model for a business application software development project. Chapter 1 introduction to the work breakdown structure. The pd is to structure the project work into wbs elements work packages. Work breakdown structure template click on image to modify online. This zip file contains the white paper the work breakdown structure. The importance of the wbs experienced project managers know there are many things that can go wrong in projects. The aggregation of all the work to be performed in a project.
The following discussion will examine the current trends and practice regarding work breakdown structures. Develop work breakdown structure introduction the table below provides several templates you can use to help develop a work breakdown structure. In addition, the resource breakdown structure rbs describes the projects. How to improve productivity with a work breakdown structure. Instead, wbs provides useful inputs for cost estimating and budgeting, scope control, activity definition, and more.
The responsibility assignment matrix ram shows the intersection of the organizational breakdown structure obs and the work breakdown structure wbs. The wbs includes 100% of the work defined by the project scope. Aug 26, 2011 the work breakdown structure is a fundamental part of defining project scope. The work breakdown structure is the tool used to divide the project work content among individ uals and organizations so that ef ciency and effectiveness will be achieved while ensuring the inte gration of work efforts to produce the projectrequired deliverables. The wbs was initially employed by the defense department of us, which directed its application on their projects. Standard pm wbs template for non infrastructure projects. Work breakdown structure information, software and wbs samples. For example, the wbs utilizes the project charter as its starting point. Introduction dividing complex projects to simpler and manageable tasks is the process identified as work breakdown structure wbs. 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. The work breakdown structure is a fundamental part of defining project scope. Managers use wbs to break down their projects into easily manageable components. This project wbs template is free for you to copy and use on your project.
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