Work Breakdown Structure in Project Management
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| − | == Abstract == | + | === Abstract === |
| − | Project Management is often a complex process involving Stakeholders, Teams, Development Approaches, Planning, Project Work, Delivery, Measurement, and Uncertainty. As part of Planning and Delivery it is important to define the Scope and Requirements in order to break down the complex tasks into manageable sub-tasks of the whole project (PMBOK; Seventh Edition, 2021, p. 81)<ref name="one">Project Management Institute. “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)”- Seventh Edition, 2021, p. 81</ref>. Therefore, in this Wiki article, the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) will be presented as a Project Management method used to reduce the complexity of a project by delimiting the whole project plan into manageable sub-tasks. This Wiki article will further cover context and history of WBS along with explanation on how to use it in Project management and what are the principles, advantages and limitations of this method. | + | Project Management is often a complex process involving Stakeholders, Teams, Development Approaches, Planning, Project Work, Delivery, Measurement, and Uncertainty. As part of Planning and Delivery it is important to define the Scope and Requirements in order to break down the complex tasks into manageable sub-tasks of the whole project (PMBOK; Seventh Edition, 2021, p. 81)<ref name="one">Project Management Institute. “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)”- Seventh Edition, 2021, p. 81</ref>. Therefore, in this Wiki article, the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) will be presented as a Project Management method used to reduce the complexity of a project by delimiting the whole project plan into manageable sub-tasks. This Wiki article will further cover context and history of WBS along with explanation on how to use it in Project management and what are the principles, advantages and limitations of this method. Since WBS is very flexible and easily applicable tool, the article will focus on most popular ways of application specifically used in Projects. |
| − | == Context and Historical Applications == | + | === Context and Historical Applications === |
| − | Historically, the Work Breakdown method was | + | Historically, the Work Breakdown Structure method was inspired by Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) used by United States Department of Defense (DoD). In 1968, along with aerospace industry and National Aeronautics and Space Agency(NASA) DoD has published a "Work Breakdown Structures for Defense Materiel Items" (MIL-STD-881). Similarly, NASA has adopted WBS and has a handbook of its own. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20180000844 WBS in both organisations are used for Programs, Products and Projects. |
| − | == WBS Terminology and Principles == | + | === WBS Terminology and Principles === |
| − | Before diving into the Work Breakdown Structure and its application it is important to understand the main principles of this tool and some of its terminology. Therefore, this section will cover main terms of WBS along with explanations and principles with their | + | Before diving into the Work Breakdown Structure and its application it is important to understand the main principles of this tool and some of its terminology. Therefore, this section will cover main terms of WBS along with explanations and principles with their impact to the use of method. |
| − | Principles | + | ==Principles== |
| + | |||
| + | =Decomposition= | ||
| + | As indicated by the naming, this method relies on Breakdown principle often called decomposition. | ||
Terms | Terms | ||
Revision as of 14:51, 20 February 2022
Contents |
Abstract
Project Management is often a complex process involving Stakeholders, Teams, Development Approaches, Planning, Project Work, Delivery, Measurement, and Uncertainty. As part of Planning and Delivery it is important to define the Scope and Requirements in order to break down the complex tasks into manageable sub-tasks of the whole project (PMBOK; Seventh Edition, 2021, p. 81)[1]. Therefore, in this Wiki article, the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) will be presented as a Project Management method used to reduce the complexity of a project by delimiting the whole project plan into manageable sub-tasks. This Wiki article will further cover context and history of WBS along with explanation on how to use it in Project management and what are the principles, advantages and limitations of this method. Since WBS is very flexible and easily applicable tool, the article will focus on most popular ways of application specifically used in Projects.
Context and Historical Applications
Historically, the Work Breakdown Structure method was inspired by Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) used by United States Department of Defense (DoD). In 1968, along with aerospace industry and National Aeronautics and Space Agency(NASA) DoD has published a "Work Breakdown Structures for Defense Materiel Items" (MIL-STD-881). Similarly, NASA has adopted WBS and has a handbook of its own. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20180000844 WBS in both organisations are used for Programs, Products and Projects.
WBS Terminology and Principles
Before diving into the Work Breakdown Structure and its application it is important to understand the main principles of this tool and some of its terminology. Therefore, this section will cover main terms of WBS along with explanations and principles with their impact to the use of method.
Principles
Decomposition
As indicated by the naming, this method relies on Breakdown principle often called decomposition.
Terms
How to use WBS in Project Management
Main Principles of WBS
Advantages
Limitations
Annotated Bibliography
References
- ↑ Project Management Institute. “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)”- Seventh Edition, 2021, p. 81
