Building Effective Work Breakdown Structures (WBS)
"If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail" Benjamin Franklin
Regardless of the life cycle approach, successful project management requires a comprehensive and detailed plan [1]. A project manager’s main responsibilities include planning, integrating, and executing plans. Structured planning is essential given the relatively short duration and controlled resources of projects. Without proper planning, projects, and programs can face the following consequences [2]:
- No clear and defined requirements at the beginning of the project
- Setting unrealistic expectations
- Disorder and chaos
- Attempts to place blame
- Punishment
There are four main reasons for project planning: 1) To minimize or eradicate uncertainty, 2) To improve operational efficiency, 3) To gain a better understanding of the objectives, and 4) To establish the foundation for monitoring [2]. The first major step in the planning process after defining the project requirements is to develop the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), it is the most important element because provides a common framework for [2]:
As defined in the **PMBOK Guide - Seventh Edition** the initial step in the planning process is understanding the business case, the stakeholder’s requirements, and the project scope. While the project scope defines the work that needs to be performed to deliver the outcome of the project, the WBS is a framework for planning, controlling, executing, and managing the project´s work to complete its deliverables successfully [1] [3].
Among the cited reasons for project management failure include poor planning (time), resource constraints (budget), and scope changes [4]. The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), if implemented effectively, 1) could prove to be a valuable tool for scheduling and resource allocation and 2) could provide the baseline for change control [1]. Therefore, the WBS represents a tool that could support project managers in clearly defining the scope of the project which in turn increases the chances of having a project management success in terms of delivering on time, within budget, and in scope [5].
The purpose of this article is to serve as a guide for project managers in:
- Understanding the purpose and importance of creating a WBS.
- Identifying the key characteristics and components of a WBS.
- Implementing a delivered-oriented WBS effectively in different project life cycles.
- Evaluating the quality and completeness of a WBS.
Developed by Luisa Fernanda Salazar Rivera
Contents |
Overview of the WBS
What is a WBS
Core characteristics
Purpose of creating a WBS
Why is it essential
Types and components of a WBS
Types of decomposition for a WBS
Styles to present a WBS
Main components
Implementing a WBS
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI)., "Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures (3rd Ed.)", 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Kerzner, H. ., "Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. (7th Ed.) ", 2009
- ↑ Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI)., "Project management body of knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (7th Ed.).", 2010
- ↑ Shaker, K., "Why do projects really fail? ", Project Management Institute article, 2010
- ↑ Homer, John L and Gunn, Paul D., "Work Structuring for Effective Project Management", 1995
