The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Abstract

Successful project management relies on thorough planning. This begins by defining the project objectives with sufficiently detailed information. The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is an effective technique based on decomposing a project into hierarchical deliverables. Each one of the deliverables corresponds to a specific outcome that must be accomplished to complete the project. In other words, the WBS provides a clear view of the project’s scope, by schematically showing all the objectives that it englobes and the relations between them. A well-designed WBS that presents information at the appropriate level of detail and in formats and structures meaningful to those performing the work is an invaluable tool in project management. The following article has been created in order to provide all the information needed to create the WBS of a given project. The first part of the article contains a detailed description of the WBS, together with an explanation of its purpose. After this, the wide benefits the WBS provides to a project during the totality of its life cycle are presented and it is explained how doing the WBS for a project enhances the likelihood of its success. Also, it is shown how the WBS looks like and the specifications its structure must accomplish. The second part of the article presents how to create the WBS, where several methods are proposed. Also, it is indicated in what specific moment of the project’s life cycle the WBS should be created. Moreover, some of the most usual mistakes committed when designing the WBS are specified to anticipate and avoid making them. In the third part of the article the limitations of the WBS are discussed and some advice in order to counteract them is given. The fourth and last part of the article, includes an annotated bibliography where several references with additional information are proposed.