Why create a work breakdown structure?A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a tool that can be used for projects, programs, and even initiatives to understand the work that has to be done to successfully produce a deliverable(s). The benefits of creating a WBS include: Show
What is a Work Breakdown Structure? Breaking work into trivial tasks is a common productivity practice used to make the work more manageable and amicable. For projects, the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is the tool that utilizes this technique and is one of the most significant project management documents. It unaided integrates scope, cost and schedule baselines ensuring that project plans are in orientation. Applying the Work Breakdown Structure to the project management lifecycle The Prominence of the Work Breakdown Structure Knowledgeable project managers know that many things can go erroneous in projects, regardless of how successfully the work is planned and executed. Component or full-project failures, when they do transpire, can often be traced to a poorly developed or unreal WBS. A poorly constructed WBS can result in adverse project outcomes including ongoing, repeated project re-plans and extensions, vague work assignments, scope creep or unmanageable, frequently changing scope, budget overrun, missed deadlines and incompetent new products or delivered features. The WBS is an introductory building block to initiating, planning, executing, and monitoring and controlling
processes that are used to manage. There are many project management tools and techniques that use the WBS or its components as input. For example, the WBS utilizes the project charter as its preliminary point. The high-level elements in the WBS should match, word-for-word, the nouns used to describe the consequences of the project in the scope declaration. In addition, the resource breakdown structure (RBS) describes the project’s resource organization and can be used in aggregation with the
WBS to define work package assignments. The WBS Glossary outlines, details, and clarifies the various fundamentals of the WBS. The network diagram is a sequential arrangement of the work defined by the WBS and the elements of the WBS are starting points for defining the activities included in the project agenda. WBS Concepts A WBS, as defined in the PMBOK® Guide—Third Edition is “a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. It organizes and defines the total scope of the project. Each
descending level represents an increasingly detailed definition of the project work. The WBS is decomposed into work packages. The deliverable orientation of the hierarchy includes both internal and external deliverables.” Defining the WBS The upper levels of the WBS typically echo the major deliverable work areas of the project, disintegrated into logical groupings of work. The content of the upper levels may vary, depending on the type of project and industry involved. The lower WBS elements provide appropriate detail and focus for support of project management processes such as schedule
development, cost estimating, resource apportionment, and risk assessment. The lowest-level WBS components are called work packages and contain the definitions of work to be performed and tracked. These can be later used as input to the scheduling process to support the elaboration of tasks, activities, resources, and milestones which can be cost estimated, monitored, and meticulous. Why use a WBS in project management? There are a number of reasons why breaking down a large project is advantageous. It helps you to: How to create a work breakdown structure: 1. Record the overarching objective you are trying to accomplish. This objective could be anything from developing a new software feature to building a missile. 2. Divide the overarching project into smaller and smaller pieces, but stop before you get to the point of listing out every action that must be taken. Remember to focus on concrete deliverable rather than actions. 3. Depending on the nature of your project, start dividing by project phases, specific large deliverables, or sub-tasks. Tips for making a work breakdown structure As you make a work breakdown structure, use the following rules for best results: • Mutually exclusive. Do not embrace a sub-task twice or account for any amount of work twice. Doing so would violate the 100% rule and will result in inaccuracies as you try to determine the resources necessary to complete a project. • Outcomes, not actions. Remember to focus on deliverables and outcomes rather than actions. For example, if you were building a bike, a deliverable might be “the braking system” while actions would include “calibrate the brake pads.” • The 8/80 rule. There are numerous ways to decide when a work package is small enough without being too trivial. This rule is one of the most common suggestions—a work package should take no less than eight hours of effort, but no more than 80. Other rules advocate no more than ten days (which is the same as 80 hours if you work full time) or no more than a typical reporting period. In other words, if you report on your work every month, a work package should take no more than a month to complete. When in doubt, apply the “if it makes sense” rule and use your best verdict. • 3 levels. Generally speaking, a WBS should comprise about three levels of detail. Some branches of the WBS will be more subdivided than others, but if most branches have about three levels, the scope of your project and the level of aspect in your WBS are about right. • Make assignments. Every work package should be dispensed to a specific team or individual. If you have made your WBS well, there will be no work overlay so responsibilities will be strong and clear. References: What is the WBS typically used for?This technique (sometimes called a system breakdown structure) is used to define and organize the total scope of a project. The WBS is organized around the primary products of the project (or planned outcomes) instead of the work needed to produce the products (planned actions).
What is the process of creating a WBS?Here are six simple steps to create a work breakdown structure.. Define the Project Scope, Goals and Objectives. Your project goals and objectives set the rules for defining your project scope. ... . Identify Project Phases & Control Accounts. ... . List Your Project Deliverables. ... . Set WBS Levels. ... . Create Work Packages. ... . Choose Task Owners.. When creating a WBS you should start from?To begin creating a WBS, define level one, the main deliverable of the project. Then add as much detail as possible to level two before moving to smaller chunks of work in level three and beyond, if needed.
What is SAP WBS?A WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) element is a cost objective in SAP that collects expenses and revenues related to sponsored projects. WBS elements are both research and fund accounts.
|