How to create a WBS

A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a foundation document in project management. It provides the basis for planning and managing project schedules, costs, and changes. It is crucial to work with the team to create a good WBS.

A work breakdown structure is an outcome-oriented analysis of the work involved in a project that defines the total scope of the project.

A WBS should list all the work, and only the work, required to complete the project. It is important to include tasks related to creating the products of the project, as well as the process for developing them. A WBS is required for creating a Gantt chart.

A WBS shows tasks in a hierarchy format. Each WBS item is the sum of the WBS items below it. The highest level of the WBS, Level 0, is the entire project. The next level, Level 1, lists major groupings for tasks. The next level breaks down those major groupings into more specific tasks, and the decomposition continues.

The lowest level in a WBS is called a work package. Experts suggest that work packages involve no more than eighty hours of work, but there are wide variations in the number of levels and amount of detail in WBSs. The nature of the project should drive the structure of the WBS.

A WBS is often depicted in graphical format as a task-oriented family tree of tasks resembling an organization chart. A WBS can also be displayed in tabular form with a numbering scheme and indentations depicting the hierarchy of tasks. For example, the structure below shows a tabular format for a WBS:

1.0 Main task 1

1.1 Subtaskl

1.2 Subtask 2

2.0 Main task 2

3.0 Main task 3

Work with the project team to create a good WBS. Take the time to do it well.