Work breakdown structure (WBS) - Revision history

S160832 at 12:12, 24 February 2021

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	==Abstract==		==Abstract==
	Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a method within project management aiming to structure and divide a project into smaller and more manageable components. This will make it easier to organise the work that has to be done in the project, and it will also make it easier to assess the time constrains of the project as well as the total costs.		Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a method within project management aiming to structure and divide a project into smaller and more manageable components that can be effectively estimated and supervised. <ref name="R6" /> This will make it easier to organise the work that has to be done in the project, and it will also make it easier to assess the time constrains of the project as well as the total costs.
	The process of creating WBS is performed once, at the beginning of the project, or at predefined points in the project, and the key benefit of the process is that it provides a framework of what has to be delivered <ref name="R1" />. This will support the project manager by creating an overview of the different steps and sub elements of the project, the work that has to be done, as well as providing an overview of the different resources, costs and time constrains involved in the project, ensuring better control with the project as a whole.		The process of creating WBS is performed once, at the beginning of the project, or at predefined points in the project, and the key benefit of the process is that it provides a framework of what has to be delivered <ref name="R1" />. This will support the project manager by creating an overview of the different steps and sub elements of the project, the work that has to be done, as well as providing an overview of the different resources, costs and time constrains involved in the project, ensuring better control with the project as a whole.

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	* A foundation for the control processes within the project.		* A foundation for the control processes within the project.

	This means that Work Breakdown Structures are a key component in project management within the planning of the project as it organizes the project’s scope by reflecting the work specified within the project. <ref name="R3" />		This means that Work Breakdown Structures are a key component in project management within the planning of the project as it organizes and more accurately difine the project’s scope by reflecting the work specified within the project. <ref name="R3" /> <ref name="R6" /> Creating WBS also helps assigning responsibilities, allocating the ressources and monitoring and controlling the project, as the WBS provides a precise and concrete overview of the deliverables in the project. This overview also makes it possible to make sure there is nothing missing or overlapping in the project.<ref name="R6" />

			On the other hand, not creating a WBS within a project could cause delays, confused tasking by team members and project overruns.<ref name="R6" />

	===Definition of WBS===		===Definition of WBS===
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	<ref name="R5">NASA,(2010). ''Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Handbook.''</ref>		<ref name="R5">NASA,(2010). ''Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Handbook.''</ref>

			<ref name="R6">Rajani Devi, T.; Shobha Reddy, V.,(2014). ''Work Breakdown Structure of the Project.''(Preprint article)</ref>

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	In this section follows a general overview of how to create WBS followed by a more detailed description of key elements. The process of creating WBS can in general be described as shown in Figure 1: <ref name="R1" /> <ref name="R4" />		In this section follows a general overview of how to create WBS followed by a more detailed description of key elements. The process of creating WBS can in general be described as shown in Figure 1: <ref name="R1" /> <ref name="R4" />

	[[File:Figure1wbs.JPG\|center\|thumb\|550px\|~~FIGURE TEXT~~]]		[[File:Figure1wbs.JPG\|center\|thumb\|550px\| General overview of how to create WBS. Own creation. Made with information from <ref name="R1" /> <ref name="R4" />]]

	First step of creating WBS is gathering critical project documents including a project management plan including the scope plan. Other examples of project documents that can be needed as inputs are the project scope statement or requirements documentation. In this step it is also important to identify organisational process assets that can influence the WBS, such as policies, procedures and templates for the WBS within the organisation, project files from previous projects as well as lessons learned from previous projects. <ref name="R1" /> All of these inputs will be the starting point and foundation of creating WBS.		First step of creating WBS is gathering critical project documents including a project management plan including the scope plan. Other examples of project documents that can be needed as inputs are the project scope statement or requirements documentation. In this step it is also important to identify organisational process assets that can influence the WBS, such as policies, procedures and templates for the WBS within the organisation, project files from previous projects as well as lessons learned from previous projects. <ref name="R1" /> All of these inputs will be the starting point and foundation of creating WBS.

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	==Annotated bibliography==		==Annotated bibliography==
	~~MANGLER~~		*Project Management Institute,(2017). ''A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide).'' 6th Edition.
			:This book has been the main source of information for this article. It is a PMI standard and a key source of information regarding porject management. It covers various principles regarding project management and different usefull tools.

			*Project Management Institute,(2011). ''Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures.'' 2nd Edition.
			:This is a handbook for practice standards for Work Breakdown Structures and has also been a big source of information for this article. It is very hands on an provides information about how to create and apply Work Breakdown Structures in project management. Is covers the benefits from using WBS in project management and goes into detail with the tool and how to apply it. It also covers pratical examples of how to use WBS.

			*NASA,(2010). ''Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Handbook.''
			:This is a handbook for applying Work Breakdown Structures developed by NASA. The purpose of the handbook is to provide program/project teams guidance in the best practices for Work Breakdown Structure. The aim is to assist project teams in the development of effective work breakdown structures that provide a framework of common reference for all project elements.<ref name="R5" /> . Even though this handbook is specifically developed to support projects and programmes within NASA, it can still be a source of hands on practical information reagarding how to apply WBS to a project aswell as the typical mistakes and common errors when developing WBS.


	==References==		==References==

S160832 at 12:19, 21 February 2021

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	The PMBOK Guide – 6th edition defines WBS as:		The PMBOK Guide – 6th edition defines WBS as:

	''‘’The WBS is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. The WBS organizes and defines the total scope of the project fines the total scope of the project and represents the work specified in the current approved project scope statement.’’''<ref name="R1" />		''‘’The WBS is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. The WBS organizes and defines the total scope of the project fines the total scope of the project and represents the work specified in the current approved project scope statement.’’''<ref name="R1" />

	PRINCE2 defines WBS as: ''‘’A work breakdown structure is a hierarchical breakdown of the entire work that needs to be completed during a plan; in PRINCE2 a work breakdown structure contains only activities’’''. <ref name="R2" />		PRINCE2 defines WBS as:

			''‘’A work breakdown structure is a hierarchical breakdown of the entire work that needs to be completed during a plan; in PRINCE2 a work breakdown structure contains only activities’’''. <ref name="R2" />

	The biggest difference in these two definitions, or approaches to WBS, is that in PRINCE2, a work breakdown structure contains only activities. This is different from the approach in the PMBOK Guide, where ‘’work’’ refers to work products or deliverables that are the result of activity and not to the activity itself <ref name="R1" />. Despite this difference of the definition of WBS, both uses of the terminology agree that project managers need to plan by breaking down the products or outputs of the project first and then break down the activities needed to produce the products <ref name="R2" />. This article mainly assess the approach to WBS as defined in the PMBOK guide.		The biggest difference in these two definitions, or approaches to WBS, is that in PRINCE2, a work breakdown structure contains only activities. This is different from the approach in the PMBOK Guide, where ‘’work’’ refers to work products or deliverables that are the result of activity and not to the activity itself <ref name="R1" />. Despite this difference of the definition of WBS, both uses of the terminology agree that project managers need to plan by breaking down the products or outputs of the project first and then break down the activities needed to produce the products <ref name="R2" />. This article mainly assess the approach to WBS as defined in the PMBOK guide.

S160832 at 12:19, 21 February 2021

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	The PMBOK Guide – 6th edition defines WBS as:		The PMBOK Guide – 6th edition defines WBS as:
	‘’The WBS is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. The WBS organizes and defines the total scope of the project fines the total scope of the project and represents the work specified in the current approved project scope statement.’’<ref name="R1" />		''‘’The WBS is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. The WBS organizes and defines the total scope of the project fines the total scope of the project and represents the work specified in the current approved project scope statement.’’''<ref name="R1" />

	PRINCE2 defines WBS as: ‘’A work breakdown structure is a hierarchical breakdown of the entire work that needs to be completed during a plan; in PRINCE2 a work breakdown structure contains only activities’’. <ref name="R2" />		PRINCE2 defines WBS as: ''‘’A work breakdown structure is a hierarchical breakdown of the entire work that needs to be completed during a plan; in PRINCE2 a work breakdown structure contains only activities’’''. <ref name="R2" />

	The biggest difference in these two definitions, or approaches to WBS, is that in PRINCE2, a work breakdown structure contains only activities. This is different from the approach in the PMBOK Guide, where ‘’work’’ refers to work products or deliverables that are the result of activity and not to the activity itself <ref name="R1" />. Despite this difference of the definition of WBS, both uses of the terminology agree that project managers need to plan by breaking down the products or outputs of the project first and then break down the activities needed to produce the products <ref name="R2" />. This article mainly assess the approach to WBS as defined in the PMBOK guide.		The biggest difference in these two definitions, or approaches to WBS, is that in PRINCE2, a work breakdown structure contains only activities. This is different from the approach in the PMBOK Guide, where ‘’work’’ refers to work products or deliverables that are the result of activity and not to the activity itself <ref name="R1" />. Despite this difference of the definition of WBS, both uses of the terminology agree that project managers need to plan by breaking down the products or outputs of the project first and then break down the activities needed to produce the products <ref name="R2" />. This article mainly assess the approach to WBS as defined in the PMBOK guide.
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	The PMBOK Guide has defined some general steps of activities involved in the decomposition of the total project work into smaller work-packages as listed below <ref name="R1" />:		The PMBOK Guide has defined some general steps of activities involved in the decomposition of the total project work into smaller work-packages as listed below <ref name="R1" />:

	• Identifying and analyzing the deliverables and related work		* '''Identifying''' and '''analyzing''' the deliverables and related work
	• Structuring and organizing the WBS		* '''Structuring''' and '''organizing''' the WBS
	• Decomposing the upper WBS level into lower-level detailed components		* '''Decomposing''' the upper WBS level into lower-level detailed components
	• Developing and assigning the identification codes to the WBS components		* '''Developing''' and '''assigning''' the '''identification codes''' to the WBS components
	• Verifying that the degree of decomposition of the deliverables is appropriate		* '''Verifying''' that the degree of decomposition of the deliverables is appropriate

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	WBS is a planning tool with the purpose of assisting project managers in creating a clear overview of the work within a project. This is done by sub-dividing a project into smaller and more manageable parts, in terms of the creating an overview of the different steps of work that has to be done in order to achieve the overall goal of the project. This provides a better control with the project as a whole, as sub-dividing the project into smaller parts also provides an overview of the different resources, costs and time constrains involved in the project.		WBS is a planning tool with the purpose of assisting project managers in creating a clear overview of the work within a project. This is done by sub-dividing a project into smaller and more manageable parts, in terms of the creating an overview of the different steps of work that has to be done in order to achieve the overall goal of the project. This provides a better control with the project as a whole, as sub-dividing the project into smaller parts also provides an overview of the different resources, costs and time constrains involved in the project.
	The Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures outlines some of the key benefits from performing WBS as <ref name="R3" />:		The Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures outlines some of the key benefits from performing WBS as <ref name="R3" />:
	• Better communication to project sponsors, stakeholders, and team members
	• More accurate estimation of tasks, risks, timelines, and costs		* Better communication to project sponsors, stakeholders, and team members
	• Increased confidence that 100% of the work is identified and included		* More accurate estimation of tasks, risks, timelines, and costs
	• A foundation for the control processes within the project.		* Increased confidence that 100% of the work is identified and included
			* A foundation for the control processes within the project.

	This means that Work Breakdown Structures are a key component in project management within the planning of the project as it organizes the project’s scope by reflecting the work specified within the project. <ref name="R3" />		This means that Work Breakdown Structures are a key component in project management within the planning of the project as it organizes the project’s scope by reflecting the work specified within the project. <ref name="R3" />

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	==References==		==References==
			<references >

			<ref name="R1">Project Management Institute,(2017). ''A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide).'' 6th Edition.</ref>

			<ref name="R2">Project Management Institute,(2017). ''Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2.'' 6th Edition.</ref>

			<ref name="R3">Project Management Institute,(2011). ''Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures.'' 2nd Edition.</ref>

			<ref name="R4">https://www.workbreakdownstructure.com/</ref>

			<ref name="R5">NASA,(2010). ''Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Handbook.''</ref>

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Show changes

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	In this section follows a general overview of how to create WBS followed by a more detailed description of key elements. The process of creating WBS can in general be described as shown in Figure 1: <ref name="R1" /> <ref name="R4" />		In this section follows a general overview of how to create WBS followed by a more detailed description of key elements. The process of creating WBS can in general be described as shown in Figure 1: <ref name="R1" /> <ref name="R4" />

	[[File:Figure1wbs.JPG\|center\|thumb\|550px\| General overview of how to create WBS. Own creation. Made with information from <ref name="R1" /> <ref name="R4" />]]		[[File:Figure1wbs.JPG\|center\|thumb\|550px\| Figure 1: General overview of how to create WBS. Own creation. Made with information from <ref name="R1" /> <ref name="R4" />]]

	First step of creating WBS is gathering critical project documents including a project management plan including the scope plan. Other examples of project documents that can be needed as inputs are the project scope statement or requirements documentation. In this step it is also important to identify organisational process assets that can influence the WBS, such as policies, procedures and templates for the WBS within the organisation, project files from previous projects as well as lessons learned from previous projects. <ref name="R1" /> All of these inputs will be the starting point and foundation of creating WBS.		First step of creating WBS is gathering critical project documents including a project management plan including the scope plan. Other examples of project documents that can be needed as inputs are the project scope statement or requirements documentation. In this step it is also important to identify organisational process assets that can influence the WBS, such as policies, procedures and templates for the WBS within the organisation, project files from previous projects as well as lessons learned from previous projects. <ref name="R1" /> All of these inputs will be the starting point and foundation of creating WBS.
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	[[File:Figure2wbs.png\|center\|thumb\|550px\|~~FIGURE TEXT~~]]		[[File:Figure2wbs.png\|center\|thumb\|550px\|Figure 2: Example of WBS levels. Own creation. Made with inspiration from <ref name="R2" /> ]]

	The Figure shows the overall structure and organization of the WBS. On the figure is shown 3 levels of the WBS – this is only illustrative, as the number of levels as well as elements and sub-elements in a WBS is again dependent on the context, size and complexity of a project.		The Figure shows the overall structure and organization of the WBS. On the figure is shown 3 levels of the WBS – this is only illustrative, as the number of levels as well as elements and sub-elements in a WBS is again dependent on the context, size and complexity of a project.
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	[[File:Figure3wbs.JPG\|center\|thumb\|550px\|~~FIGURE TEXT~~]]		[[File:Figure3wbs.JPG\|center\|thumb\|550px\|Figure 3: Example of the 100% rule. Own creation. Made with inspiration from <ref name="R4" />]]

	As seen in the figure, the rule applies at all levels of the WBS, meaning that the sum of the work at the ‘’child-level’’ must be equal to the work represented at the ‘’parent-level’’. <ref name="R3" />		As seen in the figure, the rule applies at all levels of the WBS, meaning that the sum of the work at the ‘’child-level’’ must be equal to the work represented at the ‘’parent-level’’. <ref name="R3" />
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	The Figure below shows an illustrative example of a WBS for the construction of a house. The figure is inspired by similar figures from the handbook Project Management Institute. “Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures”- Second Edition, 2011 and examples from www.workbreakdownstructure.com. The WBS example of the construction of a house could be further developed by decomposing the different elements into even more detail, but as the need for this is dependent on the specific project, it will not contribute further to the understanding of the principles behind creating a WBS.		The Figure below shows an illustrative example of a WBS for the construction of a house. The figure is inspired by similar figures from the handbook Project Management Institute. “Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures”- Second Edition, 2011 and examples from www.workbreakdownstructure.com. The WBS example of the construction of a house could be further developed by decomposing the different elements into even more detail, but as the need for this is dependent on the specific project, it will not contribute further to the understanding of the principles behind creating a WBS.

	[[File:Figure4wbs.JPG\|center\|thumb\|550px\|~~FIGURE TEXT~~]]		[[File:Figure4wbs.JPG\|center\|thumb\|550px\|Figure 4: Illustrative example of a WBS for the construction of a house. Own creation. Made with inspiration from <ref name="R4" /> ]]

	The WBS represents the scope of work required in the construction of a house. In the WBS, the different levels of the hierarchical structure of the WBS is represented with the four different levels. At level 1, the overall scope of the project is represented – the final product and goal of the project – the finished house. At level 2, the detail level of the WBS is still quite general, though it is differentiated within the four different common aspects of the construction of a house. This also illustrates that behind creating the WBS lays an analyse of how to actually build the house, which elements are included and needed, and also expert knowledge of how processes are grouped and interlinked within the construction process. The WBS also shows that the detail level of the WBS increases with the levels of the WBS. It also illustrates that not all elements of the WBS are decomposed to the same level of detail – it depends on the different control needs within the project.		The WBS represents the scope of work required in the construction of a house. In the WBS, the different levels of the hierarchical structure of the WBS is represented with the four different levels. At level 1, the overall scope of the project is represented – the final product and goal of the project – the finished house. At level 2, the detail level of the WBS is still quite general, though it is differentiated within the four different common aspects of the construction of a house. This also illustrates that behind creating the WBS lays an analyse of how to actually build the house, which elements are included and needed, and also expert knowledge of how processes are grouped and interlinked within the construction process. The WBS also shows that the detail level of the WBS increases with the levels of the WBS. It also illustrates that not all elements of the WBS are decomposed to the same level of detail – it depends on the different control needs within the project.