What Is Work Breakdown Structure in Project Management?
What Is Work Breakdown Structure in Project Management?
Work breakdown structure (WBS) in project management is a method for completing a complex, multi-step project. It's a way to divide and conquer large projects to get things done faster and more efficiently.
In this FAQ article, we’ll go over what a WBS is in project management, how to create a WBS and what characteristics are important, as well as thorough examples of WBS on which you can base your own WBS.
In Wrike, you can build a WBS quickly and easily by creating folders and subfolders and can go further to divide individual tasks into subtasks. Or, simply use our pre-built WBS template that will help you jumpstart the WBS process.
Now, let’s look at how to create a work breakdown structure in project management.
How to create a work breakdown structure
Before you create a work breakdown structure, it's essential to first assess the project scope by talking to all stakeholders and key team members involved.
As the project manager, you want to ensure that all critical input and deliverables are gathered and transparently prioritized. You may use Gantt charts, flow charts, spreadsheets, or lists to show the hierarchical outline of importance and connectivity between the tasks needed to complete the project.
After outlining the deliverables and tasks in order of completion, you can then assign each task to a project team member. Ensure no team member carries the majority of the project's weight by spreading duties and responsibilities across the team.
Characteristics of a work breakdown structure
The Project Management Institute (PMI) defines WBS as "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."
Each WBS level represents a new and increasingly detailed definition of work needed to complete the project.
PMI's definition adds that a WBS structure must be constructed in a way that each new level in the hierarchy includes all the work needed to complete its parent task. This means that every parent task element must have more than one child task within it to consider the parent task element complete.
Different types of work breakdown structures
Your work breakdown structure for each project can be different.
As a project manager, you may have to experiment to see which WBS works best for you and your team. The goal is to show the hierarchy of your projects and make progress clear to everyone involved — whether they are a team member or an external stakeholder.
Here are some work breakdown structure examples. You can use any of these to outline your WBS.
- WBS spreadsheet: You can structure your WBS efficiently in a spreadsheet, noting the different phases, tasks, or deliverables in the columns and rows.
- WBS flowchart: You can structure your WBS in a diagrammatic workflow. Most WBS examples and templates you may find are flowcharts.
- WBS list: You can structure your WBS as a simple list of tasks or deliverables and subtasks. This is the most straightforward approach to make a WBS.
- WBS Gantt chart: You can structure your WBS as a Gantt chart that represents both a spreadsheet and a timeline. With a Gantt chart-structured WBS, you can link task dependencies and show project milestones.
Here's an example of WBS list from Wrike.
Here's an example of WBS Gantt chart from Wrike.
Work breakdown structure example
When created thoroughly, the work breakdown structure is a roadmap that guides a team when completing projects — whether simple or complex.
Here's a powerful work breakdown structure example from Wrike.
What is the difference between WBS and a work breakdown schedule?
Various detailed project documents support the WBS. Amongst them are a risk management plan, quality plan, procurement plan, communications plan, staffing plan, and a work breakdown schedule plan.
The work breakdown schedule includes the start and completion dates for all tasks, activities, and deliverables defined in the WBS.
How to use Wrike as your work breakdown structure tool
Wrike is an intuitive work breakdown structure tool that allows you to easily create folders and subfolders for each deliverable, phase, work package, or activity. You can manually divide these into tasks and subtasks.
However, we wanted to help our customers jumpstart their WBS creation with a pre-built template. The template helps you personalize your plans with custom fields and organize deliverables into sample folders. It also has pre-built reports to keep stakeholders informed.
Are you ready to see for yourself how Wrike can kickstart your project management?