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The Work Breakdown Structure

The Work Breakdown Structure

• The WBS: All the tasks that must be done to complete a project’s

deliverables

– Tasks are arranged in a hierarchy of broader categories of work down to specific

work tasks

Work Breakdown Structure

(WBS)

• Illustrates project scope

• Describes project subcomponents as:

– Activities (verbs) – “install new plumbing”

or

– Deliverables (noun) – “new plumbing”

Roles Played by the WBS

• Lays out the scope of project work

– All project tasks must be accounted

• Provides the foundation of all project estimates

– Times, costs, resource requirements, etc.

• Helps with the project’s organizational structure

– How tasks relate to one another, authority structure, etc.

WBS: The Compliance ProjectCompliance Project

1.0 Administration 4.0 Medical Care2.0 Physical Therapy 3.0 Food / Nutrition

3.1 Review State Inspection Report

3.2 Review State Compliance Standards

3.3 Develop Policies and Procedures for State Compliance

3.4 Implement Evaluation and Correction Procedures for All Areas

3.3.2 Develop Maintenance SOPs

3.3.1 Develop Corrective Procedures

3.3.2.1 Planning

3.3.2.2 Preparation

3.3.2.3 Delivery

1.1 Review State Inspection Report

1.2 Review State Compliance Standards

1.3 Develop Policies and Procedures for State Compliance

1.4 Implement Evaluation and Correction Procedures for All Areas

1.3.2 Develop Maintenance SOPs :

1.3.1 Develop Corrective Procedures:

1.3.2.1 Planning

1.3.2.2 Financial

1.3.2.3 Supervision

WBS Inputs

• Project scope management plan

• Project scope statement

– Identifies deliverables

– Major steps required to complete the project

• Experience with similar past projects

• Organizational process assets

– Guidelines, organizational policies, procedures

Producing a WBS: Breaking Down Project Work

• Envision a project deliverable

–List all major jobs needed to achieve the deliverable

–Break down major jobs into their smaller component tasks

–Continue until tasks can provide all the detail needed for resource, time, cost, and risk estimates

WBS Techniques

• Decomposition participation includes:– Project team– Customers– Subject matter experts

• Major project deliverables identified

• Codes assigned to each WBS component– Level 0 - project itself– Level 1 - major deliverables– Level 2 - individual components of each deliverable– Etc.– Final level – work package

Work Package

• Lowest level of WBS

• Should contain activities that are short in duration (1 or 2 weeks; 80 hour rule; and no longer than a reporting period).

• Work package activities can be completed by an individual or a small team

• All work packages should be similar in size or effort needed

• Provides input to scheduling and budget development

WBS Numbering System

Product Breakdown

• Helps

define

work

breakdown

One more product breakdown

Windsor Chair

Seat Legs SpindlesSpreaders Back

1.1 flatten plank1.2 layout seat1.3 shape seat1.4 drill seat

2.1 prep blanks2.2 turn legs2.3 dry fit in seat

3.1 measure dry fit legs3.2 turn spreaders3.3 drill legs to fit spreaders

4.1 cut back slat4.2 bead slat4.3 steam bend4.4 shape end tenon4.5 drill seat to fit back4.6 dry fit back

5.1 cut blanks5.2 shape blanks5.3 drill back and seat to fit blanks5.4 dry fit

Producing a WBS: Core and Support Tasks

• Core tasks

– All tasks needed to produce client deliverables

• Support tasks

– All tasks needed to support project work

– Project planning, project administration

– Commonly overlooked

• They will command attention sometime

• Best to consider them in planning

Three Decomposition Approaches

• Top-Down – traditional method

• Bottom-up – used for unique projects

• Rolling Wave – greater decomposition occurs as project components

becomes more defined over time

Methods of Estimating

• Top-down method (analogous method)

– Estimates based on a similar project

• Adjusted for current situation

• Advantages

– Benefits from hindsight

– Relatively quick and easy

• Disadvantages

– Lacks precision

– Can overlook important components of current project

Methods of Estimating

• Bottom-up method

– Produce estimates for each component of each task

• Advantages

– Precision

– Estimating individual tasks often needed for project plans and project execution

• Disadvantages

– Time requirements

– Some costs are unanticipated, thus, overlooked

Leading Project Teams: The Basics of

Project Management and Team

Leadership, 2e by Anthony T. Cobb

©2011 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Estimating Resources

• Human resources

– The project team

– Outside consultants, regulators, etc.

– The project leader

• Considerations

– Knowledge, skills, and abilities

– Availability: Other commitments

Estimating Resources

• Equipment and materials

– Careful consideration to special requirements

– Scheduling flow to tasks when needed is a “mission critical” task

• Other resources

– Office equipment, work space, and supplies

– Information

– Authority

Estimating Time Requirements

• Project time horizon often dictated by client

• Bottom-up time estimates still required

– Time estimates tied to each task or work cluster

• Develop best-guess, optimistic, and pessimistic estimates

• Consider lag time needs

– The need to let a job “rest”

Estimating Costs

• Include cost estimates of resource needs for all tasks

• Attend to often overlooked items

– Time value of money (inflation adjustments)

– Travel, communications, fees, overhead charges

• Adjust cost estimates for risk

Developing a Project Structure

• The work breakdown structure provides the foundation for the project’s

organizational structure

• Task arrangements through time produce project phases and its schedule

• Task arrangements from small to larger job clusters provide authority

structure

WBS Tools

• Templates

• Software

– MS Visio – displays WBS in hierarchical form

– MS Project – WBS displayed in tabular format (Gantt Chart)

Gantt Chart View

of Microsoft Project

WBS Outputs

• WBS Dictionary

– Description of each component

– Who is responsible for development

– Statement of Work (SOW)

– Important milestones

– Estimate of costs and required resources

Outcome of WBS Development

• Possible update of project scope statement and scope management plan

Scope Baseline

• Purpose: to determine and measure any deviations during project

execution

• Components of Scope Baseline

– Project scope statement

– WBS

– WBS Dictionary

Activity Definition

• Work packages broken down into discrete activities and attributes

required to produce project deliverables

• Activity Definition includes:

– Activity description

– Resource requirements

– Logical predecessor or successor activities

How Much Activity Detail Is Required?

• Can be performed by one person or a well-defined group

• Has a single, clearly identifiable deliverable

• Has a known method or technique

• Has well-defined predecessor and successor steps

• Is measurable so that the level of completion can be determined

• Has a short duration – hours or days in length

Activity Tools & Techniques

• Templates

• Documentation from similar past projects

• Rolling wave planning can be applied

Activity Output

• Activity list

• Activity attributes– Description

– Assumptions and constraints

– Leads and lags

– Logical relationships

– Predecessor and successor activities

• Milestones

• Requested changes to project scope statement and WBS