The template is fully editable with excel and can be converted or changed to suit specific project requirements. From the time the first edition of the practice standard for work breakdown structures was being developed a little more than five years ago, there has been a vast expansion in rapid electronic access to information through the internet, cdroms. In your project you will want to develop them down to a much more detailed level using the 8 to 80 rule where the wbs is broken down to where a work package contains between 8 and 80 hours of work to complete. Pdf the work breakdown structure in software project management. It is the connecting point for work and cost estimates, schedule information, actual work effortcost expenditures, and accountability. You can edit this template and create your own diagram. A work breakdown structure wbs proposes a graphical nature that helps project managers predict results based on various scenarios. Its a hierarchy of tasks that represents the project teams understanding of the composition of work, and of the size, cost, and duration of each component or task. This will make it easier to identify the way in which work needs to progress, time required for that level, and necessities that an unusually task requires. Tasks and activities will be grouped under these lowest levels. P a g e 3 work breakdown structures a work breakdown structure is a deliverableoriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables.
Deliverableoriented wbs structures are the preferred type according to. Within the project is a hierarchical structure that defines the content of the project, just like the outline defines the content of the topic. Customize your work breakdown structure template and include every level and sublevel. Work breakdown structure information, software and wbs samples. How many pms produce wbs in a formal or consistent manner for each project. What is wbs work breakdown structure in project management. It is a product oriented structure, not an organizational structure. Work breakdown structure sample pdf besttemplatess123. Activities are where deliverables are assigned to an individual. The project schedule should reflect all of the work associated with delivering the project on time. Work breakdown structure wbs in project management an introductory tutorial work breakdown structure wbs is yet another very important aspect and deliverable of the project planning process. This example work breakdown structure can identify the entire projects tasks, and provides a standard framework for managing the works effectively.
This zip file contains the white paper the work breakdown structure. A work breakdown structure wbs is a description of the work that will be done for a project. The contents of the template are shown below and hints and tips are includes in the template. Work breakdown structure the first step in creating a wbs is identifying the project deliverables and subdeliverables, and the achievements and subachievements. It organizes and defines the total scope of the project. Nasa work breakdown structure wbs handbook page viii preface p.
Defining a work breakdown structure a work breakdown structure wbs is defined as a hierarchy of tasks that are representative of the real work flow of a construction project. One work breakdown structure example that will make it clear. To develop and maintain a wbs, you must have a clear understanding of the projects. Each deliverable or achievement must equal the sum of its subelements. Pdf impact of various workbreakdown structures on project. It is often described as a resultoriented tree that covers all project procedures in an organized way. Milhdbk881a is based on the cooperative efforts of the. Work breakdown structure is a powerful and valuable tool in project management. A brief synopsis, a bicycle work breakdown structure in both word and excel, a bicycle wbs dictionary in word and excel, and a pdf appendix of the bicycle work breakdown structure wbs example. A work breakdown structure, commonly abbreviated wbs, is a key project deliverable that is utilized to organize a project teams work and responsibilities into compact sections that. The development of work breakdown structure involves subdividing the major project activities or subactivities into smaller, more manageable activities until the activities are defined in sufficient detail to support the management and development of project works. Pdf many people have mistaken wbs as a list of tasks, a schedule or an organization chart.
As a hierarchical decomposition of the project work, each descending level of the wbs is increasingly detailed. Applying the work breakdown structure to the project. The template includes instructions to the author, boilerplate text, and fields that should be replaced with the values specific to the project. Systems development life cycle sdlc methodology information technology services july 7, 2009 version 1 authors. It presents all of the work that will be carried out by the project team during the life of the project, including the project management work. Work breakdown structure wbs template free visio excel. A4500 hov project1 work breakdown structure and dictionary 1. Instead, wbs provides useful inputs for cost estimating and budgeting, scope control, activity definition, and more. Once the elements of the wbs have been defined, resource requirements are determined for each element. Creately diagrams can be exported and added to word, ppt powerpoint, excel, visio or any other document. Doe office of management, budget and evaluation work breakdown structure project management practices guide, revision e dated june 2003.
For the purpose of examples, the phase is at level 1. Uat testing work breakdown structure this is an example of a highlevel work breakdown structure for user acceptance testing it includes training, roles, test sites and the testing tasks. Typical examples of the contribution the wbs makes to other processes are described and elaborated in the practice standard for work breakdown structures second edition. Pdf the work breakdown structure wbs is a vehicle for breaking an engineering project down into. Company owners and project managers use the work breakdown structure wbs to make complex projects more manageable. A work breakdown structure template is a crucial document which helps to break down your work into small pieces for easily determining its procedure of completion. Resources on the project will look at the wbs dictionary to determine the scope of the work package. The following discussion will examine the current trends and practice regarding work breakdown structures. It is important to remember this coding system when wondering how to create a work breakdown structure. How to improve productivity with a work breakdown structure. This handbook is an update to milhdbk881, work breakdown structures for defense materiel items.
In order to save space in this template we only developed the wbs examples down to the third level. It will take a lot of patience and cunning to work your way up. Work breakdown structure wbs in project management an. This is a free work breakdown structure wbs template in excel and pdf. In this stage, you break the project into small and atomic individual activities that can be. Use pdf export for high quality prints and svg export for large sharp images or embed your diagrams anywhere with the creately viewer. Festival editable work breakdown structure template on. Wbs work breakdown structure is a deliverableoriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. Think of the wbs as a visual model of the project that identifies each piece of the scope of work. A work breakdown structure in every project management and system engineering is an effective tool that is used for defining and group the discrete elements of work in any project so that it can help the organization, build it in some way and boost the work scope of the whole project. Nevertheless, i strongly suggest you to try using work breakdown structure on your project to the full extent. The project schedule is the tool that communicates what work needs to be performed, which resources of the organization will perform the work and the timeframes in which that work needs to be performed. A work breakdown structure is a key project deliverable that organizes the teams work into manageable sections.
The project is not part of the wbs, just like the topic is not part of the outline. Work breakdown structure rev e, june 2003 work breakdown structure a project work breakdown structure wbs is a deliverable or product oriented grouping of project work elements shown in graph ical display to organize and subdivide the total work scope of a project. The best way to understand how work breakdown structures work is by looking at different wbs examples. The work breakdown structure presented here represents all the work required to. This document is a great source of analyzing the way of work through different parts of project. Figures 1 and 2 provide examples of a wbs for the building of a table. T he work breakdown structure wbs is a hierarchical breakdown of the complete project scope. Like the outline, the wbs is also a hierarchical tree structure. The work breakdown structure visually defines the scope into manageable chunks that a project team can. Work breakdown structures a work breakdown structure is a deliverableoriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. Seeing how complex projects are actually broken down can help you do the same in your projects.
The lowest levels of wbs shows the project deliverables. Such templates permit the exact estimation of the undertakings length, decide the required assets and also help. See a large image and download a visio or pdf of this wbs for uat. The importance of the wbs experienced project managers know there are many things that can go wrong in projects. This work breakdown structure example shows that all the elements are listed under wbs levels. Creating the work breakdown structure by kim colenso, managing principal, artemis management systems the work breakdown structure wbs is the foundation for project planning and control. Work breakdown structures overview finance dynamics. However, as with all trades, maintaining a business even in a field with so many willing clients is still hard work. It would take a long process for you to get to where you want your business to be. The wbs is designed to help break down a project into manageable chunks that can be effectively estimated and supervised. Figure 1below depicts a sample work breakdown structure with three levels defined. Mel barracliffe, lisa gardner, john hammond, and shawn duncan. A4500 hov project2 work breakdown structure and dictionary 2.
The project management body of knowledge defines the work breakdown structure as a deliverable oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team. To explain, there are many project management tools and techniques that use the wbs or its. This document is a template of a work breakdown structure dictionary document for a project. How to develop work breakdown structures online available. Work breakdown structure relativistic heavy ion collider. There are two methods for the presenting a work breakdown structure is the wbs outline and the wbs diagram. Work breakdown structure examples and overview of wbs.
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