The process of subdividing a project into smaller components is called decomposition, and it can be completed by an entire project team as a group effort to ensure a comprehensive WBS. Doing so will give all team members a broad understanding of the project, thus improving communication, efficiency, and accountability. Once the deliverables or milestones have been identified, the team can list the sequence of activities needed to complete each deliverable, thus decomposing the project into workable steps.
The hierarchy of steps breaks the project into levels: The lowest level is the work package, which includes the activity or tasks required to produce a deliverable or complete a milestone. The pre-formatted structure of a template can help streamline the decomposition process and ensure that all necessary details are included. Based on this rule, if a work package takes more than 80 hours, it needs to be decomposed further.
A work breakdown structure can be formatted in various ways, including as an outline basically, a numbered list , a hierarchical table, or a tree diagram. Regardless of format, a WBS will typically include outline numbering to represent the sequential order of each level and activity. To complement the WBS, a related dictionary may be created to provide detailed information about each element of the project, including definitions of each work package, effort level and duration of tasks, resources, and more.
A WBS dictionary is generally presented in a table or spreadsheet format and serves as a detailed reference and planning tool.
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Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed. Try Smartsheet for free, today. In This Article. Simple, powerful project management with Smartsheet. See for yourself. Work Breakdown Structure Diagram Template. Work Breakdown Structure Dictionary Template. WBS Levels Template. T principle. Unlike the success outlook, the project goal should describe very specifically what will be created, produced, or delivered directly as part of the work — not what it is intended to achieve in the long term.
In turn, it should also be clear what goals are not being pursued by the project. If this question has been considered and answered in-depth, it is much easier to follow up during project management if difficulties arise. At this point in the creation of the project plan, you work out who is associated with this project. Who are the people involved in the project, and what roles should each team member play? Here you should also check whether there are other interested or affected parties and how they can be taken into account.
You should also define rules for cooperation within the team. For example, is there regular coordination in the form of a weekly or monthly catch-up? Of course, you should not neglect the last question for the creation of your project plan. This is about resources and how much they may cost. Calculate how much effort will be required for the individual work packages. How should the budget be divided, and what are the total costs? The project costs are often already specified by the client, resulting in the internal cost planning.
Often, a client will give you a deadline for the project, but you should set the deadline yourself for internal projects. In addition, you can divide the project into different time stages and milestones at this point. For example, determine when important sub-goals should be achieved.
The main characteristic of the structure is that all elements are structured hierarchically. A project consists of subprojects, which in turn consist of work packages, which are composed of subtasks. Once you have created a suitable plan, you can use it as a project plan template. Such templates facilitate the start of all further projects enormously, and many tools offer corresponding functions. And the research work package includes, for example, the tasks of obtaining quotes and checking availability.
Otherwise, there is a high risk of the event falling through due to a lack of lead time. So you always need to make sure you have a project schedule see above. A particularly widespread way of presenting a schedule is as a so-called Gantt chart.
This was developed at the beginning of the last century by Henry Gantt. In a Gantt chart, the duration of the individual work packages is represented as bars. SmartDraw is a powerful diagramming tool that works great for technical and non-technical people. It is a user-oriented diagramming solution software that allows users to create diagrams of varying kinds, including floor plans, network diagrams, schematic diagrams, infographics, and flow charts, etc. SmartDraw comes loaded with an impressive array of templates for quick and easy designs and supports collaboration and easy sharing among team members.
Visual Paradigm is a collaboration-oriented diagramming and modeling software that supports the design of multiple diagram types including flowcharts, chart-based diagrams, UML diagrams, SysML diagrams, ERD diagrams, analytical charts, and customer journey maps, etc. Visual Paradigm is especially useful for the design and visualization of software as it helps software developers in modeling software and visually laying out the development process-flow.
Matchware is great mind-mapping diagramming software that can be used to create a Work Breakdown Structure and mind maps as well. Creately is a crisp, well-designed diagramming software that is perfect for visualizing whatever concept or idea you have. Diagrams produced with Creately are visually appealing and presentation-worthy. The perfect software for creating a Work Breakdown Structure will be one that's intuitive, uncomplicated, and easy to use with drag and drop functionality.
Above, we've listed some great software for WBS with awesome features, and of all the software, Edraw Max stands out as the right choice for making a Work Breakdown Structure as it is intuitive, simple, and easy to navigate for non-technical people looking for professionally designed WBS. A Work Breakdown Structure is the foundation of a well laid out and executed project because it takes into account the deliverables and milestones that must be achieved at every stage of a project.
Creating a Work Breakdown Structure may seem like a difficult task, but with the right software and tool, you can create one in minutes, even if you're a total beginner. True Romance from Edraw. Twitter Share Copy.
Link copied! Extensive gallery of templates and symbols to enable you to design professional, share-worthy diagrams quickly.
Supports more than diagram visualization types, including infographics, presentations, charts, and concept maps, etc. Supports a feature-rich online version to enable users to design on the go. Quite often they are described in the Project Charter. So, there are always at least two levels in a WBS. Each phase can have a separate WBS. However, a Work Breakdown Structure is scalable to any extent.
Therefore, you can have a portfolio and program as well as a project or a sub-project WBS. They all follow the same set of rules. The work package includes the schedule activities and schedule milestones required to complete the work package deliverable or project work component. Gather appropriate team members for a brainstorming session. Invite available subject matter experts. I mean, phases and additional major deliverables. Do not forget to name the interim and internal ones.
Therefore, we usually put everything on a whiteboard. Together we try to finalize the second level of decomposition. We give proper and final names to WBS elements. Each deliverable should have one responsible person. Usually, I only facilitate meetings with experts and try to keep the team focused on getting things done.
Note that you need to educate your team. Therefore, throughout the whole process, you need to build their buy-in. They should share responsibility for scope identification with you. Work Breakdown Structure as part of the Scope Baseline is input to all critical processes of project management. Therefore, it means it should be applicable to different aspects of a project. How can you achieve it? Simply put you need to be able to connect WBS elements with other entities of your project management framework.
For example, each activity should relate to one Work Package. Each hour spent should be tracked against an element in WBS. You need to understand how you will use the WBS. What information will you enter? Moreover, you want to have an easy way to query any related information. It can be a spreadsheet, dedicated application or an integral part of project management solution. In any case, I do not suggest you invent the wheel.
Use a suitable product that supports WBS creation. You should be able to attach documents and images. You need to have enough flexibility to add several text descriptions, tags, and links. For example, some deliverables may be described in a Project Charter. They might not be very instructive or clear. Nevertheless, you need to use the names in your Project Scope Statement.
You can use it as a description of the final result. But you need also decompose it into manageable pieces of work. Stakeholders should clearly see how you divided the big whole into smaller deliverables. From time to time they use terms and words they understand. That is OK to adopt them. It is tempting to rephrase some of them to have consistency.
However, keep in mind that WBS is also a tool for communication. You can always get into technical details at lower levels of decomposition. So, try to preserve the names of deliverables customer provided from Project Charter. Firstly, a work package should not be larger than 80 hours of work.
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