In a WBS diagram, the project scope is graphically expressed.
Illustrate the correlation between the activities and deliverables. Giving visibility to important work efforts. Outlining is one of the easiest ways of representing a WBS. Some use tree structure to illustrate the WBS, while others use lists and tables. One can use many forms to display their WBS. This rule implies that no task should be smaller than 8 hours of work and should not be larger than 80 hours of work. 8/80 is another rule used when creating a WBS. This means, the smallest task of the WBS is at least two-week long. In "two weeks" rule, nothing is broken down smaller than two weeks worth of work. In general, there are a few "rules" used for determining the smallest task chunk. Rather, the level of breakdown is a matter of the project type and the management style followed for the project. Therefore, there is no hard and fast rule on how you should breakdown a task in WBS. One can detail a high-level task into ten sub-tasks while another can detail the same high-level task into 20 sub-tasks. In the process of breaking down the tasks, one can break them down into different levels of detail. Once this step is completed, the subject matter experts start breaking down the high-level tasks into smaller chunks of work. This important step is usually done by the project managers and the subject matter experts (SMEs) involved in the project. Identifying the main deliverables of a project is the starting point for deriving a work breakdown structure. Illustrate the project scope, so the stakeholders can have a better understanding of the same. Helps to estimate the cost, time and risk. Indicates the project milestones and control points. This methodology can be used for any type of project management.įollowing are a few reasons for creating a WBS in a project:Īccurate and readable project organization.Īccurate assignment of responsibilities to the project team. WBS is not restricted to a specific field when it comes to application. These chunks can be easily supervised and estimated. In WBS, much larger tasks are broken down to manageable chunks of work.
Usually, the project managers use this method for simplifying the project execution. Dividing complex projects to simpler and manageable tasks is the process identified as Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).