Expanded work breakdown structure weight classification guidance revision letter 2 prepared by government industry workshop society of allied weight engineers, inc. At the conclusion of this lesson you will be able to identify the purpose and specific elements of the work breakdown structure wbs. A useful tool in defining the work is a work breakdown structure wbs. A work breakdown structure is a way of organizing a project by functional areas to segment the work to be done so that it has a logical structure that maps to the overall solution functionality. It can be use to additional fields in the ms project to provide the more detailed information on the each component of the wbs then export the dictionary. The concept is used each time a new project is designed and is created before entering any data into a microsoft project file. Work breakdown structure wbs represents a vital element of scope management. The work breakdown structure presented here represents all the work required to complete this project. Use the wbs to define the work for the project and to develop project schedule. Work breakdown structure relativistic heavy ion collider. A wbs might be used at a functional level to break d. Aouad3 1 school of the built environment, heriot watt university, uk. Hhs ocio it earned value management process and procedures.
The project manager uses the work breakdown structure to control the project and the work of the team. In so doing, you gain clarity into the details needed to accomplish every aspect of your project. A work breakdown structure or wbs is a common term in project management. One project may include several phases, or also smaller, subprojects. Section 2 focuses on the work breakdown structure wbs as a tool. It is possible to combine these two approaches by defining the cost accounts at the. The wbs is critical because it is the primary source for development of a cbs. A wbs is the cornerstone of effective project planning, execution, controlling, monitoring, and reporting. Not so good for displaying work breakdown structures to audiences who are not familiar with the project. Create work breakdown structure process is the 4th process of the scope management according to the online pmp course. It is the connecting point for work and cost estimates, schedule information, actual work effortcost expenditures, and accountability. Resources are identified for each item within the wbs that facilitates budgeting as well as assignment of responsibilities. What are the purposes of the work breakdown structure and.
They are used for our youtube videos as well as for video work we do for our customers. Basics of the work breakdown structure wbs project bliss. Using the wbs can help ensure that you are addressing all components of the project. The work breakdown structure visually defines the scope into manageable chunks that a project team can. Combine a wbs outline, a dictionary, and a project schedule with this template to gain better visibility into your projects. The work breakdown structure wbs is a hierarchical representation of all the tasks in your project. The importance of the wbs experienced project managers know there are many things that can go wrong in projects. 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. At the conclusion of this lesson you will be able to recognize the relationship between the work breakdown structure wbs, organization breakdown structure obs and responsibility assignment matrix ram. The wbs project management template provides the structural view in the project. In particular, the deliverables and project schedule elements are merged, making it. Work breakdown structures bernd bruegge applied software engineering. The importance of the work breakdown structure p3moteam. What is wbs work breakdown structure in project management.
The act of breaking down the work into smaller components, and then getting more detail about each of these components, helps you and the team work through the specifics needed. The aggregation of all the work to be performed in a project. What are the 4 aspects of work breakdown structure wbs. Assignment matrix ram shows the intersection of the organizational breakdown structure obs and the work breakdown structure wbs.
Appendix b work breakdown structure wbs b2 february 2015 one of the first tasks that must be performed by the cost estimator when developing a new cost estimate is to either obtain or develop the wbs step 2 in nasa s 12 step cost estimating process. By kim colenso, managing principal, artemis management systems. According to pmi, a work breakdown structure wbs 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. 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. 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. Work breakdown structure information, software and wbs samples. Free work breakdown structure templates smartsheet.
This is when making a work breakdown structure or a work breakdown structure template is essential. A wbs is arranged in a hierarchy and constructed to allow for clear and logical groupings, either by activities or deliverables. To develop and maintain a wbs, you must have a clear understanding of the projects. A work breakdown structure wbs 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. Era program work breakdown structure pwbs elements identified in section j, attachment 11. Yet even though the wbs is an important construct to. Expanded work breakdown structure weight classification. Building the work breakdown structure wbs for additional support, please visit the epmo website. The nwbs provides a consistent framework for planning, programming, budgeting, and evaluation of work required to execute the defense programs mission. Project managers use wbs to break a project into manageable sections and tasks. Applying the work breakdown structure to the project.
Over time, the nwbs is anticipated to be expanded to all nnsa and doe program activities. The wbs breaks down to cams gui which breaks down to prime msn product which. The database was supplied compressed on a single floppy disk as a borland swbs. Work breakdown structure project wbs a division of a project into tasks and subtasks. The work breakdown structure wbs is the foundation for project planning and. Work breakdown structure is abbreviated as wbs and create work breakdown structure process mainly aims to produce the wbs of the project. O utline v iew the outline view presents an easy to view and understand layout for the wbs.
During the process of developing a visual work breakdown structure, youll identify and fill in your project planning blind spots. Check the capital project delivery website to ensure this is the current version. The goal is to use the wbs to achieve the project objectives and facilitate efficient management so as to best monitor the project in terms of budget and on schedule. What is the difference between product breakdown structure pbs and a work breakdown structure wbs. The work breakdown structure wbs is a tool that defines a project and groups the. Cdc unified process practices guide work breakdown structure up version. All sawe technical reports, including standards applied and practices recommended, are advisory only. The term wbs describes the procedure of subdivision of the project deliverables and. This zip file contains the white paper the work breakdown structure. It is a product oriented structure, not an organizational structure. The first two levels of the wbs the root node and level 2 define a set of planned outcomes that collectively and exclusively represent 100% of the project scope. It is the very essential tool for the planning and to executing the project. Work breakdown structure practice standard projectwbs vs. A workbreakdown structure wbs in project management and systems engineering, is a.
In accordance with nfs part 1834, major systems acquisition, nasa policy npd. Work breakdown structure article about work breakdown. Work breakdown structures give you a highlevel understanding of the project and. The work breakdown structure wbs is the foundation for project planning and control. Think of the wbs as a visual model of the project that identifies each piece of the scope of work and how its delivered to the customer. The work breakdown structure wbs provides the foundation on which a project manager works. Have you encountered work breakdown structures and wondered how they can help in your project management efforts. Use the wbs to get a quick overview of the entire project, including the tasks and subtasks nested in. The output of scope management is a specification that may be presented as a product breakdown structure pbs showing the deliverables and a work breakdown structure wbs showing the work required to produce them long answer. A brief synopsis and work breakdown structures in both word and excel and a pdf appendix of the work breakdown structure wbs example for bicycle, environmental management, government designbidbuild, oilgaspetrochemical, pharmaceutical, process improvement, process plant construction, service. The wbs was initially employed by the defense department of us, which directed its application on their projects. The nwbs is contained in a relational database that. All about work breakdown structures wbs smartsheet. Breakdown structure wbs and other supporting documents.
Show work, select the work you want to open, then choose work and resource management as your action. One project may include several phases, or also smaller subprojects. Merging the wbs and obs, the project manager creates a responsibility. A work breakdown structure is a key project deliverable that organizes the teams work into manageable sections. Lets look at a couple of the key phrases of this definition. Work breakdown structure a work breakdown structure wbs is a decomposition of all the work necessary to complete a project. Is it completely separate from the dependency network, with nothing in common, or do these two key project management tools share some common elements. If you do, its better to combine the two elements together and push the.
A work breakdown structure is your map through more complicated projects. A wbs work breakdown structure is a project management tool that is planned to capture project activities in an illustrative diagram. This checklist allows you to produce an accurate and details work breakdown structure wbs document that encompasses all the necessary work for your project. You will know how to split up the work between your team and what. 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. It contains about 10,400 titles from 50 organizations, both domestic and international. The following discussion will examine the current trends and practice regarding work breakdown structures. It is also a good layout to use when developing the wbs because you can easily make changes, especially since the microsoft word auto numbering feature updates the wbs code automatically. A work breakdown structure wbs is a fundamental project management technique for defining and organizing the total scope of a project, using a hierarchical tree structure. A work breakdown structure wbs is a visual tool for defining and tracking a project deliverable and all the small components needed to create it. Work breakdown structure element dictionary concept development procedures are subject to change without notice.
Whether you prefer big chunks or minute details, youll benefit from creating a wbs with the help of our killer guide and free work breakdown structure template. Organization breakdown structure obs see next page, shows a representative obs. The project management body of knowledge pmbok defines the work breakdown structure as a deliverable oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team. Even subprojects can be broken down into smaller bits. Their use by anyone engaged in industry or trade is entirely voluntary. Activities by cindy berg, pmp, and kim colenso, pmp pm network, april 2000 does the wbs include activities, or should it. Hierarchical structure allows for you to incorporate more levels so it is more. With a work breakdown structure, you can stay focused on what you need to accomplish.
Work breakdown structure wbs a work breakdown structure wbs is a key project deliverable that organizes the teams work into manageable sections. Defense acquisition university acq101 summary for work breakdown structures how to. The obs breaks down to engineering which breaks down to design which breaks down to interface design. Work breakdown structure wbs is one of the best to obtain a well organized planning and to have a clear view of the things to get done. The wbs is referenced in the military handbook which is located in the course library.
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