How to Use a Work Breakdown Structure

Technology is used to make life easier and more efficient both inside the workplace and out. One common issue among professionals is project management, and how to do it better and more efficiently. Creating work breakdown structures is one method organizations use to better plan their company objectives. While they could be drawn up with a pen and paper, today there are plenty of tools and tips that help teams project manage more effectively.

What is a work breakdown structure?

A work breakdown structure (WBS), is an outline used to organize and visualize the scope of a project. It is often used by project managers to clearly convey project deliverables and timelines, and to break them down into manageable objectives for the team. However, for many small organizations who may not have allocated project managers, a WBS of any form is still essential to keep track of projects and ensure everyone on the team is aligned and meeting deadlines.

Visually, a WBS is often a tree structure, but it could take the form of a table or a simple outline, so long as it itemizes and organizes project deliverables and objectives into main categories and subcategories. A WBS is a detailed overview of all project work, and usually assigns the team or person responsible for each phase and the budget they are allocated.

Levels of a work breakdown structure

Work breakdown structures organize project deliverables into typically three or four levels, ordered by dependencies. This means that each level is separated into objectives that depend on the level below it to be accomplished first in order for the former to be achieved. To create a successful WBS, follow a similar hierarchy:

Level 1: Project objective

The first level of a WBS will always be the final deliverable of the project and its official title. Like the CEO of an organizational structure, it is the head of the mission and everything below it is the pieces of the puzzle supporting the project and bringing it together.

To learn more about organizational structures, see here.

Level 2: Controls account

The second level of a work breakdown structure outlines the main objectives and phases of the project that need to be accomplished for it to be successful. While it is more specific than the first level, this step is still a high-level summary of what needs to be done.

Level 3: Work packages

Level three is where the project plan gets more granular. Each phase of the project branches out into smaller tasks and assignments that must be performed to carry out the key deliverable. Depending on the scope of the project this phase might be split into two, with an additional “Activities” level below it.

Why is a work breakdown structure needed?

While a WBS may seem like additional and unnecessary work to some, in reality it saves time, money and confusion for teams that use it. Formulating a WBS effectively breaks down a potentially daunting goal into bite-sized tasks and establishes a clear understanding of expectations across the team. Additionally, it enables organizations to operate more transparently because it creates a shared visual outline of all the work that needs to be accomplished and the resources needed to do so.

When the scope of a project is made transparent, the team is able to communicate more clearly, better stay on track and on budget and diminish potential risks because they can clearly see where in the project an obstacle might be coming from and who they can work with cross-functionally to solve a problem and accomplish their goals.

Check out other ways to make your organization transparent.

How to create a work breakdown structure

To create a successful WBS, a team must have a detailed breakdown of the project plan. WBS is all about order: It breaks down the project into a hierarchy of what needs to be done to bring the final product to market. Let’s use a simple example to create our own WBS:

Say you are planning a party. Firstly, you should gather the project team, also known as the party committee, to align on goals, steps to get there and responsibility allocation. In this case, the goal would be throwing a great party, and that becomes level one in the WBS.

Next, make a list of the high level tasks that need to be completed for the desired outcome to come into fruition. This is your level two. For party planning that list might look like this:

1. Book a venue
2. Send invitations
3. Decorate
4. Find entertainment
5. Get food and drink

A key difference between a WBS and a to-do list is that the former is deliverable-oriented, while the latter is action-oriented. Therefore, rearrange the above list into a list of deliverables, such as:

1. Venue booked
2. Invitations sent
3. DJ secured
4. Food and drinks purchased
5. Venue decorated

Break down the list further by identifying and including every subtask that needs to be accomplished in order for these deliverables to be met. An anatomized list of deliverables might look like:

1. Venue booked

• Local venues contacted
• Venues toured
• Prices and spaces compared
• Contract signed

2. Invitations received

• Finalize guest list
• Create invitations
• Guests confirmed

3. DJ secured

• Music style confirmed
• Local DJs contacted
• Contract signed

4. Food and drinks purchased

• Finalized menu and bar options
• Grocery shopped
• Food and drinks transferred

5. Venue decorated

• Toured the venue
• Decoration plan finalized
• Decor purchased
• Decor transferred to location

Finally, format this project plan into a breakdown structure that is detailed enough to hold all team members accountable but clear enough for everyone to follow. There are many resources to help transfer this list of deliverables into a hierarchical or table structure. The easiest way is by using a breakdown structure template in which you can choose from a number of different styles, but you can also manually craft this diagram using Microsoft Excel or Word.

How to take your work breakdown structure one step further:

While a WBS is a comprehensive first step to better organize your project, there are many tools that teams can take advantage of to further optimize their project management. As opposed to creating a structure as a stagnant document, try using project management software, which not only offer WBS templates but are interactive workspaces that allow teams to track progress in real time. Here are a few examples:

• Asana
• Monday
• Lucid

For more suggestions on collaboration tools view this article.

Productivity tech is only increasing in prevalence, and there are a million ways to make sure that your teams are working smarter and not harder. Join The Org for a closer look at the work your teammates do and see how transparency allows for better communication and collaboration across an organization.