Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) – [Insert Project/Program Name]

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
[Insert Project/Program Name] /

Purpose of Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

The WBS and associated dictionary is a tool to provide a view (outline or map) into the project/program and the work that needs to be done to execute the project/program. The WBS is designed to break down a project/program into manageable pieces (work packages) that can be effectively estimated and owned by a single resource. It does not break the project/program down to the task level. It is deliverables based, meaning the work packages result in some type of deliverable towards the project/program’s overall objectives, costs and scope.

The Project/Program Manager and project/program team use the WBS to develop dependencies, the schedule, resource requirements, scope, and costs. As such, the WBS provides the foundation for all project/program management work and should be a critical step in the process of project/program planning and baselining. The WBS is a component of the scope baseline.

Work Breakdown Structure Participants and Approvers

Input into the WBSmay come from many different sources including, but not limited to,Sponsor, senior leadership, project/program intake form and/or business case, charter, analysis/research, subject matter experts within business unit(s), and interaction with other stakeholders.The facilitator is the Project Manager (or Program Manager) for the project/program. The WBS should be reviewed by the Team, Sponsor, Business Analyst, and Owner for completeness and accurateness.

Instructions

The Project/Program Manager should facilitate a session with the appropriate stakeholders to map out the WBS for the project/program. In preparation for the session, the Project/Program Manager may have looked at the WBS from similar projects/program and documentation for this project/program to have a high level idea of what type of work and deliverables are required.

  1. View one or two sample WBS diagrams, hints and tips, and facilitation videos if this is the first time facilitating the creation of a WBS
  2. Sometimes it is easier if the Project/Program Manager starts with some the preliminary high level structure of the WBS and then uses the session to decompose those levels
  3. The WBS starts with the project/program as the top level deliverable and is further decomposed into sub-deliverables. Use numeric identifiers for each work package.
  4. The decomposition process should stop when the smallest manageable components of the project/program work (work packages) are reached where cost and time can easily be estimated. General rule of thumbs is to break it down to a level where a work package contains 8 to 80 hours of effort.
  5. Review WBS with applicable stakeholders for accuracy and completeness
  6. Upload to the Knowledge Base

Next Steps

Create budget, scope, and schedule baselines using the WBS. Maintain the WBS throughout the project.

Work Breakdown Structure

The structure below is filled in as a sample WBS. If you click within the area of the structure, you can modify the contents in the box that comes up stating to ‘type text here’. Alternatively, you can link to your WBS if it is documented within a different tool.

WBS Dictionary

The WBS Dictionary provides detailed information about each work package of the WBS. It provides the team with the information they need to produce quality deliverables that meet project requirements, project objectives, and organization standards. For each WBS work package, the dictionary may include a brief definition of scope/completion criteria, a list of associated activities, complexity, effort, dependencies, owner, cost, and other attributes. The chart below can be used to document the work packages. Columns can be added or removed if required, depending on the project. The WBS dictionary and the WBS are important compontents of the scope baseline. Every work package outlined in the WBS and the dictionary should be contributing towards a deliverable required to complete the project work according to objectives and scope.

WBS Id / WBS Name / Include (Completion Criteria) / Complexity / Estimated Effort / Dependency / Owner
1.0 / Initiation
1.1 / Business case / Business case documented / Low / 16hrs / None / Name
1.2 / Evaluation & Recommendation / Case is fully evaluated by HRMS management team / Low / 8hrs / 1.1 / Name
1.3 / Project Charter / Charter signed written and approved / Medium / 16hrs / 1.2 / Name
1.4 / Project Management Planning / Includes the scope management plan, time management plan, Risk management plan, HR Plan / High / 70hrs / 1.3, 2.3 / Name
1.5 / Project Schedule / Activities/Task identified dependencies identified, dates and resources allocated. / Medium/ High / 16hrs / 1.4, 2.3, 3.0 / Name
2.0 / Requirement & Analysis
2.1 / Gather Issue/Concern / Publish survey, one on one conversation, presentations to staff, collecting feedback. All issues and concerns are compiled.
2.1.1 / Survey result / Publish and categorize survey / Medium / 16hrs / None / Name
2.1.2 / Analyze the RT queues / RT queues are compiled and categorized. / Medium / 16hrs / None / Name
2.1.3 / analyze help emails / Emails categorized and compiled. / Medium / 7hrs / None / Name
2.1.4 / Presentation / Feedbacks from presentations are compiled. / Medium / 7hrs / None / Name
2.1.5 / Investigate the other systems / Look at how other institutions have delivered functionality / Medium / 4hrs / None / Name
2.2 / Focus Group
2.2.1 / Selection of focus group / Analyze volunteers and send targeted emails to get representative sample of managers and employee / Medium / 4hrs / 2.1.1, 2.1.4 / Name
2.2.2 / Kick off / Introduce project to focus group, results to date / Medium / 12hrs / 2.2.1 / Name

Revision History

Change Made By / Date Change Made / Details of Change / Change Reviewed/ Approved by / Date change reviewed/ approved

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File Location: [option to enter file storage location]