Mastering work breakdown structures (WBS) for effective project management.

If you’re a project manager, or oversee a large scope of work, a work breakdown structure (WBS) can make everything more manageable. The key role of a WBS is to break a project into a series of tasks and deliverables that can be ranked in order of priority. Ultimately, this can improve the planning, organization, and control you have over a project.

There are two types of WBS, deliverable-based or phase-based. And these can be tailored to your priorities and preferred ways of working. If you’re a professional exploring project management tools, keep reading to learn more about work breakdown structures.

• What is a work breakdown structure (WBS)?
• Key components of a work breakdown structure.
• How to create a work breakdown structure: a step-by-step guide.
• Best practices for creating a WBS.

A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a tool that helps break down the work that will go into completing a project.Facing a large projectcan feel overwhelming and it can be hard to know where to start. The purpose of a WBS is that it breaks one large task into multiple manageable ones to help you determine what to tackle first. It’s important that a work breakdown structure contains the following:

• Deliverables: These are what you’re trying to achieve with your work. You may have a single final deliverable, or multiple goals you want to achieve. Whatever the size of your project, it’s good to determine your deliverables early on.
• Tasks: These are the things you need to do to make your deliverables happen. A work breakdown structure will help you determine these, and each task will be tailored to your specific situation. Tasks may range from things you need to do yourself to those that you’ll have to delegate to others.
• Subtasks: Many tasks will be too big to manage on their own and will need to be broken down further into subtasks. In theory, subtasks can be reduced to smaller and smaller subtasks, but there will be a natural point where it’s unnecessary to reduce a task further.

In short, a WBS is a way for you to build out a flowchart that turns all the deliverables into manageable tasks and provides your team with a guide for developing or completing a project.

An important aspect of a WBS is the relationship between the structure, project scope, schedule and budget. All four influence each other and determine what can and can’t be done. For example, a tight two-week schedule will limit the scope—but it could help reduce the overall budget. On the other hand, a generous budget might allow you to hire extra staff, enabling you to expand the scope or complete more tasks within the same timeframe.

One more thing to consider is the 100% rule. This states that the work breakdown structure should cover 100% of the project’s scope and the deliverables. In other words, don’t leave anything outside of the WBS and be sure to consider every aspect of the project, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant.

Deliverable-based vs. phase-based WBS: Choosing the right approach.

There are two distinct approaches to creating a WBS that you can choose from — deliverable-based, which focuses on individual tasks or parts of the project scope, or phase-based, which breaks down projects by timeline.

Deliverable-based.

Deliverable-based approaches are most common in project management. They aim to create a visualization of the relationship between the deliverables of the project and the overall scope of the work. This approach can help break down the tasks into subtasks.

Advantages:

• Focused on outcomes. The structure focuses on the end products, which makes it easier to track progress.
• Simplified risk management. Any potential risks are easier to spot because risks are associated with specific deliverables.

Disadvantages:

• Potential for scope creep. If deliverables aren’t clearly defined, additional work can be added and contribute to scope creep — where deliverables increase beyond the initial plan and budget.
• Overemphasis on the deliverables. By focusing solely on the deliverables, it can be easy to miss important details surrounding the processes.

Phase-based.

Phase-based approaches typically follow five core stages: initiation, planning, execution, control, and closeout. Once these phases are defined, the project team works together to sort and assign tasks to the appropriate phase.

Advantages:

• Clear stages: By breaking the project into various phases, it can be easier to understand the progress of the project.
• Increased control and management: As each phase is managed independently, it allows for better control over resources, timelines and budgets.

Disadvantages:

• Reduced flexibility: The phase structure can be relatively rigid, which can reduce the flexibility of the overall project.
• Communication issues: Communication across phases can be harder in phase-based projects.

A clearly defined work breakdown structure allows you to make sure every detail and project phase is accounted for before you begin. The WBS visually communicates the big picture and helps everyone stay on the same page throughout the entire project.

There are several key features that contribute to the overall work breakdown structure, and each one sits on a separate level. The top level — Level 1 — denotes the overarching goal (or goals). But as you go down the levels, the goal is broken into tasks, and tasks are broken into smaller subtasks. The core components of a typical WBS are:

• Final deliverables: Also known as the project goal, your final deliverables sit at the top of your structure and are the results you’re working towards. Depending on the format you use, you might see this at the top of your work breakdown structure, or in the first column.
• Major deliverables: These sit at Level 2 of the structure, with each major deliverable placed into a core category. Every aspect of your project needs to sit under one of these categories.
• Sub-deliverables: Level 3 breaks each major deliverable into smaller, more manageable tasks.
• Work packages: Found at the bottom of the WBS, work packages are deliverables that can only be broken into tasks and subtasks.

The further down the structure you go, the more detail there is in the tasks. Further up the structure you can expect broad goals that will require the completion of multiple smaller tasks. You can use a WBS to track the milestones of your project by assigning a clear objective to each subtask. Once done, you can use your WBS to monitor and tick off each individual section.

When you create a work breakdown sructure, you start by outlining the desired outcome. Working backward from completion to kickoff, you divide the project into smaller deliverables then break down each deliverable into manageable tasks and subtasks.

Depending on the size and scope of your project, your work breakdown structure might have three levels, or it might have ten. There is no correct number of levels or tasks in your finished WBS. Just keep breaking down work into the smallest component parts. You’ll know you’re there when you can no longer divide a deliverable into sub-deliverables, and when each work package has a single project outcome.

Step 1: List every major deliverable.

Start by identifying your final deliverable—the overall outcome or project goal. This sits at the top of your WBS (Level 1) and might be something like: Launch a targeted content campaign.

Once that’s defined, break it down into major deliverables (Level 2)—the key categories of work required to achieve that goal. These might align with departments, workstreams, or project phases.

For example, the major deliverables of a targeted content campaign might be:

1. Downloadable collateral
2. Emails
3. Webpages
4. Social media
5. Blogs
6. Newsletters

If there is any ambiguity or confusion about the project resources, deliverables, or constraints, you should clear them up before you dive into your work breakdown structure. You’ll save a lot of time in revisions and potential conflicts down the road.

Finally, be sure to have your list reviewed and approved by all the stakeholders using a digital proofing tool. Depending on the project, there might be multiple stakeholders from different teams, departments, or even different companies. It’s important that they have all signed off on the list of deliverables and that everyone is in agreement.

Step 2: Break each deliverable into work components.

Work components are groups of related deliverables needed to form a larger, major deliverable. Depending on the size and scope of your project, you might have more than one level of work components. A good way to start dividing them is by task type or role. For example:

Deliverable: Social media

• Work component: X
• Work component: Instagram
• Work component: Facebook
• Work component: LinkedIn

You can break down work components further if necessary:

Work component: Facebook

• Sub-component: Copywriting
• Sub-component: Graphic design
• Sub-component: Video editing

There’s no requirement or limit to how many work components you can have. Whatever makes sense for your team is the right answer.

Step 3: Break each work component into work packages.

The final and most detailed level in your work breakdown structure will be work packages — lists of individual tasks that one person can complete. Think of each work package as a mini project that requires its own budget, resources, schedule, and milestones.

Each work package should be unique, and no work package should be repeated under any work component.

For example:

Deliverable: Social media

• Work component: Instagram

  • Sub-component: Copywriting

    • Work package: 3 sponsored posts
    • Work package: 2 contest posts
    • Work package: 1 giveaway post
    • Work package: 5 user-generated posts

  • Sub-component: Graphic design

    • Work package: 1 new logo
    • Work package: 10 photo edits
    • Work package: 1 infographic

Step 4: Identify dependencies.

Once you’ve listed all the work down to the most detailed task, identify work that depends on other work to be completed. For example, you can’t complete video editing until you receive the voiceover script from the copywriter. Knowing the order in which work must be completed will help you schedule, manage time effectively, and foresee roadblocks.

Step 5: Prioritize and assign.

The final step in creating a work breakdown structure is organizing all work in order of priority, using your list of dependencies. Once your WBS is in logical order, you can assign work packages to individuals, then build out your schedule from work packages all the way back through to the final deliverables.

Your WBS can also include any of the following information that can help with organization and transparency:

• Name of the department responsible for each piece of work
• Estimated project cost and estimated work component costs
• Start dates and delivery dates

Different formats for visualizing your WBS.

While you can create a work breakdown structure in an outline format, one of the major benefits of this document is a visual hierarchy of your workflow, broken down into its smallest components. Not only is every deliverable accounted for and assigned, but it’s easy to see how individual components work as part of a larger task and, ultimately, the entire project. Consider creating your work breakdown structure with a table, flowchart, or collaboration software.

When sharing your WBS, you have several options. Common choices include spreadsheets, flowcharts or tree diagrams, outlines or Gantt charts. Each has itsown advantages and disadvantages, so consider experimenting and finding the version that’s best for you.

• Spreadsheets are relatively straightforward and allow for easy editing, but they may not be the most aesthetically pleasing to look at.
• Flowcharts offer a clear visual representation for the hierarchical view of a project and can clearly demonstrate the relationship between tasks.
• Outlines also provide a hierarchical view but in a text-based format. These work well with a simple WBS but become too complex on larger scales.
• Gantt charts with integrated work breakdown structures let you combine the visual representation with a timeline view for an additional perspective.

With work breakdown structures, one of the most common best practices is the 100% rule.

Developed by Gregory T. Haugan, the 100% rule states that a work breakdown structure should include 100% of the work that must be done to complete the deliverables and should not include any work not defined in the scope of the project.

Your WBS should be exhaustive and detailed, helping you identify work gaps or redundancies, while cutting out any unnecessary work. Be specific, be thorough, and don’t be afraid of being too detailed.

Another best practice for WBS is exclusivity. It’s important that you limit repetition, not only to prevent breaking the 100% rule, but also to limit misspending resources, budget, or time. On top of this, you should focus on outcomes, rather than actions. Put your energy into the results of your work rather than your acts.

Getting started with Adobe Workfront.

Although you can make work breakdown structures by hand or in flowchart tools, it’s often time-consuming and isn’t easily updated. Using project management software to build a work breakdown structure keeps all the information up to date and gives your team clarity, while you have the flexibility you need to plan work.

Adobe Workfront is a work management solution that allows you and your teams to plan, track and organize your workload. Not only this, but it has the tools needed to create, visualize and manage a WBS.

Learn how Adobe Workfront can help you build your work breakdown structure and reach your project goals.