Work breakdown structure

A work-breakdown structure (WBS)[2] in project

management and systems engineering, is a
deliverable-oriented breakdown of a project into
smaller components. A work breakdown structure is
a key project deliverable that organizes the team's
work into manageable sections. The Project
Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK 5)
defines the work-breakdown structure "A
hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work
to be carried out by the project team to accomplish
the project objectives and create the required Example from MIL-HDBK-881, which illustrates the
deliverables." first three levels of a typical aircraft system.[1]

A work-breakdown structure element may be a

product, data, service, or any combination thereof. A WBS also
provides the necessary framework for detailed cost estimating
and control along with providing guidance for schedule
development and control.[3]

Contents Working on a project WBS

Overview
History
Design principles
100% rule
Mutually exclusive elements
Plan outcomes, not actions
Level of detail
Coding scheme
Terminal element
Consistent to norms
Example
See also
References
Further reading
External links

Overview
WBS is a hierarchical and incremental decomposition of the project into phases, deliverables and work
packages. It is a tree structure, which shows a subdivision of effort required to achieve an objective; for
example a program, project, and contract.[4] In a project or contract, the WBS is developed by starting
with the end objective and successively subdividing it into manageable components in terms of size,
duration, and responsibility (e.g., systems, subsystems, components, tasks, subtasks, and work packages)
which include all steps necessary to achieve the objective.

The work breakdown structure provides a common

framework for the natural development of the overall
planning and control of a contract and is the basis for
dividing work into definable increments from which
the statement of work can be developed and
technical, schedule, cost, and labor hour reporting
can be established.[4]

A work breakdown structure permits summing of

Example of work breakdown structure applied in a subordinate costs for tasks, materials, etc., into their
NASA reporting structure.[4] successively higher level "parent" tasks, materials,
etc. For each element of the work breakdown
structure, a description of the task to be performed is
generated. This technique (sometimes called a system breakdown structure[6]) is used to define and
[5]

organize the total scope of a project.

The WBS is organized around the primary products of the project (or planned outcomes) instead of the
work needed to produce the products (planned actions). Since the planned outcomes are the desired ends
of the project, they form a relatively stable set of categories in which the costs of the planned actions
needed to achieve them can be collected. A well-designed WBS makes it easy to assign each project
activity to one and only one terminal element of the WBS. In addition to its function in cost accounting,
the WBS also helps map requirements from one level of system specification to another, for example, a
cross reference matrix mapping functional requirements to high level or low level design documents. The
WBS may be displayed horizontally in outline form, or vertically as a tree structure (like an organization
chart).

The development of the WBS normally occurs at the start of a project and precedes detailed project and
task planning.

History
The concept of work breakdown structure developed with the Program Evaluation and Review Technique
(PERT) by the United States Department of Defense (DoD). PERT was introduced by the U.S. Navy in
1957 to support the development of its Polaris missile program.[7] While the term "work breakdown
structure" was not used, this first implementation of PERT did organize the tasks into product-oriented
categories.[8]

By June 1962, DoD, NASA and the aerospace industry published a document for the PERT/COST
system which described the WBS approach.[9] This guide was endorsed by the Secretary of Defense for
adoption by all services.[10] In 1968, the DoD issued "Work Breakdown Structures for Defense Materiel
Items" (MIL-STD-881), a military standard requiring the use of work breakdown structures across the
DoD.[11]
The document has been revised several times, most recently in 2018. The current version of this
document can be found in "Work Breakdown Structures for Defense Material Items" (MIL-STD-
881D).[12] It includes WBS definitions for specific defense materiel commodity systems, and addresses
WBS elements that are common to all systems.

Defense Materiel Item categories from MIL-STD-881D are:

Aircraft Systems
Electronic/Generic Systems
Missile/Ordnance Systems
Strategic Missile Systems
Sea Systems
Space Systems
Ground Vehicle Systems
Unmanned Maritime Systems
Launch Vehicle Systems
Information Systems/Defense Business Systems
The common elements identified in MIL-STD-881D, Appendix K are: Integration, assembly, test, and
checkout; Systems engineering; Program management; System test and evaluation; Data; Peculiar
support equipment; Common support equipment; Operational/Site activation; Contractor Logistics
Support; Industrial facilities; Initial spares and repair parts. The standard also includes additional
common elements unique to Space Systems, Launch Vehicle Systems, and Strategic Missile Systems.

In 1987, the Project Management Institute (PMI) documented the expansion of these techniques across
non-defense organizations. The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide provides an
overview of the WBS concept, while the "Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures" is
comparable to the DoD standard, but is intended for more general application.[13]

Design principles

100% rule
An important design principle for work breakdown structures is called the 100% rule.[14] It has been
defined as follows:

The 100% rule states that the WBS includes 100% of the work defined by the project
scope and captures all deliverables – internal, external, interim – in terms of the work to
be completed, including project management. The 100% rule is one of the most important
principles guiding the development, decomposition and evaluation of the WBS. The rule
applies at all levels within the hierarchy: the sum of the work at the "child" level must
equal 100% of the work represented by the "parent" and the WBS should not include any
work that falls outside the actual scope of the project, that is, it cannot include more than
100% of the work… It is important to remember that the 100% rule also applies to the
activity level. The work represented by the activities in each work package must add up to
100% of the work necessary to complete the work package.[15]

Mutually exclusive elements

Mutually exclusive: In addition to the 100% rule, it is important that there is no overlap in scope
definition between different elements of a work breakdown structure. This ambiguity could result in
duplicated work or miscommunications about responsibility and authority. Such overlap could also cause
confusion regarding project cost accounting. If the WBS element names are ambiguous, a WBS
dictionary can help clarify the distinctions between WBS elements. The WBS Dictionary describes each
component of the WBS with milestones, deliverables, activities, scope, and sometimes dates, resources,
costs, quality.

Plan outcomes, not actions

If the work breakdown structure designer attempts to capture any action-oriented details in the WBS, the
designer will likely include either too many actions or too few actions. Too many actions will exceed
100% of the parent's scope and too few will fall short of 100% of the parent's scope. The best way to
adhere to the 100% rule is to define WBS elements in terms of outcomes or results, not actions. This also
ensures that the WBS is not overly prescriptive of methods, allowing for greater ingenuity and creative
thinking on the part of the project participants. For new product development projects, the most common
technique to ensure an outcome-oriented WBS is to use a product breakdown structure. Feature-driven
software projects may use a similar technique which is to employ a feature breakdown structure. When a
project provides professional services, a common technique is to capture all planned deliverables to
create a deliverable-oriented WBS.[16] Work breakdown structures that subdivide work by project phases
(e.g. preliminary design phase, critical design phase) must ensure that phases are clearly separated by a
deliverable also used in defining entry and exit criteria (e.g. an approved preliminary or critical design
review).

Level of detail
One must decide when to stop dividing work into smaller elements. For most projects a hierarchy of two
to four levels will suffice. [17] This will assist in determining the duration of activities necessary to
produce a deliverable defined by the WBS. There are several heuristics or "rules of thumb" used when
determining the appropriate duration of an activity or group of activities necessary to produce a specific
deliverable defined by the WBS.

The first is the "80 hour rule" which means that no single activity or group of activities at the
lowest level of detail of the WBS to produce a single deliverable should be more than 80
hours of effort.
The second rule of thumb is that no activity or group of activities at the lowest level of detail
of the WBS should be longer than a single reporting period. Thus if the project team is
reporting progress monthly, then no single activity or series of activities should be longer
than one month long.
The last heuristic is the "if it makes sense" rule. Applying this rule of thumb, one can apply
"common sense" when creating the duration of a single activity or group of activities
necessary to produce a deliverable defined by the WBS.
A work package at the activity level is a task that:

can be realistically and confidently estimated;

makes no sense practically to break down any further;
can be completed in accordance with one of the heuristics defined above;
produces a deliverable which is measurable; and
 forms a unique package of work which can be outsourced or contracted out.

Coding scheme
It is common for work breakdown structure elements to be numbered sequentially to reveal the
hierarchical structure. The purpose for the numbering is to provide a consistent approach to identifying
and managing the WBS across like systems regardless of vendor or service.[18] For example, 1.1.2
Propulsion (in the example below) identifies this item as a Level 3 WBS element, since there are three
numbers separated by a decimal point. A coding scheme also helps WBS elements to be recognized in
any written context and allows for mapping to the WBS Dictionary.[19]

A practical example of the WBS coding scheme is[20]

1.0 Aircraft System

1.1 Air Vehicle

1.1.1 Airframe

1.1.1.1 Airframe Integration, Assembly, Test and Checkout

1.1.1.2 Fuselage
1.1.1.3 Wing
1.1.1.4 Empennage
1.1.1.5 Nacelle
1.1.1.6 Other Airframe Components 1..n (Specify)

1.1.2 Propulsion
1.1.3 Vehicle Subsystems
1.1.4 Avionics

1.2 System Engineering

1.3 Program Management
1.4 System Test and Evaluation
1.5 Training
1.6 Data
1.7 Peculiar Support Equipment
1.8 Common Support Equipment
1.9 Operational/Site Activation
1.10 Industrial Facilities
1.11 Initial Spares and Repair Parts

Terminal element
The lowest element in a tree structure, a terminal element is one that is not further subdivided. In a Work
Breakdown Structure such elements (activity or deliverable), also known as work packages, are the items
that are estimated in terms of resource requirements, budget and duration; linked by dependencies; and
scheduled. At the juncture of the WBS element and organization unit, control accounts and work
packages are established and performance is planned, measured, recorded and controlled.[21] A WBS can
be expressed down to any level of interest. Three levels are the minimum recommended, with additional
levels for and only for items of high cost or high risk,[22] and two levels of detail at cases such as systems
engineering or program management,[23] with the standard showing examples of WBS with varying
depth such as software development at points going to 5 levels[24] or fire-control system to 7 levels.[25]
Consistent to norms
The higher WBS structure should be consistent to whatever norms or template mandates exist within the
organization or domain. For example, shipbuilding for the U.S. Navy must respect that the nautical terms
and their hierarchy structure put into MIL-STD[26] are embedded in Naval Architecture[27] and that
matching Navy offices and procedures have been built to match this naval architecture structure, so any
significant change of WBS element numbering or naming in the hierarchy would be unacceptable.

Example
The figure on the left shows a work breakdown structure
construction technique that demonstrates the 100% rule and
the "progressive elaboration" technique. At WBS Level 1 it
shows 100 units of work as the total scope of a project to
design and build a custom bicycle. At WBS Level 2, the
100 units are divided into seven elements. The number of
units allocated to each element of work can be based on
effort or cost; it is not an estimate of task duration.

The three largest elements of WBS Level 2 are further

The WBS construction technique employing
subdivided at Level 3. The two largest elements at Level 3
the 100% rule during WBS construction.
each represent only 17% of the total scope of the project.
These larger elements could be further subdivided using
the progressive elaboration technique described above.

WBS design can be supported by software (e.g. a spreadsheet) to allow automatic rolling up of point
values. Estimates of effort or cost can be developed through discussions among project team members.
This collaborative technique builds greater insight into scope definitions, underlying assumptions, and
consensus regarding the level of granularity required to manage the projects.

See also
Common Arrangement of Work Sections
List of project management topics
Project anatomy
Project management software
Project planning
Structure chart
MECE principle

References
1. Systems Engineering Fundamentals. (http://www.dau.mil/pubs/pdf/SEFGuide%2001-01.pdf)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20060211165311/http://www.dau.mil/pubs/pdf/SEFG
uide%2001-01.pdf) 2006-02-11 at the Wayback Machine Defense Acquisition University
Press, 2001
2. "Glossary of Defense Acquisition Acronyms and Terms: Contract Work Breakdown
Structure (CWBS)" (https://dap.dau.mil/glossary/pages/1637.aspx). Defense Acquisition
University. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
 3. Booz, Allen & Hamilton Earned Value Management Tutorial Module 2: Work Breakdown
Structure (http://science.energy.gov/~/media/opa/powerpoint/Final_Module_2.ppt), Office of
Science, Tools & Resources for Project Management (http://science.energy.gov/opa/project-
management/tools-and-resources/), science.energy.gov. Accessed 27. Dec 2011.
4. NASA (2001). NASA NPR 9501.2D. May 23, 2001.
5. Electronic Industries Alliance Standard Systems Engineering Capability Model EIA-731.1
6. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standard for Application and Management
of the Systems Engineering Process IEEE Std 1220-2005
7. Fleming, Quentin W., Joel M. Koppelman "Earned Value Project Management"
CROSSTALK: The Journal of Defense Software Engineering July 1998, p 20 (http://www.cr
osstalkonline.org/storage/issue-archives/1998/199807/199807-0-Issue.pdf)
8. Haugan, Gregory T., Effective Work Breakdown Structures, pp7-8
9. DOD and NASA Guide, PERT/COST System Design, June 1962
10. Hamilton, R. L., Study of Methods for Evaluation of the PERT/Cost Management System (ht
tp://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/AD603425), MITRE Corporation, June 1964
11. MIL-STD-881, 1 November 1968
12. MIL-STD-881D, Work Breakdown Structures for Defense Materiel Items (http://quicksearch.
dla.mil/qsDocDetails.aspx?ident_number=36026), 9 April 2018
13. Haugan, Gregory T., The Work Breakdown Structure in Government Contracting,
Management Concepts, 2003 ISBN 978-1567261202
14. Effective Work Breakdown Structures By Gregory T. Haugan, Published by Management
Concepts, 2001, ISBN 1567261353, p.17
15. Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures (Second Edition), published by the
Project Management Institute, ISBN 1933890134, page 8
16. Swiderski, Mark A., PMP workbreakdownstructure.com (https://www.workbreakdownstructur
e.com/work-breakdown-structure-according-to-pmbok.php), PMBOK-Work Breakdown
Structures. Accessed 16. June 2013.
17. Levy, Lacie monday.com (https://monday.com/blog/your-quick-start-guide-to-work-breakdow
n-structure/), Your Quick Start Guide to Work Breakdown Structure. Accessed 21.
November 2019.
18. MIL-STD-881C, Work Breakdown Structures for Defense Materiel Items, 3 October 2011,
¶4.3
19. Ashe, Kenneth, Work Breakdown Structure (https://kennethashe.com/work-breakdown-struc
ture-wbs-project-management/), Accessed 23. May 2016.
20. MIL-STD-881C, Work Breakdown Structures for Defense Materiel Items, 3 October 2011
Appendix A, ¶A.3
21. MIL-STD-881C, Work Breakdown Structures for Defense Materiel Items, 3 October 2011,
¶3.1.4
22. MIL-STD-881C, Work Breakdown Structures for Defense Materiel Items, 3 October 2011,
¶1.4.1
23. MIL-STD-881C, Work Breakdown Structures for Defense Materiel Items, 3 October 2011,
¶2.2.4.2
24. MIL-STD-881C, Work Breakdown Structures for Defense Materiel Items, 3 October 2011,
¶Fig.3-6
25. MIL-STD-881C, Work Breakdown Structures for Defense Materiel Items, 3 October 2011,
¶Fig.3-1
26. MIL-STD-881C, Work Breakdown Structures for Defense Materiel Items, 3 October 2011,
¶Appendix E
27. Gilmer, Thomas (1982-08-04). Introduction to Naval Architecture (https://books.google.com/
books?id=_lF1DZ1OPJQC&pg=PA92&lpg=PA92&dq=%22work+breakdown+structure%22+
wbs+navy+ship&source=bl&ots=EdUUSx71Up&sig=Ep6Pi2JOGvTn7PVcqv6blgHaexQ&hl=
en&sa=X&ei=LLleUbLlGsbo0wGGj4CAAQ&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBDgK#v=onepage&q=%22w
ork%20breakdown%20structure%22%20wbs%20navy%20ship&f=false). pp. pg98.
ISBN 9780870213182.

Further reading
Pritchard, Carl L. Nuts and Bolts Series 1: How to Build a Work Breakdown Structure.
ISBN 1-890367-12-5.
Project Management Institute Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures, Second
Edition. Project Management Institute. 2006. ISBN 1-933890-13-4. (Note: The Second
Edition is an extensive re-write of the Practice Standard.)
Haugan, Gregory T. Effective Work Breakdown Structures (The Project Management
Essential Library Series). ISBN 1-56726-135-3.
Miller, Dennis P. Building Your Project Work Breakdown Structure -- Visualizing Your
Objectives, Deliverables, Activities and Schedule". ISBN 1-42006969-1. (Note: This new
book is essentially a facilitator's guide for planning a project based on the WBS.)

External links
Media related to Work breakdown structures at Wikimedia Commons
how to create work breakdown structure WBS using standard Division of work (http://www.pl
anningengineer.net/how-to-create-work-breakdown-structure-wbs-using-standard-division-of
-work/)
EverySpec.Com copies of MIL-HDBK-881 versions (http://www.everyspec.com/MIL-STD/MI
L-STD-0800-0899/MIL_STD_881A_886/)
ASSIST entry for MIL-HDBK-881C (http://quicksearch.dla.mil/qsDocDetails.aspx?ident_num
ber=36026)
Defense Acquisition University ACQ101 Summary for Work Breakdown Structures (https://l
earn.dau.mil/CourseWare/1_9/rem/summary_L7.html)
How to Make a Work Breakdown Structure (https://www.workbreakdownstructure.com/how-t
o-make-a-work-breakdown-structure.php)
NASA Work Breakdown Structure Handbook, NASA/SP-2010-3404, January 2010 (http://ev
m.nasa.gov/docs/Handbooks/Sched_Mgmt_Jan_10/Special_Publication_NASA_WBS_Hdb
k_%20Jan_2010.docx)

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