A work breakdown structure is the best way to understand the detailed work of a project when you have to build a schedule from scratch. It lets you break the project down into the major phases, deliverables, and work components that will be built by the project. You can then break down these work components into the activities that are required to build them. The WBS is not the same as the final schedule (which requires sequencing, resources, estimated effort, estimated duration, etc.). 

TechRepublic Premium presents five tips to keep in mind when building your WBS.

• Featured text from the download:

  Create a WBS dictionary for large projects

  Normally, you wouldn’t need a WBS dictionary. But if your WBS has hundreds (or thousands) of detailed activities, there may just be too much to keep track of by hand. In this case, it might make sense to place all the important information in a WBS dictionary. The dictionary helps keep track of all the summary and detailed activities, including a short description, the WBS numeric identifier (1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, etc.), and the estimated effort. If you enter your WBS dictionary into a specialized tool, the tool can also help to keep track of changes to the WBS as well.

Enhance your business operations with our four-page PDF. This is available to download for FREE. Get access to more content with a Premium annual subscription. Use the code 25off-trp to get a 25% discount.

TIME SAVED: Crafting this content required eight hours of dedicated writing, editing, research, and design.