The work breakdown structure (WBS) is often one of the most overlooked artifacts in any project but it's also the most important for project success. The schedule, budget, resource requirements, risks, and communication plan all are derived from the WBS. Many project failures--over-budget, poor quality, incorrect functionality, delayed schedule--can be traced back to a poor WBS. Failure to plan is planning to fail. How does your organization stack up?

1. The Work Breakdown Structure -
Lack of a Good One Sets Your
Project Up For Failure
Ed Kozak
the trained eye, all too often the finished
The Work Breakdown Structure, or version of a WBS isn’t worth the time,
effort, or cost spent to put it together in
WBS as it’s more commonly referred to,
is one of the most valuable instruments the first place. Many a project manager
that a project team can have, yet who has been given a WBS prepared by
paradoxically, it’s often the most someone else has had no choice but to
overlooked or poorly-constructed draft a new one from the very beginning.
document in a project’s file. The WBS This very simple rule should be followed
is the backbone of any project. It when creating a WBS, if you’re going to
contains information from which many do one (and as a project manager you
important project tools are derived. For always should be the one drafting it)
example, we derive the network diagram make sure it’s complete and properly put
from the WBS and that enables us to together so it doesn’t have to be re-
generate our project schedule. We must drafted from scratch. The four steps in
rely on the WBS when developing our this paper along with some rules of
resource loading and constructing our thumb will help you create the strongest
resource allocation matrix. We use the backbone for your project possible.
WBS when performing a bottom-up
estimation of the project budget and it’s Any WBS should be viewed as a
used as an input for our risk roadmap, a set of directions that a
management plan. Hence, the omission reasonably competent person at your
of a task from our WBS—whether from company could follow to manage the
a complete misstep in identifying a piece lifecycle of the project from its
of the work to be performed or worse, initialization to its completion. It should
and unfortunately more common, be descriptive, not vague; it should list
because one of the authors of the WBS out the steps down to the smallest level
took some short-cuts—can impact for another project manager (who may
schedule, cost, resource planning, and be very competent but not have the same
risk management. Unfortunately, many technical level of expertise as the
people who create work breakdown drafter) to follow. If six steps are
schedules, such as department managers, needed to complete a task then all six
project managers, or the people that they must be listed and not two or three.
delegate this duty to, do far worse than Anyone who assumes that “everyone
make simple mistakes of omission. To knows what steps are required to

2. complete the task” is setting the task— each phase or stage should have a
and the project—up for failure. This is a deliverable associated with it.
lazy mentality and it will create
problems for you—problems that have a Step 2: Select a deliverable. Using the
financial repercussion. deliverable as a heading, name all of the
tasks required to create the deliverable
underneath that heading. Good practice
The 4 Basic Steps is to make the heading a complete
descriptive sentence. So, if a prototype
Whether you’re planning a three-week were to be a deliverable on your project
or a three-year project, these four basic then you certainly don’t want to use the
steps will make the difference between a heading “Prototype” as the name of the
WBS that will have to be re-drafted (or heading. Instead, use something more
the very likely probability that the descriptive like “Create Prototype of
project will have some financial User Interface For Client Review”. Why
repercussion) and one that’s being go through this effort? It is necessary
planned for success. for the simple fact that many project
managers start projects but don’t see
Step 1: List all major deliverables and them through to their end. A project
the high-level tasks specifically manager might start planning a project
mentioned or gleaned from the scope but then something else enters the
description. On a side note, the pipeline that needs his or her expertise
description of the scope should be clear and so the initial project is handed off to
enough to let everyone know—project another project manager to manage.
team, project manager, and client (even Thus, the task heading should tell the
if the client happens to be someone from future reader what exactly the tasks
your own company)—what is to be directly underneath it will be used to
accomplished in the project. It should accomplish. It terms of the WBS, this
delineate both what is considered to be a descriptive heading is known as a
part of the project and what is out of Summary Task. As an example,
scope, that is, not considered to be part consider the development of a user
of the project. It’s important to consider interface. Some tasks associated with
intermediate deliverables as well as end creating a user interface might be
deliverables. Intermediate deliverables Interviewing the client to determine
usually consist of prototypes, samples, what the look and the functionality
and reports but they can be anything might be, Creating a pictorial mock-up
specific to your company, your industry, of the interface in Paint or some other
and/or your client that will allow a graphics package for the user to see and
decision to be made or that will approve, and Creating a software version
communicate the status of the project. of the interface with limited
The scope statement should also specify functionality. The portion of the WBS
whether the project will be performed in that specifies this might look like:
phases or stages. List those out. This
gives you more information because
3.0 Create Prototype of User Interface For Client Review and Approval
The Work Breakdown Structure And Why It Should Be Mandatory For Any Project 2
© Successful Projects For Leaders. No portion of this document may be copied or distributed without
the expressed written consent of the author.

3. 3.1 Conduct Client Interviews
3.2 Create User Interface Requirements Document
3.3 Secure Client Approval of User Interface Requirements Document
3.4 Create Rough Graphical Design
3.5 Secure Client Approval of Rough Design
3.6 Create Limited Functionality Interface
3.7 Secure Client Approval of User Interface
On a different note, you might be floor, the user would eyeing the color of
wondering why the interface at this point the car, sitting in the vehicle, checking
has only limited functionality. Whatever for headroom, looking at the dashboard
software is going to be used, whether it and console, and checking the legroom
be a commercial package that has been but not taking the car for a test drive yet.
bought or something customized and
developed on the project, that software Step 3: Break down each task under the
will provide the functionality and it will Summary Task into the smaller tasks—
take some effort to add or build that as many tasks as necessary for another
functionality. At this point in the project project manager to fully follow the
we’re only concerned with the end- process. This not only provides the basis
user’s opinion of the look and feel of the for budget estimating but also a checklist
interface—are all of the buttons there for monitoring and controlling the
that the user needs to click on, do the project once it’s been started. Some
drop-down menus list all of the items were left out of the WBS above
necessary elements, are all of the because I felt their place was at a lower
buttons, photos, and other elements level. Let’s look at it again:
positioned as the user envisioned? If the
interface were an auto on a showroom
3.0 Create Prototype of User Interface For Client Review and Approval
3.1 Conduct Client Interviews
3.1.1 Determine Client Needs for Data Elements
3.12 Determine Client Needs for Logos, Compliance, Aesthetics, etc.
3.2 Create User Interface Requirements Document
3.3 Secure Client Approval of User Interface Requirements Document
3.3.1 Review User Interface Requirements Doc With Client
3.3.2 Make Necessary Revisions Conduct Follow-Up Reviews.
3.3.3 Provide Client With Screen Shots of User Interface Samples
3.3.4 Obtain Client Sign-Off On User Interface Requirements Doc.
3.4 Create Rough Graphical Design
3.5 Secure Client Approval of Rough Design
3.6 Create Limited Functionality Interface
3.7 Secure Client Approval of User Interface
For the sake of brevity of this paper, Create Limited Functionality Interface,
sub-tasks (otherwise known as work but they certainly should be present in
packages) have been left out of Item 3.6, the WBS. Regarding Items 3.4 and 3.5,
The Work Breakdown Structure And Why It Should Be Mandatory For Any Project 3
© Successful Projects For Leaders. No portion of this document may be copied or distributed without
the expressed written consent of the author.

4. it would be pointless and a waste of time project team requires some piece of data
to break then down to finer detail from the client is also an interface. So to
because one doesn’t need to instruct (nor is the point where the team requires
micro-manage) a skilled graphics person client or Management approval on some
how to create a rough design in some item in order to proceed. This simple
graphics package nor the project bookkeeping activity will ensure that
manager how to obtain client approval. that task gets transferred to the project
schedule as a task with a duration and
Step 4: Rearrange the tasks and work not as a simple milestone. All too often
packages under each summary task so the simplest thing like waiting for
that there is a logical flow in them to approval can hold up a project and cause
perform the summary task. Rearrange the schedule to slip. Making this a task
the summary tasks so that there is a with a duration serves as a reminder to
logical flow in them to perform the the project manager to set the
project. Ensure that the task headings expectation that if approval isn’t
are meaningful and that there is a received by its specified return date then
balance between having enough tasks the schedule will (or might, whichever
and work packages to provide enough the case) be delayed. Lastly, be sure to
detail without overkill. get a WBS from your subcontractors, no
matter how much they might push back.
Without one in place the project
Criteria For A Successful WBS manager will not be able to completely
assess the project risk (e.g. is the
Always remember that a WBS must be subcontractors’ work well-planned out
broken out from the top down. Work or not?) nor properly track the
packages must add up to yield the task subcontractor’s progress during the
they’re under; tasks must add up to yield project.
the summary task they’re under;
summary tasks must add up to yield the
project results. Any activity that will
incur a cost on the project must be listed
It’s somewhat understandable that a
WBS might be viewed by some project
in the WBS. This means that Project managers as a waste of time or
Management itself and all oversight something that’s an administrative
activities must have their place in the assistant duty, after all, many project
WBS—oftentimes this is not the case. managers are technical and by nature
Since the WBS is used to create the might view such duties as
project schedule remember to always “bookkeeping” duties that keep them
include a work package to represent any from performing their technical jobs.
interface. An interface is defined as any This attitude is completely wrong and
activity that results in the flow of should never be tolerated at any
information from one set of project organization. The WBS truly is the
stakeholders to another. The point backbone of any project and the ability
where one task ends and another begins of the project to successfully stand on its
is an interface and this is represented by own depends on how well-crafted WBS
the successive listing of tasks in the is. With this single document having
WBS. However, a point where the
The Work Breakdown Structure And Why It Should Be Mandatory For Any Project 4
© Successful Projects For Leaders. No portion of this document may be copied or distributed without
the expressed written consent of the author.

5. such an impact on cost, schedule, and A third benefit that Successful Projects
risk one can see that a top-down For Leaders offers is their availability to
approach stressing the importance of be out-sourced by Organizations to serve
having an approved WBS in place prior as the Chief Projects Officer. In this
to the onset of any project and the need role, Successful Projects For Leaders
to follow standardized guidelines to only develops standards and practices
construct it must be performed. directed at the effective execution of
projects and the attainment of schedule,
cost, scope, and quality objectives, but
About the Author also communicates enterprise-level
objectives to the respective project
Ed Kozak, M.S., M.B.A., PMP is the groups in the most-appropriate way for
President and CEO of Successful them to follow and communicates
Projects For Leaders, international project information to Management.
experts in project management process This overcomes the problem common to
improvement. The staff of Successful many organizations that no connection
Projects For Leaders work with between Operations and project groups
companies along three main points of exists and no structured, consistent, and
focus. First, they help companies meaningful flow of information between
improve their profitability by cutting these two groups occurs, allowing
wasteful project costs (upwards to 50% Management to determine if efforts are
or more) and improve their overall efficient and effective, if projects are
management of projects in order to still the best ones to support strategic
reduce risk, schedule slippage, and objectives, whether there are
unnecessary spending on product performance issues associated with
rework. As a result their clients are able meeting objectives.
to exert more control over their projects;
improve target schedule performance; Ed is an accomplished professional with
monitor and control cost performance has over twenty-three years experience
better; increase their success at hitting as a consultant, manager, executive,
budget estimates; improve quality and facilitator, and instructor that includes
satisfaction; and recognize the project/program manager experience in
substantial financial benefits that come the private and Government sectors
along with that. managing multi-year, multi-million
dollar programs for his clients in fields
Second, Successful Projects For Leaders such as IT, healthcare, research,
is hired as project turnaround experts development, and manufacturing. He
and is brought in on critical projects that brings his expertise to management
are in the midst of schedule, budget, teams in strategic planning, process re-
and/or quality issues or projects that are engineering, program management
having continual setbacks. They analyze offices, and project management and is a
the problems, set a new budget and frequent conference speaker.
schedule, and work with the incumbent
project management team to bring them
to completion.
The Work Breakdown Structure And Why It Should Be Mandatory For Any Project 5
© Successful Projects For Leaders. No portion of this document may be copied or distributed without
the expressed written consent of the author.