You were introduced to a major component of the planning phase: the creation of a work breakdown structure (WBS). A WBS is a deliverable-oriented breakdown of a project into smaller components. It’s a tool that sorts the milestones and tasks of a project into a hierarchy, in the order they need to be completed.
A thorough WBS gives you a visual representation of a project and the tasks required to deliver each milestone. It makes it easier to understand all of the essential project tasks, such as estimating costs, developing a schedule, assigning roles and responsibilities, and tracking progress. Think of each piece of information as part of the overall project puzzle — you can’t successfully navigate through the tasks without understanding how they all fit together. For instance, many smaller tasks may ladder up to a larger task or milestone.
Steps to build a WBS
As a reminder, here are three main steps to follow when creating a WBS:
- Start with the high-level, overarching project picture. Brainstorm with your team to list the major deliverables and milestones. Example: Imagine you are planning a company event. Your major milestones might include categories like “secure venue,” “finalize guest logistics,” and “establish agenda.”
- Identify the tasks that need to be performed in order to meet those milestones. Example: You could break a milestone like “secure venue” down into tasks like “research venues,” “tour and decorate space,” “make down payment,” and so on.
- Examine those tasks and break them down further into sub-tasks. Example: You could break down a task like “tour and decorate space” further into sub-tasks like “organize decorating committee,” “purchase decorations,” “assign decorating responsibilities,” and so on.
Further reading
For further learning on best practices for developing a WBS, check out this article:
