Work Breakdown Structures

Work Breakdown Structures

What are th= ey and why should I care?

Simply put, a Work Breakd= own Structure (WBS) is a declaration of each and every one of the project deliverables, usually diagrammati= cally in a tree hierarchy format. T= here now; you now know exactly what a WBS is, right!

The “blocks” = in a WBS itemize ALL the bits and piece= s, sometimes to extreme details, that make up the “whole” end prod= uct, regardless of constitution.

<= span style=3D'font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-font-family:Wingdings;mso-bidi-f= ont-family: Wingdings'>v If the project is an all hardware project, f= rom concept to completion, then the WBS presents the different functional hardw= are modules and their pieces. It also dep= icts all of the planning parts (the WBS itself is one of these), the product and design support documentation, the various quality assurance, control, and t= est plans, management review milestones, any items that need to be developed for the Sales and Marketing departments in support of this “future” product, etc. If there is any= thing that needs to be transformed from an “idea” into tangible ̶= 0;stuff” it needs to be identified because resources will need to be allocated for a= ll of these efforts (in the GANTT Chart).

<= span style=3D'font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-font-family:Wingdings;mso-bidi-f= ont-family: Wingdings'>v If the project is a training program for a S= ales Department, then the WBS will survey and portray the various topics and mod= ules of this course, to as much detail as possible without actually performing detailed design of any kind. = Each block of this WBS will eventually be turned into one or more slides in a technical training slideshow geared to the needs of the Sales staff, along = with appropriate handouts, and even hands-on time with the product if they will = be demonstrating it to their clients and customers. Every “THING” needs a = block in the WBS diagram so that time and people-power can be applied to make this “thing” a real deliverable to the Sales Department.

<= span style=3D'font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-font-family:Wingdings;mso-bidi-f= ont-family: Wingdings'>v If the project is typical, it will have a ma= jor branch each for hardware, software, power, interfacing, packaging, testing, documentation, management, sales and marketing support, and many other main areas to consider for a typical system design.

We attempt to identify as= much detail as possible in a WBS because each one of these components then becom= es a design goal needing development resources within the GANTT chart’s ta= sks structure (the next phase of any project planning process).

The WBS states “WHAT= ” is needed, while its GANTT Chart presents “how” it will be developed, by “whom,” “when” and “how much it will cost.” The WBS is usually developed using PowerPoint’s Organizational Chart slides, and= are generally annotated with WBS hierarchical numbering, which are then linked = to the tasks within the GANTT Chart.

Our web site has several = examples of this important design document.