Work Breakdown Structures for Projects, Programs, and Enterprises

Gregory T. Haugan PhD, PMP

• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Year: 2008
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781523096145
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

Become an Expert on the Work Breakdown Structure!
The basic concept and use of the work breakdown structure (WBS) are fundamental in project management. In Work Breakdown Structures for Projects, Programs, and Enterprises, author Gregory T. Haugan, originator of the widely accepted 100 percent rule, offers an expanded understanding of the WBS concept, illustrating its principles and applications for planning programs as well as its use as an organizing framework at the enterprise level. Through specific examples, this book will help you understand how the WBS aids in the planning and management of all functional areas of project management.
With this valuable resource you will be able to:
• Tailor WBSs to your organization's unique requirements using provided checklists and principles
• Develop and use several types of WBS
• Use WBS software to gain a competitive edge
• Apply the 100 percent rule when developing a WBS for a project or program
• Establish a WBS for a major construction project using included templates
• Understand portfolio management and establish an enterprise-standard WBS

PART I
WBS Fundamentals

This book is divided into three parts. The first focuses on basic principles and concepts, the second focuses on applications of these WBS concepts, and the third focuses on specific examples.

Part I covers the fundamentals and principles of the WBS and other related material and ends with a summary of recommended steps in developing a WBS and a checklist. Part I includes the following chapters:

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Work Breakdown Structure

Chapter 2: Work Breakdown Structure Fundamentals

Chapter 3: WBS Software and the WBS in Software

Chapter 4: WBS Principles, Steps, and Checklist

CHAPTER 1
Introduction to the Work Breakdown Structure

This chapter provides basic information about the work breakdown structure (WBS), including the background of the concept and its place and role in the project management process. Specifically, the chapter first discusses project management terms and definitions and explains why—on a very basic level—a work breakdown is needed. The chapter next illustrates where the WBS fits in the overall project management process and gives a history of the evolution of the WBS concept. Finally, the chapter briefly describes the role of the WBS in the private and public sectors.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

Project management as a field of study has a set of acknowledged terms and definitions. The following segment presents key project management terms used frequently in this book. Although these terms are in common usage in the project management field, they are presented for reference and establish a terminology baseline.

KEY PROJECT MANAGEMENT TERMS

Activity: A defined unit of work performed during the course of a project that is described using a verb. An activity normally has a work description and an expected duration, an expected cost, and expected resource requirements. Activities and tasks are terms that are often used interchangeably.

Control account (CA): Formerly known as a cost account in earned value management systems, the control account identifies a specific WBS work element at the intersection of the WBS and the organizational breakdown structure (OBS), where functional responsibility for the work in a work package is assigned and actual direct labor, material, and other direct cost data can be collected.

Cross-cutting element: A WBS element that relates to work performed in other branches of the WBS. For example, the work performed in project management relates to other work in the project yet has its own unique identity.

Deliverable: Any tangible, verifiable product, service, or result that must be produced to complete a project or part of a project. The term is often used narrowly to refer to hardware or equipment, a facility, software, data, or other items that are subject to approval by the project sponsor or customer.

End items: A general term that represents the hardware, services, equipment, facilities, data, and so on that are deliverable to the customer or that constitute a commitment on the part of the project manager to the customer.

Organizational breakdown structure (OBS): A graphic representation of the work of a project in terms of organizational units.

Portfolio: A collection of related projects or programs and other work that groups projects or programs together in order to support effective management of the total work effort in a way that meets strategic business or organizational objectives.

Program: A long-term undertaking consisting of a group of related projects that are managed in a harmonized way. Programs often include an element of ongoing work or work related to the program deliverables.

Project: A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.

Project element: A component of the work to be performed in a project derived from the logical decomposition of the total work (top down) or synthesis of a logical grouping of required activities or work elements (bottom up).

Responsibility assignment matrix (RAM): A graphic structure that correlates the work required by a WBS element to the organizational division that is responsible for the assigned task. A RAM is created by intersecting the WBS with the OBS. The control account is established at the intersection.

Risk breakdown structure (RBS): A hierarchical arrangement of the actual risks that have been identified in a project, or a hierarchical framework presenting possible sources of risk, either generic or project-specific.

Subproject: A logical major component of a project. A subproject is usually a WBS element that can be managed as a semi-independent element of the project and is the responsibility of one person or organization.

Task: A generic term for the defined unit of effort on a project; often used interchangeably with activity, but could be a further breakdown of an activity. A task, like an activity, has an action component and is defined using a verb.

Work breakdown structure (WBS): A product-oriented family tree or grouping of project elements that organizes and defines the total work scope of the project. Each descending level represents an increasingly detailed definition of the project work.

WBS dictionary: A document that describes in brief narrative format what work is performed in each WBS element.

WBS element: An entry in the WBS that can be at any level and is described by a noun or a noun and an adjective.

WBS level: The relative rank of a WBS element in a WBS hierarchy. Customarily the top rank, the total project, is level 1.

Work element: Same as WBS element.

Work package: The lowest-level element in each branch of the WBS. A work package provides a logical basis for defining activities or assigning responsibility to a specific person or organization. Also, the work required to complete a specific job or process such as a report, a design, a documentation requirement or portion thereof, a piece of hardware, or a service.¹

Selected terms are illustrated in Figure 1-1.

FIGURE 1-1 Generic Work Breakdown Structure to Level 3

THE PROJECT PROBLEM AND SOLUTION

Starting a new project is like starting to write a book—you have an idea of what you want to do but are not sure how to start. Many writers, like many project planners and managers, find that outlining is frequently the most effective way to start writing.²

An outline is both a method for organizing material as well as a plan for the book itself. But when you start outlining a book, especially a book based on research, you realize there are many ways to do it. In general, you need to plan your research or data gathering; decide what goes in each chapter, including appendices; and take into account drafting chapters, getting reviews, and the other steps involved in reviewing proofs and publishing the document. A sample outline for a book is included in the form of a WBS in Chapter 10.

A frequently used analogy for any large project is the old question, “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer is, “One bite at a time.” So the first step in preparing an outline or planning a project is to start defining and categorizing the “bites” (activities). The bites are important because they are where the useful work is accomplished. For a project, brainstorming can help define the bites from the bottom up, or a process of decomposition can be used, starting from the top, that subdivides the elephant into major sections working downward, as shown in Figure 1-2. In either approach, the objective is to develop a structure of the work that needs to be done for your project. This structure is the topic of this book.

FIGURE 1-2 Elephant Breakdown Structure—Top Level

The parts of the elephant can clearly be broken down (or subdivided) further. For example, the head is made up of a face, ears, tusks, and trunk; the four legs could be individually identified; other body parts could also be identified, as could the tail and tuft. A WBS for a project follows the concept just shown. The WBS is an outline of the work; it is not the work itself. The work itself is the sum of the many activities that make up the project.

A WBS may be started either as an informal list of activities or in a very structured way, dependi...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• About the Author
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• PART I WBS Fundamentals
• PART II WBS Applications
• PART III WBS Examples and Descriptions
• Appendix A FAA Standard Work Breakdown Structure
• Appendix B CSI Division List—1995 Version
• Appendix C The OmniClass™ Development Committee
• Appendix D OmniClass™ Tables Edition 1.0
• Appendix E OmniClass™ 2004 and 1995 Divisions
• Appendix F Sample Page OmniClass™ Table 22
• Appendix G Caltrans WBS
• Appendix H The International Infrastructure Project Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• Bibliography
• Index