A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a standard in traditional project and systems engineering management. It is a way to break down a project into a hierarchy of deliverables and tasks. It is an easy, but effective way to organize your project scope into smaller, more manageable pieces.
The work breakdown structure allows for you to see the project from a top-down perspective and then break it down into tasks and subtasks that will get you there. It is a useful tool that allows you to estimate the cost and time and provides guidance for scheduling and control.
Why use a work breakdown structure?
It is clear that project estimates can be confusing and complicated. You don’t need to feel overwhelmed when creating a project estimation. It is a good idea to ask questions, analyze your needs, and break down the scope into smaller pieces.
A work breakdown structure can be used to identify the work required for any project. A work breakdown structure will help you quickly determine if your estimate will exceed the budget and when it will be due.
How to create a work breakdown structure when estimating projects
Once you are comfortable with the process of creating a break down structure for work, you can adapt it to any project. This could be moving your house, or creating complex databases that include 75 offshore teams. Your friend is the work breakdown structure.
Before you create a WBS or other estimates, let us go over a process to ensure a solid and usable estimate.
Step 1: List your project’s high-level deliverables
If you have a project scope, it should be easy for you to start your work breakdown structure.
Are you unsure about the scope? Talk to your boss and clients about the scope. It is dangerous to begin a project without a scope. It is the foundation for what will happen and when.
Begin by meeting with your team to identify the deliverables that you will need in order to achieve your project’s goals. Your deliverables may include:
Sitemap
Wireframes
Page designs
Front-end code
Back-end code
To ensure that you don’t forget anything, make sure to include all tasks. When you’re working on a website design project, have you ever considered content? If you miss a deliverable, you’ll regret it later.
It is why it is so helpful to list things out in a group. It ensures that everyone is covered in a team conversation. It helps you establish expectations about who is responsible for delivering the tasks and deliverables. It engages the entire team in the project. You are already winning!
Step 2: Divide each deliverable in tasks
Once you have identified the top deliverables for your project, it’s time to examine what each deliverable actually requires.
This is not an easy task. It is not a simple exercise in which you ask “Who will do this?” and “How long it will take.” It goes further than that, which is a good thing. This is how you can get a better estimate.
Ask your team (or yourself!) questions. As you dive into each high-level deliverable, ask questions.
How can this deliverable be made the most effective?
What other tasks are required to complete this deliverable?
What are the requirements to be successful in this job?
Are there any corners being overlooked? (List all people, don’t cheat!
Remember to include all tasks that could be part a high-level deliverable in this exercise. To create a reasonable estimate, you must account for all time. You won’t be able to do that if you don’t think it through.
