Work Breakdown Structure – Software Engineering
1] A Work Breakdown Structure includes dividing a large and
complex project into simpler, manageable, and independent
tasks.
2] The root of this tree (structure) is labeled by the Project
name itself.
3] For constructing a work breakdown structure, each node is
recursively decomposed into smaller sub-activities, until at the
leaf level, the activities become undividable and independent.
4] It follows a Top-Down approach.
Steps Work Breakdown Structure:
Step 1: Identify the major activities of the project.
Step 2: Identify the sub-activities of the major activities.
Step 3: Repeat till undividable, simple, and independent activities
are created.
Construction of Work Breakdown Structure
1].Firstly, the project managers and top level management identifies the main deliverables of the
project.
2] After this important step, these main deliverables are broke down into smaller higher-level
tasks and this complete process is done recursively to produce much smaller independent tasks
3] It depends on the project manager and team that upto which level of detail they want to break
down their project.
4] Generally the lowest level tasks are the most simplest and independent tasks and takes less
than two weeks worth of work.
5] Hence, there is no rule for upto which level we may build the work breakdown structure of the
project as it totally depends upon the type of project we are working on and the management of
the company.
6] The efficiency and success of the whole project majorly depends on the quality of the Work
Breakdown Structure of the project and hence, it implies its importance.
Uses of Work Breakdown Structure
1.Cost estimation:
It allows doing a precise cost estimation of each activity.
2. Time estimation:
It allows estimating the time that each activity will take more precisely.
3. Easy project management: It allows easy management of the project.
4. Helps in project organization: It helps in proper organization of the project
by the top management.
Why
So, why bother creating a WBS for your project?
Hereafter a few reasons…
Gives clarity on the project needs in terms of deliverables and
success criteria – it highlights the “what” of the project
Subdivides the scope into manageable components in terms of
size, duration, and responsibility
Aids in monitoring and controlling the project
Principles
100% Rule: The WBS should define the total scope of the project
and capture ALL deliverables, including project management. If not, the risk
of gaps and missing components is high.
Mutual Exclusivity: It is important that there is no overlap in scope
definition between two elements of a WBS. This ambiguity could result in
duplicated work.
Deliverables, Not Actions: Deliverables are the desired ends of the project,
such as a product, result, or service and can be predicted accurately.
Actions, on the other hand, may be difficult to predict accurately.
Reasonable Level of Detail: Don’t go into too much detail. What you’re
looking for is enough detail so you can plan, manage and control the
project. An effective limit of WBS granularity may be reached when it is no
longer possible to define deliverables and the only details remaining are
actions. The lowest level in the WBS is called a “Work Package”.
• Conclusion
• The efficiency of a work breakdown structure can determine
the success of a project.
• The WBS provides the foundation for all project management
work, including, planning, cost and effort estimation, resource
allocation, and scheduling.
• Therefore, one should take creating WBS as a critical step in
the process of project management.
