Alexis Kestler
If you manage projects, you know how difficult it can be to keep track of the multitude of moving parts that go into delivering projects successfully. I‘ve been there myself—trying desperately to keep all the project details in my head as scope creeps, new tasks pop up, and things inevitably fall through the cracks.
What I‘ve learned in my years as a project manager is that you absolutely need a detailed work breakdown structure (WBS) to map out everything that needs to be completed. A solid WBS helps you avoid costly mistakes, missed deliverables, and uncontrolled scope creep down the line.
In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll walk you through everything you need to know as a PM to build a rock-solid work breakdown structure that sets your projects up for success.
What Exactly is a Work Breakdown Structure?
Let‘s start with the basics. A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a visual diagram that breaks a project down into manageable chunks of work. Essentially, it‘s a hierarchical decomposition of all the tasks, activities, and deliverables required to complete your project from start to finish.
The Work Breakdown Structure:
- Defines the full scope of a project
- Splits up the work into logical, organized chunks
- Clearly outlines project deliverables
- Assigns ownership for completion of work
- Facilitates realistic time and resource estimates
- Enables accurate tracking and control
Having all project elements mapped out in detail is invaluable. Just ask any project manager who has worked without one—it quickly becomes utter chaos!
3 Main Benefits of Using a Work Breakdown Structure
Before we dig into creating a WBS, let‘s look at some of the major benefits:
1. Defines Project Scope
The WBS ensures that you capture 100% of the work required for a project during planning—leaving no gaps in project scope. Completely scoping the work upfront is crucial for setting realistic schedules and budgets.
According to PMI research, projects with an inaccurate WBS are up to 3 times more likely to fail outright.
2. Enables Tighter Cost Control
By breaking the project into well-defined work packages, you can much more accurately estimate resources, staff time, and costs.
The detailed WBS estimates make it easier to compute total project costs and create a reliable budget. Studies show projects with a WBS have a cost performance up to 4 times better.
3. Allows Better Task Monitoring
With every project task and milestone clearly outlined, you can closely track progress on individual work packages. This allows you to quickly identify and correct any performance issues before they become major problems.
5 Steps to Build a Solid Work Breakdown Structure
Now that you know the immense value of a WBS for your projects, let‘s walk through how to create one from scratch:
Step 1: Define Project Scope and Requirements
Start by clearly defining the goals, desired outcomes, requirements, and final deliverables for the project. This forms the highest level of the WBS. You have to completely understand the scope before breaking down the component pieces.
Step 2: Decompose Work Packages
Break the project deliverables down into individual work packages—the discrete chunks of work to be done. Break these down further into manageable components until you have a detailed task list.
Tip: Aim for work packages that can be completed in under 2 months by one person or team. This makes estimating and assigning work easier.
Step 3: Develop WBS Hierarchy
Organize the work packages into a hierarchical tree structure. Project phases or major deliverables go at the top. Lower levels contain more granular tasks and activities required to complete parent items above them.
Step 4: Add Details to Work Packages
Each lowest-level work package should have these details:
- Owner: Team member responsible for completing the work
- Effort estimate: Number of hours, days, or sprints required
- Start/end dates: Expected date range for completing the work
Step 5: Continuously Refine the WBS
Review and update the WBS throughout the project lifecycle. Add new scope items that come up and modify detailed task estimates as needed.
Work Breakdown Structures for Agile Projects
Traditional, sequential WBS structures work best for predictable, waterfall-style projects. But what about highly iterative agile projects?
Many agile teams build a simplified, lightweight WBS as a starting point for planning sprints. They focus more on decomposing features than tasks upfront. The detailed task breakdown happens iteratively during sprint planning.
For agile projects, focus the WBS on:
- Defining features or epics to be delivered
- High-level phases and milestones
- loose task estimates at each level
Then during each sprint, detail the tasks for that iteration, estimate hours, assign owners, etc. The WBS evolves over the course of the agile project lifecycle.
Work Breakdown Structure Templates
Building a WBS from scratch takes time. A pre-built WBS template can give you a head start on structuring your project work packages.
Here are 3 common templates you can use as a starting point:
1. Phase-Based WBS Template
This template organizes the WBS by project phase, with tasks nested under each phase. Use this for projects focused primarily on process.
2. Deliverable-Based WBS Template
This template structures the WBS hierarchy based on major project deliverables first, with related tasks and sub-deliverables nested underneath. Use this template for product-focused projects.
3. Hybrid WBS Template
This template combines phases and deliverables in the first level, with detailed tasks and activities under each section. Use this for complex projects.
Top 9 Work Breakdown Structure Tools
Now that you know how to structure a solid WBS, let‘s look at some software tools that make it much easier to build, visualize, and share your WBS online.
I‘ve compiled this list of the top 9 WBS tools available based on hands-on testing and peer reviews:
1. Lucidchart
Lucidchart is my top pick for building WBS diagrams online. The intuitive drag-and-drop interface helps you create professional work breakdown structures in no time.
I love that you can use pre-made WBS templates then easily customize them for your project. Another cool feature is the ability to import and export WBS data to Excel, Jira, and Microsoft Project.
For team collaboration, Lucidchart stands out with real-time sharing and built-in chat. You can watch teammates update the WBS in real-time, which keeps everyone aligned.
Key Features:
- Drag-and-drop WBS chart builder
- Customizable WBS templates
- Import/export from Excel, Project, Jira
- Real-time collaboration
2. Smartsheet
Smartsheet is a robust work breakdown structure tool thanks to its interactive grid interface. You can build parent-child task relationships just like Excel to decompose your project workpackages.
The WBS sheet integrates nicely with tools like MS Project for importing hierarchical structures. You can also add useful extras like Gantt charts, reminders, and attachments to visualize timelines and keep tasks organized.
Key Features:
- Interactive grid-based WBS builder
- Parent-child task relationships
- Import WBS from Excel, Project
- Built-in Gantt charts
- File attachment and reminders
3. monday.com
monday.com doesn’t have purpose-built WBS software, but its customizable worksheets make it easy to build a work breakdown structure.
The online worksheet format is great for structuring parent and child tasks in a hierarchy. I also like the timeline view for scheduling tasks and tracking progress.
Key Features:
- Intuitive online WBS template
- Hierarchical multi-level structuring
- Subtasks, dependencies, assignments
- Timelines, calendars, notes
- Mobile apps, file integration
4. Paymo
Paymo offers solid online work breakdown structure software with its interactive mind map-style interface. You can build parent-child hierarchies and color-code tasks based on status, priority, or assignee.
I especially like Paymo‘s WBS timeline view. Simply click a node to view the task timeline with dependencies. The ability to convert the WBS to a Gantt chart is also extremely helpful.
Key Features:
- Interactive hierarchical WBS diagrams
- Parent-child task relationships
- Color-coding, progress bars
- Convert WBS to Gantt charts
- Timelines with dependencies
5. WBS Schedule Pro
WBS Schedule Pro is purpose-built for creating online work breakdown structures. The dedicated WBS builder offers a full-screen interface and plentiful options for structuring rich WBS diagrams.
For task management, the tool has handy features like color-coding tasks, filtering, baselines, and critical path analysis. You can also export the WBS data to Excel, PDF, PowerPoint and more.
Key Features:
- Dedicated online WBS builder
- Custom hierarchies and structures
- Task color-coding and filtering
- Critical path analysis
- Export WBS to various formats
6. ProjectManager.com
ProjectManager offers intuitive drag-and-drop work breakdown software that helps you map out project elements visually. Just drag tasks onto the canvas and indent them to build multi-level WBS hierarchies.
I like that you can assign due dates, set task status, and add notes right on the WBS. The interactive Gantt charts also provide another view to visualize the timeline.
Key Features:
- Visual drag-and-drop WBS builder
- Set dependencies, due dates, status
- Assign tasks on the WBS
- Gantt chart integration
- Real-time progress tracking
7. ProofHub
ProofHub makes it simple to structure tasks hierarchically thanks to its tree view listing. Just nest subtasks under parent items to build out project work packages.
Helpful extras like color labels, timesheets, attachments, and @mentions streamline task management. You can also export the WBS data to Excel for additional reporting.
Key Features:
- Tree view task list for WBS
- Parent-child task hierarchies
- Color labels, timesheets, attachments
- @mentions, group discussions
- Export WBS to Excel
8. nTask
nTask offers straightforward work breakdown structure capabilities through its indented tree task list. The hierarchical view decomposes tasks into manageable chunks with parent-child relationships.
For task details, nTask allows you to define task priorities, assignments, start/end dates, estimates, and custom fields on the interactive WBS chart.
Key Features:
- Tree-structured WBS builder
- Parent-child task relationships
- Interactive timelines
- Priorities, assignments, estimates
- Export WBS data to Excel
9. Airtable
Airtable isn’t purpose-built for WBS, but its flexible spreadsheets make it easy to structure hierarchical work packages. You can relate tasks together and build parent-child relationships within table views.
The software also allows you to attach files, add due dates, status labels, links, discussions and more to your WBS tasks.
Key Features:
- Spreadsheet interface for WBS
- Relate tasks, build hierarchies
- Attachments, due dates, discussions
- Filter/group views
- Charts and reporting
Work Breakdown Structures: The Secret to Project Success
Let‘s do a quick recap of what we‘ve covered:
- A work breakdown structure (WBS) provides an invaluable map of all work required for a project.
- An accurate WBS enables realistic planning, scheduling, budgeting and monitoring.
- Follow the 5 steps to build a comprehensive WBS for any project.
- Leverage pre-built templates to accelerate WBS creation.
- Use agile-friendly lightweight WBS structures for iterative projects.
- Specialized WBS software tools help create hierarchies and visualize the breakdown of work.
After managing dozens of projects, I‘m convinced that investing time upfront to develop a thoughtful work breakdown structure is one of the most vital elements for project success.
A solid WBS sets your team up to execute efficiently by providing a blueprint for getting organized, tracking progress, and delivering on milestones. It prevents chaos, confusion, and mistakes down the line.
The right WBS software gives you clarity and visibility into the work ahead—ultimately enabling your projects to ship on time and on budget. I hope this guide provides you a roadmap to building rock-solid work breakdown structures for all your mission-critical projects. Let me know if you have any other questions!
