Work Breakdown Structure I want to plan a project by organizing project work into manageable components Work Breakdown Structure

What is it and why should I use it? A WBS is a way to break down work into smaller pieces to make it easier to manage. It should describe all the work of the project including any and all supporting work. Each descending level represents an increasingly detailed description of the work. Work breakdown structure is defined as a deliverable-oriented grouping of project elements which organizes and defines the total scope of the project. It is usually represented as a hierarchy with each descending, or lower, level representing increased detail and definition of the project activities, tasks, subtasks – or as many descending levels that are necessary to represent 100% of the work needed to accomplish the project. The WBS is the decomposition project work – the word “decompose” simply means to break apart into smaller pieces. Put simply, the work breakdown structure organizes the project scope into “work packages” that become the foundation of every other scheduling tool that we will talk about today. The WBS can be used as a basis for more accurate estimates of activity sequencing, project duration, project cost and estimation of numerous other resources such as vehicles, people, supplies, building materials and so on.

Example of a WBS: Latrines Quality Latrine Design engineering specification Procurement Construct latrine Dig hole Obtain hole specifications Arrange for diggers Schedule digging Prepare and install latrine cap Build structure and inspect Communities prepared to use latrines Training WASH committee Another possible format is the graphical representation. This format is good for showing levels of work - and how smaller components at lower levels of the project graph roll-up/contribute to larger activities or products. For presentation purposes, the graphical format is preferred. Again, it is the decomposing to the level of detail needed to successfully complete the work that is most important. Make sure that… Ask the participants- Is this comprehensive enough? Is it detailed enough? What would you add

Your turn! Prepare a WBS for one of your projects. Outcome #1 Output #2 Outcome #1 Activity #1 Task #1 Output #1 Activity #2 Activity #3 Task #2 Task #3 Sub Task #1 Sub Task #2 Sub Task #3 Sub Task #4