The Work Based Structure & How it Works

A Work Based Structure (WBS) is a visual map of the project & particularly allows the project manager to understand, identify and be confident that all aspects of the project are covered. It allows the project manager to be clear all areas are planned for and can be integrated into the project to ensure it can be successful using the current capabilities and competencies of the organisation. It allows to visually understand who has the control of the project, usually the project manager.
It is an element of the project that allows activities to be broken into both small and manageable sections. 

 The WBS allows the project team to see the outline of the project by detailing various levels of detail. The level of detail can vary as the time duration, activity and complexity of each project is unquie to that project.

The WBS has various levels, with the number 1 level being the final deliverable project, complete. The following levels flow from the final project and can include major deliverable, supporting sub-deliverable,low management responsibility sub-deliverable, cost accounts to monitor progress & finally work packages which are short work activities to be complete. Work packages have a clear beginning and ending date or time duration, with clear resources to be used along with a tight budget. The breakdown of each deliverable to smaller deliverables from major to low allow for one person to be responsible for them.

A project manager will find the WBS helpful and of great assistance in order to establish the relationships of each deliverable (major, supporting and low) to the final project. Each activity in the WBS is required to have a cost and time estimate to ensure the project is within its triple constraint of time, cost & scope. The estimates are required for the cost account activity can keep track of the progress of the project within its constraints. It can also be used to determine communication channels between each of the 'levels' of the project - from team members, line managers, supervisors, project managers and to top management.

Work Breakdown Structure for Construction of a House

The WBS clearly & visually allows to understand the following, according to Larson & Gray (2011) 
  1. Define the work required to complete the project
  2. A time allocation to each activity
  3. Identify a time-phased budget to each activity
  4. The resources required
  5. Allocate a person to be responsible for units of each activity 
  6. Determine monitoring points similar to 'quality control' for measuring project progress


The WBS allows the project manager and its cost account members who are responsible for ensure project 'quality control'. This is done as each activity has its own allocated time and budget requirements which contribute to the overall project time, cost and scope. If problems where to occur with the time or budget they can be spotted, identified and hopefully saved to save the project from going out of control by going over budget & taking longer than expected. The project manager, Billy McFarland of the FYRE Festival (the greatest festival that NEVER happened) failed to identify and uncover issues regarding the project budget and time. Without a WBS, the understanding of each activity to allow the project to come together within the budget and time allocation, the project will fail. Without a WBS the budget of the project was 'blown' and the scope was not clearly defined with clear activities, the project did go ahead - however it failed with the project manager being found guilty of fraud.

A WBS allows top management, project manager and team members to clearly see each element or activity required to complete all project deliverables & activities to allow the project to come together successfully and with each person of the team understanding who is responsible for what & the time and budget allowed to complete the activity. 



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