Work Breakdown Structure or WBS, as we call it in Project Management is an important and handy tool used by Project Managers to break down a large or complex piece of work into smaller manageable. In order to achieve this, the project managers follow a technique called decomposition which is used to break down the workload and tasks into units that form the Work Breakdown Structure.
Software Services Company - WBS
Let us consider a Software Services Company. Here a Software Application is created according to the client’s requirements and delivered once all the checks on requirements and functionality are met. These two teams work on a project – a Development Team and a Testing Team. Below is how the work breakdown structure for the tasks would be,
Development Team activities (Effort - 21 days)
Work on design for the application (Effort - 2 days)
Analyze the implications of the design created (Effort – 3 days)
Develop Application (Effort - 15 days)
Coding (Effort - 11 days)
Release patch preparation (Effort - 1 day)
Testing Team activities (Effort - 7 days)
Test the application (Effort - 6 days)
Log bugs found and prepare reports (Effort - 1 day)
A Task at Home - WBS
Even in regular everyday situations at home or personal work a Work Breakdown Structure can be created to follow every task in an ordered manner. Below is a situation depicting the Work Breakdown Structure for a dinner where guests are invited to one’s home:
Invite guests
Communicate to family and friends
Choose date
Grocery shopping
Shop for Vegetables and Fruits
Shop for other food and drinks
Shop for meat and fish
Shop for Wine and Dessert
Cooking Dinner
Preheat oven
Wash and prepare food
Bake and fry as needed
Setting Table
Setting places – crockery and cutlery
Arranging food on the table
Lighting candles and arranging flowers
Serving the food
It goes without saying, that the Work Breakdown Structure brings far more clarity and one can be more organized without missing a step or the sequence in completing a job in a professional manner.
References
Babou. (2008). What is Decomposition techniques in Project Management. Leadership & Project Management Champions. Retrieved from https://leadershipchamps.wordpress.com/2008/04/04/decomposition-technique/
