WBS is a hierarchical decomposition of the project into phases, deliverables, and work packages. It is a tree structure, which shows a subdivision of effort required to achieve an objective (e.g., a program, project, and contract). In a project or contract, the WBS is developed by starting with the end objective and successively subdividing it into manageable components in terms of size, duration, and responsibility (e.g., systems, subsystems, components, tasks, subtasks, and work packages), which include all steps necessary to achieve the objective.
The WBS creation involves:
- Listing all the project outputs (deliverables and other direct results)
- Identifying all the activities required to deliver the outputs
- Subdividing these activities into sub activities and tasks
- Identifying the deliverable and milestone(s) of each task
- Identifying the time usage of all the resources (personnel and material) required to complete each task
The purpose of developing a WBS is to:
- Allow easier management of each component
- Allow accurate estimation of time, cost, and resource requirements
- Allow easier assignment of human resources
- Allow easier assignment of responsibility for activities
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