How to build a work breakdown structure

- [Voiceover] The best way to build a WBS is to start at the top and work your way down. By top, I mean the top level of summary tasks. For larger projects you might work as a team to identify the top few levels of summary tasks. Then the team can split into smaller groups to break down the summary tasks in smaller chunks. At the end everyone gets back together to review the results and correct any issues. Start by using the scope statement and deliverables to identify the top level summary tasks.

For example, since the conference center scope includes updating conference center equipment and remodeling conference center rooms, you add summary tasks to cover those. Next, break down each of the summary tasks into smaller pieces. This is where intermediate deliverables come in handy for identifying lower level summary tasks and work packages. For example, the conference center project includes deliverables for signed contracts.

Let's add tasks to obtain proposals, select vendors, negotiate and sign the contracts. You might be wondering how much breakdown is enough. The rule of thumb most project managers use is to shoot for work packages that take between eight and 80 hours to complete. Consider breaking down project work to match the frequency of your status reports, that way, you have measurable progress and completed tasks for every status report.

You can use the following tests to determine whether you've broken work down to the right level. Time and cost are easy to estimate. Status is easy to measure. Task durations are shorter than your reporting periods. The detail is at the level that you can and want to manage. Different parts of a project might require different levels of decomposition. One part of the project might include more work so you break it down to three levels.

If another part of the project is simpler, you might need only two levels. Don't worry about the initial organization of your WBS, you can rearrange it later as you learn more about the project. Building a WBS from the top down works well because you can use the scope statement and deliverables and intermediate deliverables to get going. To practice, try building a WBS for one of your own projects.