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components to be moved around as you work through the process and get everything

in proper order.

A typical WBS starts with the project itself at the topmost level. The next level consists
of the major deliverables, project phases, or subprojects that support the main project.
From there, each deliverable is decomposed into smaller and smaller units of work.
The lowest level of any WBS is called the work package level. This is the level where
resources, time, and cost estimates are determined. Work packages are assigned to
team members or organizational units to complete the activities associated with this

work.

Make sure that all the participants have reviewed the project charter, scope statement,
and requirements document and have a clear understanding of all the deliverables.
Have copies of these documents available as a reference. The team may go through
several iterations of constructing the WBS before it’s considered complete.

Figure 4.2 is an abbreviated example of a WBS for a conference event project.

FIGURE 4.2 Sample WBS

The second method for depicting a WBS is the outline form. Regardless of how you
depict the WBS, each level in the WBS should have a unique identifier. This identifier
is typically a number, and it’s used to sum and track the costs, schedule, and resources
associated with the WBS elements. These numbers are usually associated with the

corporation’s chart of accounts, which is used to track costs by category. Collectively,
these numeric identifiers are known as the code of accounts. If you took the example
from Figure 4.2 and converted it to outline form using the code of accounts, it would
look like this:

Conference Event Project

1. Define conference sessions.

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