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in” to the work of the project and can see the level of effort needed to bring about a

successful conclusion. Involving knowledgeable team members in the creation of a
WBS is far more effective at communicating what the project is about than handing
someone a completed WBS.

Each item in a lower level is a component of the level above. Completing all
the items at the lower levels of a WBS leads to the completion of the higher-level
components. As a checkpoint, you should review the items at the lower level and ask
the team whether completion of those items will result in completion of the

components of the next higher level. If the answer to this question is no, then you have
not identified all the lower-level tasks.

Define the work package level. Make sure you work the WBS to a level where the
team feels comfortable that resources can be assigned and held accountable for
completing the work and estimates can be determined. This is the primary goal of
constructing the WBS. Sequencing, assigning resources, and estimating are all separate

activities that you will perform after the WBS is complete.

Do not create a to-do list. You should not decompose work components into
individual activities. Otherwise, you will spend your entire project-management
experience managing individual checklists and activities for the work packages. The
person who is assigned to the work package level is the one responsible for
determining and managing all the activities that make up the work package.

Use the appropriate number of levels. Each major deliverable may have a

different level of decomposition. It is not uncommon for one portion of the WBS to
have three levels and another to have five levels. You should be concerned about
getting to a manageable work package, not about balancing the WBS. If you try to force
an even number of levels across all deliverables, you will end up with some deliverables
that are not broken down in adequate detail and others that end up listing every minor
activity to complete a simple task.

Benefits of the WBS

The WBS is often listed as one of the most important components of a successful
project. As you will see in later chapters, the WBS is an input to numerous project
management processes.

The WBS is an excellent tool for team building and team communication. A graphic
representation of the major project deliverables and the underlying subcomponents

allows team members to see the big picture and understand how their part in the
project fits in. The direct link between a given work package and a major project
deliverable can also help clarify the impact on individual team members. Additionally,
as new resources are added to the project, the WBS can help bring these new team
members up to speed.

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