Chapter 20Crafting a WBS
Planning produces the project’s work breakdown structure (WBS), which is a hierarchical organization of project elements. A good work breakdown structure is important because it is the basis for estimating, scheduling, costing, tracking, and controlling a project.
This chapter provides guidance on constructing a “good” work breakdown structure for large projects, plus examples showing alternate decompositions. Section 20.1 describes additional concepts. Sections 20.2 and 20.3 describe two work breakdown structures, one for software development, and one for general projects, which provide a starting point for a wide range of projects. Section 20.3 gives examples for projects with multiple builds and multiple firms.
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