Appendix A. Software Project Work Breakdown Structures

A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a decomposition of all the work associated with a proposal (e.g., a candidate software project) being studied. The WBS not only helps you better understand the size and scope of the proposal, it also can be a useful planning and management tool if the proposal is given the go-ahead. The WBS is an important tool in business decisions because it provides a solid foundation for developing a proposal's cash-flow stream. More information about WBSs and how to develop them can be found in [PMI02], [DoD98], and [Fleming00].

A common notation for a WBS is to show the proposal at levels of decomposition using indentation. The highest-level item is the overall proposal ...

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