Details

Technical Note

WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURES: TURNING PROJECTS INTO BITE-SIZE MORSELS OF WORK PACKAGES

Zehra Waheed

INDUSTRY : Project Management

AREA : Production & Operation Management

ORGANIZATION : N/A

LENGTH : 12

LUMS No : 03-846-2017-2

PUBLICATION YEAR : 2017

KEYWORDS:

Work breakdown structure, project management, project planning, WBS, operations management, production

DESCRIPTION:

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is an important project-planning tool that links the project scope and objectives to its components tasks, resources, costs and schedule. It is the logical tool to structure the planning as well as the execution of the project based on its intended purpose. The complexity of the WBS in turn depends on the complexity of the project at hand. However, the larger the project, the greater the need to decompose the whole into smaller units or ‘bite-sized morsels’ that together represent the whole. Breaking down the project into these ‘easily digestible’ morsels allows for more focused planning and control through simple tasks, as opposed to planning for a complex whole. The analogy normally used in project management circles is that of ‘how to eat an elephant’- eating it one bite at a time!

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

SUBJECTS COVERED:

Production and Operation Management