Structure of decomposition of work, what is it and how are the rules for a correct application?

To develop a project optimally, it is necessary to analyze each of its phases. Many projects are complicated and involve numerous activities that, without proper planning and organization, would be difficult to execute.To help you easily understand all the phases of a project, the WBS (Work Breakdown Structure), also known as “structured project breakdown,” is helpful. It’s a methodology developed in the United States and used to 

structure and define all project activities.

What is WBS

The WBS is a tool used to analytically break down a project into its component parts.

The goal is to organize the work into manageable components and make the project easier to understand. All this is done to communicate to all stakeholders the phases and activities that will be carried out to achieve the objective.

The WBS, in general, can be applied to any type of project, such as:

• Bidding

• Construction of a building

• Organization of activities on a construction site

• Design of an artifact

The WBS assists the project manager, especially in defining and organizing activities in complex projects.

Therefore, with the WBS tool the project is broken down hierarchically into components (e.g. sub-objectives, activities and specific tasks), with a greater degree of detail, following a top-down approach , that is, starting from the macro-areas and then subdividing them into increasingly smaller parts.

Each level represents increasingly detailed portions of the project.

There is no defined number of levels: the decomposition depends on the complexity of the project and ends when the last level of hierarchy has a level of detail that:

• Unambiguously describe each job to be done

• Allows the attribution of executive responsibility

How to represent a WBS

The WBS is usually represented in graphical (tree structure) or descriptive (index structure) form.

For the WBS to produce concrete results, the objective to be achieved must be clear from the preliminary phases. Before work begins on each activity, the breakdown can be progressively refined.

The Work Packages in the WBS

The fundamental objective of the WBS is to identify at the last level of decomposition the so-called “work packages” better defined as work packages.

The work package contains all the instructions to be followed to perform a specific task or activity.

For a decomposition to be defined as optimal, each work package must be:

• Described in a clear and concrete way

• Differentiated from other work packages

• Provide for the assignment of a task/activity to a single person responsible

• Describe each job to be done in an unambiguous manner

In the work package it is possible to identify:

• All activities (tasks) and tasks to be performed

• The inputs needed to carry out the work and achieve the objectives

• The description of the expected results

• The necessary resources

• The start and end date of the work

• The results of the work (deliverable)

• Activities that are not included in the project

• Task responsibilities