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Guide to WBS management and team management

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When it comes to pulling off successful projects, you want to use every tool available to get everyone from Point A to Point B as smoothly as possible. It’s a fact that’s certainly not lost on high-performing organizations. Research finds that implementing proven project, program and portfolio management practices help their companies meet original goals and business strategies two-and-a-half times more often (89% vs. 34%) and waste 13-times less money. 

 

That’s where the work breakdown structure (WBS) can come in to play. But what is it, exactly, and how do you use it to your advantage? 

Work Breakdown Structure: What it is and what it isn’t

In a nutshell, a WBS lays out all the specific deliverables of a project. In other words, the precise tangible, measurable and recognizable results that a project will produce. 

 

Some like to think of it as the “nouns” of a project, the legacies that’ll be left behind after it is complete. While the name “work breakdown structure” somehow indicates that its purpose is breaking down the work, it just breaks down the precise deliverables and provides the order of tasks that must happen to complete them. 

 

When done correctly, the benefits of a WBS are many. Not only will it show everyone involved in the purpose of the project, while keeping them focused, perhaps most importantly, it will also determine how much money is needed to complete it all. That’s a huge benefit when you consider that companies across the board report high percentages of scope creep, whether they’re high performers (33%) or underperformers (69%). 

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WBS + team management software = success

 

A WBS boosts your team management capabilities because it helps you stay organized, focused and in charge. But before we talk in detail about how to create your WBS from scratch, it’s important to note the ease of doing it via good, and often free, project management and team management software. 

 

The ability to easily create and share a well-crafted WBS with intuitive software helps you better tackle anything from small projects to large initiatives with easy-to-use features like: 

 

  • A centralized project hub. Get quick and easy access to relevant, top-of-mind projects and projects most recently worked on. 
  • Familiar scheduling tools like Gantt charts and built-in customizable templates to get you started. 
  • Varied insights into projects. Use different views like Grid views (for an ordered list of tasks), Board views (to visually track project tasks for better workflow and status) or Timeline/Gantt views (to track and understand dates, assignments and the relationships of project tasks visually). 
  • Better collaboration and communication. Work together with project stakeholders and team members to edit and update task lists, project schedules and more simultaneously. You can also keep your team on the same page with group chat, online meetings, calling and web conferencing, collaboration on files and customized workspaces. 
  • Insightful reporting. Use pre-built reports to track progress on your projects, resources, programs and portfolios. 

WBS key features

Now that you know where to begin, it’s time to look at what comprises a basic WBS. While you can create one using an array of different team management tools and methodologies, the most common is the hierarchal, top-down methodology. 

Here’s the info you’ll need to have as you get started: 

  • The specific organizations, departments or people responsible for each piece of work 
  • Start and end dates
  • A list of resources needed 
  • Estimated cost 
  • Specific details of the contract (like requirements and milestones) 
  • Quality control practices 
  • Any technical information and resources required to meet goals 
  • Approval from all task holders about items above before cementing your WBS (see below)

Creating a WBS as a team

It’s a good practice to bring the entire team together, either in person or an online meeting, before creating a WBS.

By brainstorming and having an open discussion, members can help with things like the sequencing of project assignments (task and subtasks), defining measurable scope, giving a better understanding of deliverables, identifying any overlapping responsibilities/gaps and providing prior project experience that could be used as a guide. 

Besides, the more you involve team members on the WBS, the more they’ll understand the scope of the project and their roles, which better engages everyone while taking the pressure off the project manager.

While pulling off the perfect project may seem impossible, keeping lines of communication open via better team management processes and project management tools will go far in boosting your project’s success and in simplifying the WBS process from beginning to end.

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Business Insights and Ideas does not constitute professional tax or financial advice. You should contact your own tax or financial professional to discuss your situation.

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