This pbs results in a work breakdown structure wbs, which shows the work required to produce the deliverables pbs and reach these milestones. A work breakdown structure is often presented in the form of a chart, it is a visual representation of all team management and project planning processes. A product breakdown structure pbs is a hierarchical structure of things that. The output of scope management is a specification that may be presented as a product breakdown structure pbs showing the deliverables and a work breakdown structure wbs showing the work required to produce them. Edit this wbs template online using our tool and easily visualize your project work. Are you looking for a work breakdown structure example this method is frequently used in project management to break a project down into activities, tasks and subtasks. For manufacturers, a bill of materials bom is a critical product.
These resources are presented from the pmi practice standard for work breakdown structures. A work breakdown structure is not a list of tasks, a schedule or an organization chart. Nov 26, 2019 a work breakdown structure is your map through more complicated projects. The tool were finally implemented in the pmi project management institute pmbok in the 1987 as a standardized tool. Thinking of a car, this is a final product assembled from a lot of sub products. You wont find the problem if you cant isolate the defective part, and you cant fix the problem if the defective part is not separated from the main engine a work breakdown structure wbs represents this division of a project into constituent tasks.
In project management under the prince2 methodology, a product breakdown structure pbs is a tool for analysing, documenting and communicating the outcomes of a project, and forms part of the product based planning technique. Product breakdown structure bbs is a project management tool and important part of the project planning. The diagram below illustrates a typical pbs for a simple project. The most complete project management glossary for professional project managers. Other files in this repository are licensed by gplv2.
The product breakdown structure pbs is the hierarchical breakdown of the products such as hardware items, software items, and information items nasa, 2007. The product breakdown structure defines subtasks or work packages and describes the relationship between work packages. Example of a product breakdown structure of a computer. How to improve productivity with a work breakdown structure. Free work breakdown structure templates smartsheet. Development of hybrid product breakdown structure for. A work breakdown structure is your map through more complicated projects. The purpose of the pbs is to dissect a complex project into smaller, manageable parts.
What is wbs work breakdown structure in project management. Learn how to make a product breakdown structure pbs and how to use product breakdown structure software. The schedule and budget is then created and tracked by task. The product breakdown structure pbs ensures that all required products for a planned product are considered during the planning process. According to the project management body of knowledge pmbok, a work breakdown structure wbs is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. Detailed planning is essential for successful deployment of custom software. Project management is like fixing a car you must break it down into parts. The product breakdown structure pbs is the hierarchical breakdown of the products such as hardware items, software items, and information items nasa. Product breakdown structure, deliverables for software.
Work breakdown structures wbs for software development projects. What is the difference between product breakdown structure pbs and a work breakdown structure wbs. Examining the example again, you can see that the pbs does not show sequencing, however, for many simple product breakdown structures the sequencing. Appendix c aircraft work breakdown structure wbs levels. Screenshot of an sample product breakdown structure pbs. Software implementation work breakdown structure wbs.
Prince2 product breakdown structure example work breakdown. If i have the software as a collective grouping should documents for the software be a collective grouping and then broken down further or would documents be individual products after the software grouping. If your software does not allow you to create a hierarchy diagram easily, dont do it in ms word, please. You can also see that the engine has four subproducts, whilst the interior product has just one. This helps to identify all of the elements and deliverables that are required to organize a project as a whole a work breakdown structure is often presented in the form of a chart, it is a visual representation of all team.
Before we dive further into the benefits and impact of a wbs, there are a few additional definitions you should know. The planning process will add management activities to the wbs to show the work involved in managing aspects such as risk and. This is an example of a work breakdown structure wbs for a traditional waterfall approach to software development. Product breakdown structure pbs expert program management.
One project may include several phases, or also smaller subprojects. A product breakdown structure pbs is a hierarchical structure of things that the project will make or outcomes that it will deliver. A product breakdown structure pbs is a product based planning method used to analyze, document and communicate the outcomes of a project. This is an example of a work breakdown structure wbs for a. It is used to continuously compare the actual costs with the budget, and integrate to the cost control system. A work breakdown structure wbs represents this division of a project into constituent tasks.
A product breakdown structure pbs is an essential part of this, its purpose being to define the products deliverables of a project and how they relate to each other. It decomposes a main project product into its constituent parts in the form of a hierarchical structure. Application development project work breakdown structure. This gives you a clear overview of your projects and, you can use it to plan your activities and calculate your estimated budget. One work breakdown structure example that will make it clear. I am currently doing a breakdown of products for a piece of software. A product breakdown structure is an effective tool that details the physical components of a particular product, or system, under consideration. Development of hybrid product breakdown structure for nasa. Air vehicle applications software includes, for example. Creately wbs tool comes with handy features and work breakdown structure templates to draw wbs online easily. Apr 09, 2018 learn about using a work breakdown structure to better plan your projects. A work breakdown structure is a productoriented family tree composed of hardware, software, services, data and facilities.
Take a look at the risk breakdown structure example below, a legend of impact with five items has been setup, representing the five levels of impacts that risks may have on the project with five distinct color code. For example, if youre creating a work breakdown structure for manufacturing a car, youll include items such as car body a deliverable, not welding steel an activity. The diagram below shows an example of a product breakdown structure. Apm web briefing use of product breakdown structures and. Product breakdown structure pbs in ms project ms project. Even subprojects can be broken down into smaller bits. Editable work breakdown structure template to plan your work.
In reality, wbs is a simple and easy visual breakdown of deliverables for product, result, or service. It is a tabular or graphical representation of the tasks. Product structure is a hierarchical decomposition of a product, typically known as the bill of materials bom. The final product is the blue box at the top of screen. Example spreadsheet also included as 01 product breakdown structure dexter. Wbs should not take too much effort to create and maintain it. Wbs software to quickly create work breakdown structures online. This document provides project managers with a work breakdown structure wbs, which defines all of the application development projects critical deliverables. In so doing, you gain clarity into the details needed to accomplish every aspect of your project. Through this hierarchy, project planners can see a clear relationship between the different levels of. A product breakdown structure pbs is a product based planning method used to. This zip file contains the white paper the work breakdown structure.
The pbs diagram differentiates between the different types of product ie thing. The lesson will introduce and define the term organizational breakdown structure obs and will provide a thorough example of obs, which will help to explain how it is used in project management. The work breakdown structure wbs is the decomposition of a software project into low level work tasks. An important point to remember is that in design decomposition, only the lower. Work breakdown structures wbs for software development. In this diagram you can see that a car is made up of four products. Product breakdown structure your project needs to be broken down into major components leading up to the objective. There are many risk management tool you can use in structuring risks. The product breakdown structure can be used to create an organized hierarchic illustration of the car. Project management work breakdown structure youtube. Draw product breakdown structures with online product breakdown structure software. Through this hierarchy, project planners can see a clear relationship between the different levels of a system under consideration. Many people have mistaken wbs as a list of tasks, a schedule or an organization chart.
A brief synopsis, a software implementation work breakdown structure in both word and excel, and a pdf appendix of the software implementation work breakdown structure wbs example. Learn about using a work breakdown structure to better plan your projects. It is a taskoriented system for subdividing a project into product components. The following example figure 1 comes from nasa, 2007. The pbs identifies the individual products necessary for the product. Product breakdown structures and work breakdown structures look very. However it is known that pbs is a tool, that contributes to the work breakdown structure, which were invented by the united states department of defense dod back in 1960s. These components are further decomposed until a required person from the team can be assigned. Wbs software work breakdown structure software creately. The product breakdown structure tool is wisely applied, when having a production line with many sub products. Tasks and schedules are better handled in other ways, for example by using gantt charts. Work breakdown structure wbs software project management. Collaboration features to do the breakdown as a team.
Work breakdown structure templates editable online or. What is a work breakdown structure wbs example included. An outline of all the projects deliverables is called a product breakdown structure pbs. Mar 15, 2018 for example, if youre creating a work breakdown structure for manufacturing a car, youll include items such as car body a deliverable, not welding steel an activity. This is an example of a work breakdown structure wbs for.
Product breakdown structure pbs a product breakdown structure pbs is a hierarchical breakdown of the hardware and software products of the project. Cost breakdown structure cbs represents a breakdown of the costs of the various components of the work breakdown structure wbs including all works or services done by the subcontractors. Product versus work breakdown structure project manager. The product breakdown structure pbs is a hierarchical structure of things that the project will make or outcomes that it will deliver. It is a tabular or graphical representation of the tasks that make up the projects scope. Managers use wbs to break down their projects into easily manageable components. It begins with the final product at the top of the hierarchy followed by the subcategorized elements of the product. Aircraft work breakdown structure wbs levels 121 all ancillary equipments that are not an integral part of the engine required to provide an operational primary power sourceair inlets, instruments, controls, etc. Rather it provides the basis on which a task list and a schedule can be constructed. As business becomes more responsive to unique consumer tastes and derivative products grow to meet the unique configurations, bom management can become unmanageable. Product breakdown structure mindview software matchware. In project management under the prince2 methodology, a product breakdown structure pbs. Product breakdown structure, deliverables for software project.