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The work breakdown structure is supposed to be a fundamental tool for identifying project work to be budgeted, scheduled and staffed. But misunderstandings abound and it often fails to provide useful benefits. No wonder so many project managers swear at it, not by it. Here are six steps to creating a better WBS (no B.S.).
The first time I taught a class in project management was well before the days of PowerPoint and LCD projectors. In fact, my initial set of overhead slides was created by hand since color printers were more expensive than manual labor. As a result, I tried to keep the amount of text down to an absolute minimum. So on the slide that introduced the concept of a work breakdown structure, I used the acronym “WBS” without ever spelling the term out in full.
I was well aware of the potential for confusion, and I am pretty sure that I explained what the acronym stood for. But either I hadn’t, or I hadn’t done it very well, because not long after I began to discuss the WBS, a student at the back of the room raised a hand and asked, “I understand what the last two letters stand for, but what does the first one mean?” While I was still trying to digest that question, another student towards the front of the room called out “wholesale!”
Unfortunately, this perception is all too common.
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