What Are The 4 WBS Levels and The Relationship Between Them?
It’s no secret that when jobs are broken down into smaller pieces, tasks are easier to manage. If you are in the project management field, segmenting tasks into bite-sized pieces is a great way to distribute projects to your team and be as effective as possible.
The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) of project management sets the tone for any new project and is often covered in certification courses. This structure offers a variety of benefits that will help to alleviate the project teams’ work during every stage of the project life cycle. It helps to support the management, estimation, and coordination of the project process and is achieved by splitting work into more bite-sized parts.
The Work Breakdown Structure is aligned in a hierarchical format to best support the entire project process. In this blog, we will explore how WBS levels — or WBS layers, as they’re sometimes called — correspond to different terms in this field of organization.
What are the 4 WBS Levels?
The first Work Breakdown Structure level is called the Project Title. This occurs at the end of a project life cycle.
Next comes the Control Accounts level. This stage accounts for all major systems, phases, and deliverables associated with a project.
The third WBS layer is called the Work Packages stage, which works to monitor control accounts.
Work packages in a Work Breakdown Structure need to be small enough to monitor and manage, as this is the main focus of WBS in the first place! Work packages are a very small part of a WBS that is given to the client. These must be well-presented and explained to all project stakeholders. In order to do so, the WBS dictionary is used, and work packages are only referred to in nouns and names of the final deliverable.
The last of the WBS layers is the Activities stage. The activities refer to tasks that must be delegated in order for the project team to complete the work package.
The Importance of WBS
Outlining the WBS process is a crucial step in Scope Management. Work Breakdown Structure can be explained best as a snapshot of final project objectives which are going to be completed during the process. It outlines the importance of small and large projects along each step of the process. Completing projects as a whole can be overwhelming and difficult, even for advanced project teams. So, breaking down the tasks can help the management of the project go smoothly so that the project team can work together well and create satisfaction for the client.
We hope this article has helped you outline the 4 WBS levels and how this system can help you be a more effective project manager. Best of luck as you organize your next project!
Have you led projects and are looking to earn a project management certification? You might be interested in learning about how lucrative this can be. Check out these articles.
13 PMP Benefits Once You Get The PMP Certification
No experience leading projects but still want to get into project management? No problem! Check out these articles.
CAPM Certification Eligibility
What is a Certified Project Manager; How do I get PM Certifications