Developing a WBS

Clarify the project's scope, objectives, and deliverables by consulting the project charter or scope statement. Ensure a comprehensive understanding of what the project aims to achieve.

Break down the project into major components or phases, which might include stages of development, project milestones, or deliverables.

Further decompose the major components or phases into smaller, manageable tasks. These should be detailed enough to assign and manage but not so granular that they become inefficient to track.

Assign unique identifiers to each task or component in the WBS, often in the form of codes or numbers, to track progress and facilitate communication.

Review the WBS to ensure that it captures all the necessary tasks required to complete the project's deliverables, often by using the 100% rule, where the WBS includes 100% of the work defined by the project scope and captures all deliverables.

Organize the WBS into a graphical representation or a tabular structure that clearly depicts the relationship between the different components and tasks.

Consult with the project team and stakeholders to review the WBS. Update it to reflect any new insights or changes to the project's scope before it's finalized.

Once reviewed and approved, baseline the WBS which serves as the official project breakdown for the team to follow. It is now ready to guide project scheduling, cost estimation, and resource allocation.

The 100% rule in WBS states that the WBS includes 100% of the work defined by the project scope and captures all deliverables, including internal, external, and interim deliverables.

The WBS is hierarchical with the highest level representing the entire project, progressively decomposing into lower levels that are more specific and detailed.