Project Management

Work Breakdown StructureWBS

A hierarchical decomposition of a project into progressively smaller, manageable deliverables and work packages.

A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) decomposes the total scope of a project into a hierarchy of deliverables and, at the lowest level, work packages that can be estimated, assigned, and tracked. It defines 100% of the scope — nothing more, nothing less.

The WBS is the foundation for nearly everything downstream: scheduling (CPM, Gantt), budgeting, and earned value measurement all build on its work packages.

Go Deeper
Work Breakdown Structure guide→Earned Value Management guide→
Related Terms
Critical Path Method
A scheduling technique that finds the longest sequence of dependent tasks, which determines the shortest possible project duration.
Gantt Chart
A horizontal bar chart that shows project tasks against a timeline, with their durations, dependencies, and progress.
Earned Value Management
A project-control technique that integrates scope, schedule, and cost to measure performance and forecast outcomes.
PERT
A scheduling method that uses optimistic, likely, and pessimistic estimates to model task duration uncertainty.
Resource Leveling
Adjusting a project schedule to smooth resource demand and resolve over-allocations.

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