Project Management Institute Practice Standard for Work
Breakdown Structures
Project Management Institute
Newtown Square, Pennsylvania USA
Preface
This Project Management Institute Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures
provides guidance in the initial generation, subsequent development, and
application of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). The target audience for this
standard includes project managers, project team members, contract personnel,
and others who participate or have an interest in any aspect of the management
of projects. In using this Practice Standard, it must be recognized that as projects
vary, so may the resulting WBSs. There are, however, certain universal principles
that this Practice Standard addresses.
The Project Management Institute Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures
is consistent with the current release of A Guide to the Project Management
Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – 2000 Edition. The Practice Standard also
includes information derived from accepted project management industry
sources. The Project Management Institute Standards Program will periodically
update the Project Management Institute Practice Standard for Work Breakdown
Structures as part of the planned evolution of the standards documents. Your
comments are both requested and welcome.
CONCEPT
Successful project management uses planning techniques to define the project
objectives in sufficient detail to support effective management of the project. The
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) provides the foundation for defining work as
it relates to project objectives and establishes the structure for managing the
work to its completion.
The WBS is used in projects to define:
■ The project’s work in terms of deliverables and further decomposition of these
deliverables into components. Depending on the decomposition method
used, it may also define the project’s life-cycle process in terms of process
deliverables appropriate to that project and organization.