Choosing a Simple, Intermediate, or Complex Structure
After you understand how your firm will use the work breakdown structure (WBS) and the components that make up a work breakdown structure, the next step is to choose the complexity of your WBS.
You use organization codes; phases and tasks; and project, phase, and task delimiters as components to build your work breakdown structure.
If your firm uses labor codes, you can also include labor codes in the WBS.
The more components you use, the more complex your WBS. For administrative purposes, it is best to choose the simplest structure that still meets your needs.
All transactions are recorded at the lowest level available for an individual WBS. For example, transactions are recorded at the task level for a project with three-levels of WBS (project, phase, and task).
How complex you make your work breakdown structure depends on your firm's needs. You need to evaluate what type of information you want to capture, what types of information you need to report on, and contractual obligations for billing clients. When you develop a work breakdown structure, you should look at samples of key Vision reports that were created using different numbering schemes.
Sample Simple Work Breakdown Structure
Here is an example of a simple work breakdown structure for the design of a bank building. The structural and engineering pieces are being outsourced:
Project Name: Bank Building
Project Number: 100
This WBS uses only the WBS 1 or project number, only the base project number (no delimiters), and the minimum length requirement of three characters. This type of simple structure may be acceptable for small firms or small jobs that require basic tracking or billing.
Sample Intermediate Work Breakdown Structure
Here is an example of a work breakdown structure with intermediate complexity. The structure is for the same bank building used in the sample simple work breakdown structure. However, in this example, your firm wants to track labor and expense for three separate parts of the same building: the main building, a plaza, and a parking garage. In this example, you create two levels of work breakdown structure to track at this level of detail.
Also, in this example your firm wants to track labor based on standard design phases (for example, pre-design or site analysis). To do this, labor codes are included as part of the work breakdown structure..
| Component | Name | Number |
|---|---|---|
| WBS 1 (Main Project) | Bank Building | 000100.00 |
| WBS 2 (Phase 1) | Main Building | 000 |
| WBS 2 (Phase 2) | Plaza | 001 |
| WBS 2 (Phase 3) | Parking Garage | 002 |
| Labor Codes (one-level structure) — Labor codes are firm-wide, not project specific | ||
|---|---|---|
| Labor Code 1 | Pre-design | 1 |
| Labor Code 2 | Site Analysis | 2 |
| Labor Code 3 | Schematic Design | 3 |
| Labor Code 4 | Design Development | 4 |
| Labor Code 5 | Construction Documents | 5 |
Sample Complex Work Breakdown Structure
Here is an example of a complex work breakdown structure. This structure is based on work for the same bank building used for the sample intermediate work breakdown structure.
- You break the building work into three pieces (main building, plaza, and parking garage).
- Your firm wants to track design and engineering work separately.
- Your firm wants to attribute the labor and expense to two different offices and departments of your organization.
In this example, you configure a two-level organization structure: Office and Department ( Boston: Architecture; Engineering and New York: Architecture; Engineering). You then create three levels of work breakdown structure to track detail, and associate each level with the appropriate organization.
Also, in this example your firm wants to track labor based on standard design phases (for example, pre-design or site analysis). To do this, labor codes are included as part of the work breakdown structure.
| Component | Name | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Organization Level 1 | Boston | BO |
| Organization Level 1 | New York | NY |
| Organization Level 2 | Architecture | AR |
| Organization Level 2 | Engineering | EN |
| Potential org combinations: BO.AR, BO.EN, NY.AR, NY.EN | ||
|---|---|---|
| WBS 1 (Main Project) | Bank Building | 000100.00 ( BO.AR) |
| WBS 2 (Phase 1) | Main Building | 000 ( BO.AR) |
| WBS 3 (Task 1) | Design | 01 |
| WBS 3 (Task 2) | Structural | 02 |
| WBS 2 (Phase 2) | Plaza | 001 ( BO.AR) |
| WBS 3 (Task 1) | Design | 01 |
| WBS 3 (Task 2) | Structural | 02 |
| WBS 2 (Phase 3) | Parking Garage | 002 ( BO.AR) |
| WBS 3 (Task 1) | Design | 01 |
| WBS 3 (Task 2) | Structural | 02 |
| Labor Codes (One-level structure) — Labor codes are firm-wide, not project specific | ||
|---|---|---|
| Labor Code 1 | Pre-design | 1 |
| Labor Code 2 | Site Analysis | 2 |
| Labor Code 3 | Schematic Design | 3 |
| Labor Code 4 | Design Development | 4 |
| Labor Code 5 | Construction Documents | 5 |