WBS template: work breakdown structure with an example.

What a WBS is

A WBS is a Work Breakdown Structure (EAP in Portuguese). It's the division of a project into smaller and smaller parts, organized in levels: first the big deliverables, then the work packages within each one. The idea is to arrive at pieces that one person can take on, estimate and say when they're done.

The WBS describes what needs to exist, not when or in what order. That's why it comes before the schedule. The example shows a corporate event for 300 people divided into five deliverables and fourteen numbered rows.

How to read and fill in the table

Step by step to build yours

1. Write the final result at level 1. One sentence: "corporate event held."
2. Divide into main deliverables. Three to eight is a good number. If it goes past ten, there's probably a mix of levels.
3. Divide each deliverable into work packages. Use the rule: a package has one assignee, one estimate and one done criterion.
4. Check the 100% rule. Adding up all the children of an item, do you have the whole item? Nothing is left out, and nothing appears twice.
5. Assign an owner to each item and write the done criterion before starting the work.
6. Only then build the schedule, with dates and dependencies, from the packages.

Common mistakes

• Dividing by time instead of by deliverable. "First month, second month" is not a WBS; it's a schedule in disguise. A WBS divides by product or component.
• Forgetting management and closing work. Accounting, satisfaction surveys and reports are also deliverables, and they consume hours.
• Packages nobody can estimate. Does "communications" have a one-day scope or a three-month scope? Divide until you can estimate.
• Two owners per item. When everyone is accountable, nobody is. If more people are involved, use a RACI matrix.

When the template isn't enough

A WBS is a scope map. It has no dates, doesn't show dependencies and doesn't say who works on what each week. For that, the next step is the project schedule, where each work package becomes a task with a start, an end and a dependency. If the project is still a loose idea, the project management guide shows where the WBS fits in the cycle, between scope and plan.

For a short action plan, without hierarchy, a 5W2H is usually quicker than a full WBS.

How to use the WBS in Tasskee

1. Create a project named after level 1 (in the example, the event).
2. Turn each level 2 deliverable into a workstream, which groups the tasks within the project, or into a task with subtasks.
3. Add each level 3 package as a task or subtask. Put the WBS code at the start of the title (1.1.1 Venue contract) to keep the numbering visible.
4. Copy the done criterion into the task's description or checklist, and set the assignee and the due date.
5. Link the packages by dependency and see the result in the Gantt schedule, with milestones and the critical path.
6. Follow progress on the Kanban board and use automations to notify whoever has a stalled package.

Want the planning concepts in one place? Read the project management guide.