Creating the work breakdown structure by kim colenso, managing principal, artemis management systems the work breakdown structure wbs is the foundation for project planning and control. The organizational breakdown structure obs is a global hierarchy that represents the managers responsible for the projects in your enterprise. Organizational structure types bureaucratic structures. Organizational structure is a system that consists of explicit and implicit institutional rules and policies designed to outline how various work roles and responsibilities are delegated. An organizational breakdown structure is an intermediate level of a different chart that many of you are already familiar with. This paper describes how the organisation tackled programme organisation and management, resolving the complexity of a very largescale project to keep the project on time and within the agreed funding envelope. Crossrail programme organisation and management for. Organizational breakdown structure obs template click the pdf icon below download this template. The term is also used for similar diagrams, for example ones showing the different elements of a field of knowledge or a group of languages. At the conclusion of this lesson you will be able to recognize the relationship between the work breakdown structure wbs, organization breakdown structure obs and responsibility assignment matrix ram. Although the organization follows a particular structure, there can be departments and teams following some other organizational structure in exceptional cases. Researchers have argued that if organizational theory is to be relevant to practitioners, emphasis should be placed on organizational effectiveness and its influencing factors 3640.
A work breakdown structure is a key project deliverable that organizes the teams work into manageable sections. Through the iterations of the project obs the organization will develop the most efficient project structure that takes into account the availability plus the. The work breakdown structure is the tool used to divide the project work content among individuals and organizations so that ef ciency and effectiveness will be achieved while ensuring the integration of work efforts to produce the projectrequired deliverables. The project management term organizational breakdown structure also referred to by the 3 letter acronym obs refers specifically to a tool that can be utilized by the project management team and or project management team leader in a hierarchal manner for the purposes of conducting and creating a thorough and clearly delineated depiction of the project organization for the purposes of. Define the scope of work, method statement, and sequence of work. When you complete the entire projectplanning process with regard to tasks and responsibilities, the obs. For example, a small emerging ngo may not have a complex, multilevel structure with several specific units. It is similar to the outline view but with information presented in a table without indentation. The wbs breaks down to cams gui which breaks down to prime msn product which. Defining and solving the organizational structure problems. Organizational breakdown structure and responsibility. A functional structure divides the organization into departments based on their function.
Probably the most common structure used at the moment is hierarchical org charts. However, it is changing fast as organizations adapt to the changing times. The obs usuall slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. Each is headed by a functional manager and employees are grouped as per their role. The project organization structure a project organization is a structure that facilitates the coordination and implementation of project activities. It presents all of the work that will be carried out by the project team during the life of the project, including the project management work.
The matrix structure groups employees by both function and product. The organisational breakdown structure obs defines the organisational. It is often described as a resultoriented tree that covers all project procedures in an organized way. A work breakdown structure element may be a product, data, a service, or any combination. The project management body of knowledge defines the work breakdown structure as a deliverable oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team. The objective of the scheduling specialist training course is to increase the organisations schedulers and project managers scheduling. Functional managers have experience in the roles they supervise.
The cbs is a breakdown of the costs of the various components of the structure including all works or services done by the subcontractorsyou can edit this template and create your own diagram. This structure follows the traditional hierarchy model that is used to provide all those involved in the. Creately diagrams can be exported and added to word, ppt powerpoint, excel, visio or any other document. Pdf impact of various workbreakdown structures on project. Obs also known as organizational breakdown structure is used to define the responsibilities for project management, cost reporting, billing, budgeting and. Organizational breakdown structure, or sometimes known as organization chart, is a widely used project management tool for representing project organization. More than 7000 people from more than 150 countries work for the organization in 150 who offices in countries, territories and areas, six regional offices, at the global service centre in malaysia and at the headquarters in geneva, switzerland.
T he work breakdown structure wbs is a hierarchical breakdown of the complete project scope. The importance of the wbs experienced project managers know there are many things that can go wrong in projects. An organizational chart, also called organigram or organogram, is a diagram that shows the structure of an organization and the relationships and relative ranks of its parts and positionsjobs. You might want to look at different organizational chart types if youre considering a change. This ensures that employees are using their skills effectively. Organisation breakdown structure obs the organisational breakdown structure obs defines the organisational relationships and hierarchy within the project team and is used as the framework for assigning work responsibilities it is the same as. Organizations involved in ongoing operations and multiple projects simultaneously develop hybrid structures that mix the functional organizational structure with. Who or which unit is responsible for producing a work package.
A work breakdown structure, commonly abbreviated wbs, is a key project deliverable that is utilized to organize a project teams work and responsibilities into compact sections that are more manageable. Depending on the organizational values and the nature of the business, organizations tend to adopt one of the following structures for management purposes. The following discussion will examine the current trends and practice regarding work breakdown structures. Organizational breakdown structure free download as pdf file. As a hierarchical decomposition of the project work, each descending level of the wbs is increasingly detailed.
Organization breakdown structure obs see next page, shows a representative obs. This view is extremely useful when your breakdown structure has many nested levels, which would make an outline view hard to presents elements neatly. Project management relies on a formal structure that reflects the approach being adopted for managing the different facets of the project. Like its originator, the obs allows complex projects to be broken down. The following figure shows an example of a rmf model. Work breakdown structure rev e, june 2003 work breakdown structure a project work breakdown structure wbs is a deliverable or product oriented grouping of project work elements shown in graph ical display to organize and subdivide the total work scope of a project. It is not task oriented hierarchy, yet works closely with work breakdown structure wbs. The wbs is designed to help break down a project into manageable chunks that can be effectively estimated and supervised. Obs represents hierarchical breakdown structure of management. Apm web briefing use of product breakdown structures and. What is an organizational breakdown structure in project.
Organization breakdown structure obs professional services. Therefore, it is recommended to hold a project kickoff meeting project launch meeting to create these deliverables in a controlled environment. The obs breaks down to engineering which breaks down to design which breaks down to interface design. Applying the work breakdown structure to the project. Hierarchical organization chart template for a project. Generate the work breakdown structure wbs to produce a complete list of activities. This structure can combine the best of both separate structures. A matrix organization frequently uses teams of employees to accomplish work, in order to take advantage of the strengths, as well as make up for the weaknesses, of functional and decentralized forms09. Organisation breakdown structure obs the organisational breakdown structure defines the organisational relationships and is used as the framework for assigning work responsibilities. The organizational breakdown structure is an intermediate step in this process. The work breakdown structure visually defines the scope into manageable chunks that a project team can.
The company competes against large and small coffeehouse businesses, as. Besides risk breakdown structure, you may consider using the cause and effect diagram as well also known as fishbone diagram. Organizational elements do intersect the wbs, see figure 3, but are not the wbs. At each stage, an organizations structural requirements may be different. Developing a project plan without incorporating how an organization doing things i. It decomposes a main project product into its constituent parts in the form of a hierarchical structure. Company owners and project managers use the work breakdown structure wbs to make complex projects more manageable. Introduction in matching structure with strategy, david 2011 state that a change in strategy usually needs a change in the manner an organization is structured. Understanding breakdown structures in project management. Pdf integrating process and work breakdown structure with. The organizational breakdown structure obs is a project organization framework for identification of responsibility, accountability, management, and approvals of all authorized work scope. Introduction the crossrail project to deliver londons new elizabeth line as outlined in figure 1 is nearing completion.
It helps identify the employees who will be responsible for project work. Starbucks coffee company supports its competitive advantages through the characteristics of its corporate structure. A work breakdown structure wbs proposes a graphical nature that helps project managers predict results based on various scenarios. A work breakdown structure in every project management and system engineering is an effective tool that is used for defining and group the discrete elements of work in any project so that it can help the organization, build it in some way and boost the work scope of the whole project. Sample translation from function to project deliverables. Who or which unit is accountable for a work package. Organizational chart templates editable online and free. Assignment matrix ram shows the intersection of the organizational breakdown structure obs and the work breakdown structure wbs. Organization breakdown structure obs a hierarchical. A work breakdown structure in project management and systems engineering, is a deliverable oriented decomposition of a project into smaller components.
Within its structure a reader will be able to discern. All projects using the lbnl earned value management system evms will include an obs in the project execution plan pep. The intersection of the obs and wbs defines points of management accountability for the work called control or cost accounts. Work breakdown structure relativistic heavy ion collider. The obs displays organizational relationships and then uses them for assigning work to resources in a project. A hierarchical organization chart template that shows the reporting structure of a project. The obs describes the organizational structure and how the organizations relate to each other. The development of the work breakdown structure, responsibility matrix, and the master summary schedule requires intense effort by the project manager and the project team. Although conventional hierarchical paradigms, such as the line and staff model, are used widely, in many instances it is giving way to changes in organizational structures that. The hierarchical structure presents breakdown structure elements in a tabular form.
Organizational breakdown structure obs, is a model used by organizations that helps to identify which employees or departments are responsible for completing specific tasks related to a project. How to improve productivity with a work breakdown structure. Nasa work breakdown structure wbs handbook page viii preface p. Breakdown structures revisited mosaic project services pty ltd. It is the connecting point for work and cost estimates, schedule information, actual work effortcost expenditures, and accountability. Its main reason is to create an environment that fosters interactions among the team members with a minimum amount of disruptions, overlaps and conflict. This divisional structure would happen in a company offering many products, under which each product type is a division. A mismatch between the project wbs, the organizational structure, and the management style of the project manager has a negative impact on. Develop the organization breakdown structure obs and link it with work. A product breakdown structure pbs is a hierarchical structure of things that the project will make or outcomes that it will deliver. Organizational structures of maintenance and operations. It is composed of module types and relationships between them.
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