Work Breakdown Structure

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Table of content
1 What is WBS
2 Tools to Create a Work Breakdown
Structure
I MindMeister
II XMind
III FreeMind
IV MS Visio
3 Formula One Car WBS
4 Conclusion
5 References
Introduction
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In this assignment I give some explanation about

WBS (work breakdown structure). Work breakdown
structure is now commonly used before starting
any project to measure project cost, time and risk.
Different software/tools are used to design work
breakdown structure. I also define some of the
tools which are used to design work breakdown
structure and I also give an example of work
breakdown structure of formula one car.
I suggest everyone who is going to start and small
or big project must design work breakdown
structure by using any tool such as MindMiester
because by this you can plan and manage your
work easily.
What is a WBS?
The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is defined by A Guide to the
Project Management Body of Knowledge 3rd Edition (PMBOK
Guide) as:
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"A deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the

work to be executed by the project team to accomplish
the project objectives and create the required
deliverables."
First developed by the US Defense Department in the second half
of the 1950s and by NASA in the early 1960s, a WBS is a
document used by project managers to define the scope of a
project. It describes the end goal, not the means of reaching that
goal. For example, if the project is to build a house, the WBS
defines all the aspects of the finished house, in increasing levels
of detail. It does not specify how the elements of the house are to
be constructed, except where the method of construction is an
important part of the finished house.
A work breakdown structure is not a list of tasks, a schedule or an
organization chart. Rather it provides the basis on which a task
list and a schedule can be constructed. Tasks and schedules are
better handled in other ways, for example by using Gantt charts.
A work breakdown structure can show you at a glance:
What the various elements of the project are
How the necessary work is distributed between the elements
of the project
How the cost or budget is distributed between the elements
of the project
How the larger elements of the project are subdivided into
smaller ones
Tools to Create a Work Breakdown Structure
Project Managers have been increasingly using mind mapping
software to help manage projects. One area in particular is the
creation of a work breakdown structure (WBS). Mind mappers are
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great for brainstorming and can aid your team in understanding

the information by providing a visual representation.
MindMeister
MindMeister is a simple web-based mind mapping tool that has
both a free and a paid account type. The free account lets you
create up to three mind maps and has fewer features than the
paid version, but the free version still contains what we need. The
fact that it is web-based is convenient when you use multiple
machines like I do, but is also a major drawback due to the
frequent issues I experienced communicating with its server.
Creating a map here was very quick and keyboard shortcuts allow
you to move through the map with ease. There are also easy tools
for formatting nodes, adding icons, pictures, links and notes.
Additionally, you can share your maps with other people allowing
for a greater level of collaboration with remote teams. Thirdly, you
can also add task information to nodes including assigned to,
duration, and due date fields.
MindMeister is considered the best online mind mapping app
currently on the market. With its award-winning online version
and its free mobile apps for iPhone, iPad and Android, users are
able to mind map at school, at home, at the office and even on
the go. Mind mapping with MindMeister is so simple and intuitive
that anyone from first grader to CEO can use it to improve their
productivity and turn their creative ideas into action. MindMeister
offers a number of powerful features that let users collaborate
and brainstorm online, plan projects, develop business strategies,
create great presentations and utilize the enormous power of
mind maps for their education. MindMeisters features include:
1. Collaboration: Share your mind maps and brainstorm with
others in real-time
2. Multi-media: Add images, links, notes, files or videos to
your mind map
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3. Publishing: Make your mind maps public and embed them

in a website or blog
4. Presentation mode: Turn mind maps into stunning
presentations
5. Task Management: Assign tasks to your collaborators and
follow their progress in your activity stream. Now even better
with MeisterTask, our brand new online task management
solution.
6. Export maps: Turn your mind maps into Word documents,
PNGs , PDFs or convert them into other mind map formats
One feature that people really liked was the History View which
allows them to replay all edits to the map and revert to any
previous version. This can also be useful if a team member misses
the meeting in which you created the map; they can relive the
experience!
You can export to PDF, PNG, or RTF; I exported to RTF then opened
the file with MS Word. While this gave me a good outline in Word,
it did mean some reformatting to move it into MS Excel or MS
Project.
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XMind
Xmind is another free tool with a very slick, easy-to-use interface

that is simple, elegant and packed with features. This one is not
web-based, but it is cross-platform compatible so no need to
worry about what operating system you are on. It features great
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keyboard shortcuts and formatting options for your nodes so it is

very quick and can be used live in a brainstorming session.
For the purposes of making a WBS I was able to quickly add a
numbering scheme and export to a simple text file that I could
use to build my WBS dictionary. The real good stuff like the Gant
chart view and the more advanced export features were not
available in the free version.
FreeMind
Probably the most popular of the free tools is FreeMind, and it is

no wonder given the set of tools that are available. Customizable
keyboard shortcuts let you create maps with ease using the keys
that you want (I switched to using Tab for child nodes instead of
the default Insert key). FreeMind also offers a selection of
options for icons, flagging, and color coding your nodes, as well.
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For the purposes of WBS a key feature is custom attributes. You

can create an attribute like cost or hours and assign a value to
each of your nodes. You would need some custom scripts to do
any manipulation of these attributes, but having this feature in a
free tool is a big plus. However, like with most of the free tools,
you are limited on export options to just the basics like text,
image, or HTML. I was able to make a basic outline for a WBS
dictionary by exporting to an .ODT file and then opening in MS
Word. There are a ton of great features if you are willing to take
the time to learn them.
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FreeMind also has great support for its user community, including
detailed instructions for its more advanced features.
MS Visio
I know what you what you are probably thinking: Visio is neither
free, nor a mind mapper. While it is not free, most of us already
have it installed on our machine so it doesnt cost us anything
additional. And while it is not a traditional mind mapper, it can be
used like one by using two different templates: the WBS modeler
and the Brainstorming Diagram template.
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FormulaOne Car WBS:
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Conclusion
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From the above discussion we can conclude that

the WBS is an extremely valuable tool to the
project management methodology. It can make or
break a project. It sets the foundation for the rest
of the project planning. A solid WBS helps ensure
proper project baselines, estimating, resource use,
scheduling, risk analysis, and procurement and I
also found that MindMeister was the easiest to use,
FreeMind had the most features, and Visio has the
best export options.
References
1.https://www.captechconsulting.com/blogs/5free-mind-mapping-tools-to-create-a-workbreakdown-structure
2.http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/workbreakdown-structure-purpose-processpitfalls.php
3.https://prezi.com/alklmxft8rpu/wbs-4760project-presentation/

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What is a work breakdown structure (WBS) and what is its purpose?

What tools can be used to create a WBS?

Page | 1

In this assignment I give some explanation about

"A deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the

great for brainstorming and can aid your team in understanding

3. Publishing: Make your mind maps public and embed them

Xmind is another free tool with a very slick, easy-to-use interface

keyboard shortcuts and formatting options for your nodes so it is

Probably the most popular of the free tools is FreeMind, and it is

For the purposes of WBS a key feature is custom attributes. You

FormulaOne Car WBS:

From the above discussion we can conclude that

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