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Acronymsaka: Work Breakdown Structure

WBS (Work Breakdown Structure)

In Plain English

A hierarchical chart that breaks a construction project down into all its individual tasks and work packages.

Definition

A Work Breakdown Structure is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of a construction project into smaller, more manageable components of work, organized in a tree structure. The WBS defines and organizes work packages that form the basis for scheduling, cost estimating, and resource allocation. Each WBS element represents a deliverable or work product, and the sum of all WBS elements represents 100% of the project scope.

Example

The project manager creates a five-level WBS that breaks the school project into buildings, systems, areas, phases, and individual work packages for estimating and scheduling purposes.

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