Break the work down to deliverables you can actually estimate, with numbering and rolled-up effort.
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| WBS | Deliverable | Owner | Effort (hrs) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Parent rows carry no effort of their own, so the total is not double counted. If a leaf cannot be estimated, it is not broken down far enough.
Until a leaf is small enough to estimate with confidence and assign to one owner. A common rule of thumb is no leaf longer than about two weeks of work, because beyond that the estimate is a guess wearing a number.
Deliverables. A WBS describes what will exist when the work is done, which is stable, rather than the activities to get there, which change. Tasks belong in the schedule underneath it.
The numbering is what lets a cost, a risk and a change request all point at the same piece of scope later. Without it, three systems describe the same work in three different words.
This is a snapshot. In Wisegrid the same thing stays current as the work changes, and the rollups read off it automatically. Start your 7-day free trial, no credit card required.