June 2010 Project Management Journal DOI: 10.

1002/pmj 101
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he work breakdown structure (WBS) is
arguably one of the most important
tools in a project managers arsenal, as it
provides the basis for processes such as
schedule development, budgeting and cost
control, resource allocations, earned value ana-
lysis, project communications, risk analysis, and
many other aspects of project management.
In Work Breakdown Structures: The Foun-
dation for Project Management Excellence,
authors Eric S. Norman, Shelly A. Brotherton,
and Robert T. Fried have taken a parallel path
of walking through the changing roles or
transitions of the WBS throughout the project
lifecycle, and concurrently using the building
of a house to serve as the illustration of the
WBS principles and concepts. The book is
written in three main parts. Two fully elabo-
rated decompositions are also provided to
help serve as references.
Part 1 provides the reader with a founda-
tional background of the key concepts of a WBS. The authors stress
the concept of a deliverables-based versus activity-based approach
when developing a WBS. The rationale is that the deliverables-based
approach helps to ensure that 100% of the products (project results)
to be delivered are accounted for, and that the execution of the proj-
ect is focused on the project results as opposed to process, tasks, and
activities. Another reason for this approach is that the deliverables-
based WBS provides an unambiguous statement of the objectives
and deliverables of the work to be performed. This provides a clear
and concise documentation around what is to be delivered when
(once the schedule is developed), and also provides a mechanism to
validate the delivered results against the stated scope.
There are several important core WBS characteristics, or mini-
mum attributes, that the authors bring to light throughout the
booknotably, that the WBS represents the full scope of the proj-
ect, that it is hierarchically oriented, and that at each WBS level,
100% of the work is represented by the parent. As these and other
core attributes are considered to be binary, the presence or absence
of any of them defines the quality, or lack of quality, of the WBS.
Part 2 takes the reader through the entire project lifecycle,
showing how the WBS transitions from being a planning tool during
initiation and planning to a performance-
based management control tool during execu-
tion, monitoring and controlling, and closing.
The authors introduce an increasingly
detailed scope definition and elaboration
graphic that illustrates the nine levels of effort
and documentation that move the scope
from initiation through closing. Each of these
effort and documentation levels is assigned to
one of the five Project Management Process
Groups. Each clearly shows the progressive
documentation and refinement of the project
scope, and hence deliverables, throughout
the lifecycle. The methodical approach to
detailing the scope as presented in this sec-
tion serves as an excellent reminder that
planning is an ongoing, very organic exer-
cise, and not a static up-front document.
Part 3 focuses on various organizational
views for a WBS, including process-based
(which is aligned to the PMBOK

Guide
Process Groups) and also a Knowledge Areabased WBS (aligned
to the PMBOK

Guide Knowledge Areas). Although these for-

mats relate to the PMI standard, the authors point out that your
choice of WBS format is dependent upon the project type and
your communication and management requirements.
One very useful aspect of the book is the review questions at
the end of each chapter. These questions serve to reinforce key
concepts in each chapter. The answers and reference to the sec-
tion in the book where the answers are found are provided in the
Appendix. Also provided are an example Project Charter and
Project Scope Statement, as well as three views of a WBS.
This is one of those books that serves as a solid reference for
practical understanding and application of the work breakdown
structure concept. The core concepts, along with the discussions
around the preference to use a deliverables-based structure ver-
sus an activity-based structure, will encourage a reevaluation of
many WBS development practices. The book provides the novice
project manager with a solid foundation in the roles and uses of
a WBS, while still being detailed enough to be a good refresher
for the more seasoned project manager. It is definitely a book for
ones project management library.
Reviewed by Greg Indelicato, PMP, Director, Delivery Management,
ATX Group, Irving, TX, USA.
Work Breakdown Structures: The Foundation
for Project Management Excellence
by Eric S. Norman, Shelly A. Brotherton, and Robert T. Fried
John Wiley & Sons/Project Management
Institute, 2008, ISBN: 9780470177129,
hardcover, 304 pp., $60.00 Member,
$75.00 Nonmember.
Project Management Journal,Vol. 41, No. 3, 101
2010 by the Project Management Institute
Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com)
DOI: 10.1002/pmj.20190