39 WBS Template for Excel, Google Docs + Sheets

Project Management Templates / 10 minutes of reading

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) in its literal meaning is making small pieces out of a bigger pieces. Work breakdown structure template is a method of breaking down work into small easily manageable bits which can then be scheduled and assigned. This helps enhance productivity and make work easier by making the work more visual for the team.

One of the first times I used a WBS was in a website migration project which required multiple teams working together. The main problem I had was everybody was only interested in their own scope and couldn’t agree on what was needed. How I approached it was met with all stakeholders individually and documented all the tasks they required to be completed during the migration.

Then I created a WBS on a powerpoint slide with all task they highlighted, grouping them logically. Next I got all stakeholders in a room to discuss the WBS. There was a bit of back and fort what was needed vs wasn’t, who was to do what etc but having all the tasks up on the screen made it very easy for them to have these discussions. I updated as we discussed and at the end of the meeting we had an agreed WBS which was the scope of the project.

Ever since then I have been a huge fan of WBS and use them in project kickoff to help visualize the work needed and facilitate conversations with stakeholders.

Project Management WBS

If you have a big project you should consider using WBS so that it can be easily managed, scheduled and delivered. From a project management perspective the WBS is composed of levels which are:
✓ Controls Account which consist of the main project deliverables and phases that should be achieved in projects.
✓ Work Packages which are the amount of work or activities that will assist in the achievement of the level of controls account.
✓ Activities, involves work or tasks that is required to finish the project or the work package.

All these levels are found in all types of work basic structure.

Let us look at the following construction project to help you understand WBS template and how it looks like. Construction is quite a difficult project, but thanks to WBS template that difficulty would b broken down to small manageable tasks.

deliverable based wbs — What is a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) | Project Management

Work Breakdown Structure Project Management Definition

PMBOK defines the work-breakdown structure as a “hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables.”
Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK 5)

How to create WBS Template

When creating a WBS you must derive or have an objective in mind based on the task you want to accomplish. The objective can be basically anything you want completed or done.

Second, split the objective or rather the project into manageable or small pieces. Careful not to list out every step that will ensure the success of the project. At this step you should only deal with necessary deliverables but not the actions.

Third, considering the type of project you are undertaking ensure to divide the project into sections or phases or sub-objectives. which can then be scheduled and assigned.

After creating a WBS you should present it to all stakeholders to confirm it covers all expected scope of the project. After the scope is agreed you can start making a project pan by sequencing the pieces of work.

Next Step of WBS is to Schedule Work — WBS in Instagantt

Tips for Making Sample WBS Document

The work being undertaken using WBS must be 100% of all the work required to achieve the objective of the project. Any task must be related or aimed at achieving the overall objective of the project, this is commonly referred to as the 100% rule.
Always remember not to use a sub-task twice or plan to do any work twice because in so doing you would be contradicting the 100% rule and it will lead to errors and misrepresentation of figures when allocating resources to the project.
Focus on the outcomes of the project not actions, it is necessary that you just stick to deliverables and not the actions to be undertaken.
Use the 8/80 rule which states that work should not take less than 8 hours and not more than 80 hours of effort used. In other words work should not take more than 10 days if we use the 8 hours a day of work.
A WBS should have three levels of detail, subdivision of WBS branches can be subdivided more but majority consist of three levels.
It is prudent that one should make and allocate assignments to certain teams or an individual to undertake tasks so it is important to ensure responsibilities are well defined.

The risk breakdown structure example below built with Lucidchart excellently displays the levels and focuses on outcomes. It is very easy to read and understand what will be done in and is covered in the scope.

WBS Template — WBS in LucidChart

A WBS is important because it assists to:

✓ The WBS helps to better the understanding of a project as when developing a WBS the team gets to understand the project and their roles.
✓ A WBS helps to define the project scope, define project schedule, risk plan, and budget.

Limitations of WBS Templates

It needs active interface management
It leads to more work for the management as they perform functions such as organizing, planning, monitoring and review.
Problems related to demarcation can arise
It is hectic to do a step by step analysis of the project

Start with the deliverable at the very top of the structure as its title, the break it down to a number of tasks then to sub-tasks that are easily manageable.

Google Docs Free WBS Templates

Office Project WBS Template — Google Doc WBS Template 01/43 – Office Project Work Breakdown Structure Example

Google Doc WBS Template 02 Company Project WBS Levels — Google Doc WBS Template 02/43 – Company Project WBS Levels Example

Google Doc WBS Template 03 Organisation Project Work Breakdown Structure — Google Doc WBS Template 03/43 – Organisation Project Work Breakdown Structure Example

Google Doc WBS Template 04 Project Deliverables Work Breakdown Structure — Google Doc WBS Template 04/43 – Project Deliverables Work Breakdown Structure Example

Google Doc WBS Template 05 Project Management WBS Outline and Diagram — Google Doc WBS Template 05/43 – Project Management WBS Outline and Diagram Example

Google Doc WBS Template 06 Blank Project Work Breakdown Structure — Google Doc WBS Template 06/43 – Blank Project Work Breakdown Structure

Google Doc WBS Template 07 Blank WBS for a Client Project Template — Google Doc WBS Template 07/43 – Blank WBS for a Client Project Template

Google Doc WBS Template 08 Project Work Breakdown Structure Tree — Google Doc WBS Template 08/43 – Project Work Breakdown Structure Tree Example

Google Doc WBS Template 09 One Page Work Breakdown Structure Dictionary — Google Doc WBS Template 09/43 – One Page Work Breakdown Structure Dictionary Example

Google Doc WBS Template 10 Contractual Project WBS Dictionary — Google Doc WBS Template 10/43 – Contractual Project WBS Dictionary Example

Google Doc WBS Template 11 Project Management WBS Table — Google Doc WBS Template 11/43 – Project Management WBS Table Example

Google Doc WBS Template 12 Simple Project Work Breakdown Structure — Google Doc WBS Template 12/43 – Simple Project Work Breakdown Structure Example

Google Doc WBS Template 13 Management System WBS Tree View — Google Doc WBS Template 13/43 – Management System WBS Tree View Example

Google Doc WBS Template 14 Blank Project Tasks Work Breakdown Structure — Google Doc WBS Template 14/43 – Blank Project Tasks Work Breakdown Structure

Google Doc WBS Template 15 Project Planning Work Breakdown Structure Table — Google Doc WBS Template 15/43 – Project Planning Work Breakdown Structure Table Example

Google Doc WBS Template 16 Blank WBS Diagram and Dictionary — Google Doc WBS Template 16/43 – Blank WBS Diagram and Dictionary Example

Google Doc WBS Template 17 Project Work Breakdown Structure Chart — Google Doc WBS Template 17/43 – Project Work Breakdown Structure Chart Example

Google Doc WBS Template 18 Project Management Docs WBS — Google Doc WBS Template 18/43 – Project Management Docs WBS Example

Google Sheets WBS Templates

When accessing a google doc to edit you need to go: File / Make a Copy. This will only be available of you are logged into Google.

Google Sheet WBS Template Project Managers Blank WBS Example — Google Sheet WBS Template 19/43 – Project Managers Blank WBS Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 20 Project Managers Blank WBS with WBS Tree Example — Google Sheet WBS Template 20/43 – Project Managers Blank WBS with WBS Tree Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 21 Company Project WBS Diagram Example — Google Sheet WBS Template 21/43 – Company Project WBS Diagram Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 22 Blank Project Manager WBS Dictionary — Google Sheet WBS Template 22/43 – Blank Project Manager WBS Dictionary

Google Sheet WBS Template 23 Company Project WBS Outline and Diagram — Google Sheet WBS Template 23/43 – Company Project WBS Outline and Diagram Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 24 Company Project WBS with Blank Gantt Chart Example — Google Sheet WBS Template 24/43 – Company Project WBS with Blank Gantt Chart Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 25 IT Project Work Breakdown Structure — Google Sheet WBS Template 25/43 – IT Project Work Breakdown Structure Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 26 Project Work Breakdown Structure Example — Google Sheet WBS Template 26/43 – Project Work Breakdown Structure Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 27 Company Project Blank WBS Dictionary — Google Sheet WBS Template 27/43 – Company Project Blank WBS Dictionary

Google Sheet WBS Template 28 Project Work Breakdown Structure — Google Sheet WBS Template 28/43 – Project Work Breakdown Structure Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 29 Simple Project WBS Diagram and Outline — Google Sheet WBS Template 29/43 – Simple Project WBS Diagram and Outline Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 30 Project Management WBS Table — Google Sheet WBS Template 30/43 – Project Management WBS Table Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 31 Project WBS Outline and Diagram Example — Google Sheet WBS Template 31/43 – Project WBS Outline and Diagram Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 32 Project Manager WBS Example and Blank Diagram — Google Sheet WBS Template 32/43 – Project Manager WBS Example and Blank Diagram

Google Sheet WBS Template 33 Client Project WBS Table — Google Sheet WBS Template 33/43 – Client Project WBS Table Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 34 Project WBS Table Detailed — Google Sheet WBS Template 34/43 – Project WBS Table Detailed Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 35 Project WBS Task Level Table — Google Sheet WBS Template 35/43 – Project WBS Task Level Table Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 36 Project WBS Level Diagram — Google Sheet WBS Template 36/43 – Project WBS Level Diagram Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 37 Product WBS Table — Google Sheet WBS Template 37/43 – Product WBS Table Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 38 Multiple Project WBS Table — Google Sheet WBS Template 38/43 – Multiple Project WBS Table Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 39 Basic WBS Table with Duration Example — Google Sheet WBS Template 39/43 – Basic WBS Table with Duration Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 40 Large Project WBS Table — Google Sheet WBS Template 40/43 – Large Project WBS Table

Google Sheet WBS Template 41 Business WBS Table Example — Google Sheet WBS Template 41/43 – Business WBS Table Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 42 Project WBS with Budget Allocation Example — Google Sheet WBS Template 42/43 – Project WBS with Budget Allocation Example

Google Sheet WBS Template 43 Project Tasks WBS Blank Table — Google Sheet WBS Template 43/43 – Project Tasks WBS Blank Table

Free Work Breakdown Structure / WBS Templates Excel

Free Work Breakdown Structure / WBS Templates Word

TemplateLab 30+ Work Breakdown Structure Templates
Smartsheet Work Breakdown Structure Tree Diagram Template
Smartsheet Work Breakdown Structure Levels Template
Work Breakdown Structure Template – A.cdc.gov

Free Work Breakdown Structure / WBS Templates PDF

22 Work Breakdown Structure Templates

Free Online Work Breakdown Structure Template

Creative Work Breakdown Charts

Any person in charge of the project in one way or another knows what is required of them to complete a project, the timeline and the cost of the project. They might then to graphically creatively demonstrate this to the stakeholders. There are some ready made Work Breakdown Structure Templates in Canva you can use straight away.

Light Pink Work Breakdown Structure

Teal Work Breakdown Structure Chart — Light Pink Work Breakdown Structure

Work Breakdown Template Q&A

Difference between WBS and Product Breakdown Structure (PBS)

The difference between work breakdown structure and product breakdown structure is what both of them focus on. PBS concentrates on the product’s physical elements while WBS involves all data, information and what should be done to complete a project.

Does every project need a WBS?

WBS is necessary for any project that you want to undertake so yes every project needs a WBS. WBS has different approaches such as some are written, others not even written and some not well done.

Who creates a WBS?

The project coordinator or project manager should be responsible for creating the WBS. Before creating a work breakdown structure template they should consult with a collection of stakeholders, especially people knowledgeable or experts in the project you are undertaking. This is part of the things that can never be done alone because of the simple fact that it is difficult to understand or know everything that goes on in a project. It is prudent that you create a team to assist you develop a work breakdown structure.

Is there a WBS in agile?

Yes there is a WBS in agile, despite the fact that WBS is known for predictive lifecycles it can be used for agile approaches. It can start with a collection of user stories and when scheduling you can look at story mapping.

Further Questions on What is a Work Breakdown Structure

If you like the below video it is worth checking out the ProjectManagers work breakdown structure guide that provides extra details you might need to complete the WBS and get your project kicked off.