How to Create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) For a Mobile App

Henn Akimov

Marketer, Startup Advisor

Liubomyr Miller

Delivery Director

A work breakdown structure (WBS) for a mobile app is a visual, hierarchical, and deliverable-oriented deconstruction of a project. A WBS can combine scope, cost, and deliverables into one tool by segmenting the project into smaller parts. Continue reading to discover more benefits a WBS might offer your company. You’ll learn how to create a work breakdown structure, what to include, and examples of how to use it in real projects.

What is a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) For a Mobile App?

Work can be made more manageable and approachable by using a common productivity strategy called task breaking. The work breakdown structure (WBS) for a mobile app, one of the most significant project management documents, is the tool that applies this technique to projects. It helps to integrate scope, cost, and schedule baselines to guarantee project plans are in sync.

WBS project management terminology that is frequently used includes:

• Budget: The costs involved with the project, which can be divided into phases or deliverables.
• Deliverables: The goods, services, or outcomes produced throughout the course of the project. 
• Milestones: The project’s critical phases are listed in the WBS.
• Phases: A project’s numerous stages. For example, a phase-based WBS for a mobile app project would be organized around concepts like discovery, design, and launch.

Two Types of WBS

The Work Breakdown Structure is a “deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team,” according to the PMI Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK). WBS can be divided into two categories: deliverable-based and phase-based. The Elements listed in the first level of the WBS are the primary distinction between the two methodologies. 

• A deliverable-based work breakdown structure makes it apparent how the project’s deliverables — products, services, or results — relate to its scope —the actual work that needs to be done.
  
  Each deliverable represents a tangible outcome that is expected to be produced by the project, and the WBS is structured around these deliverables.
  
  
• A phase-based WBS contains the elements that represent common project phases. In a phase-based WBS, the project is divided into distinct phases or stages, such as discovery, design, development, testing, and launch. Each phase is then further broken down into smaller components or tasks, such as developing a project plan, creating design documents, conducting user acceptance testing, and so on.

The purpose of a phase-based WBS is to provide a structured framework for managing the project, with each phase representing a major milestone that must be completed before the project can move on to the next stage. By breaking the project down into phases and tasks, the project team can more easily manage the work, allocate resources, and track progress.

A good WBS simply makes the project easier to manage. Every project is unique, just as every project manager and WBS are unique. What is the best work breakdown structure (WBS)? The one is making your particular project more manageable.

Why Is It Important to Create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) For a Mobile App?

The work breakdown structure is a useful project management tool for several reasons. Firstly, it divides the endeavor into digestible, bite-sized pieces, making it less intimidating.

Secondly, it offers a road map for the many people and teams engaged in the project. Many projects require multiple teams to work simultaneously, and for the project to be completed, they must all communicate and work together. The many individuals and teams can concentrate on their unique duties and deliverables while also understanding how their part fits into the project as a whole by adopting a WBS.

Finally, any work breakdown structure (WBS) for a mobile app is a great tool for budget resource allocation, milestone identification, and project completion measurement. Project managers can be sure that their projects are correctly funded and that they won’t encounter any delays because of “surprise” deliverables by applying the 100% rule.

How to Create a Work Breakdown Structure for a Mobile App in 6 Steps

Remembering the above-mentioned “100% rule” is crucial to integrate all project components in a task breakdown structure while avoiding excessive complexity. 

Step 1. Identify the Project Deliverables

How to create a work breakdown structure (WBS)? Start by identifying the high-level deliverables for the mobile app project. This could include features, functionality, user interface, user experience, testing, and deployment. Make a note of the broad goal you want to achieve. Include a note about these specifics in your project charter. This will serve as your authoritative guide.

Step 2. Break Down Deliverables Into Smaller Components

Once you have identified the deliverables, break them down into smaller components or work packages. Start by breaking your work into project stages, distinct big deliverables, or smaller tasks, depending on the nature of your project.

Break the large project into increasingly smaller components, but stop before you have a complete list of all the steps that need to be taken. Keep in mind to concentrate more on results than on actions. For example, under the feature deliverable, you could have work packages such as login, registration, user profile, etc. 

Step 3. Define the Work Packages

For each work package, define the tasks that need to be completed to achieve the deliverable. For example, tasks for the login work package could include creating a login screen, integrating with the backend, validating user credentials, etc. Identify all the tasks and subtasks that must be completed for each deliverable. 

How to create a work breakdown structure (WBS) based on deliverables? Create work packages from the tasks. The lowest level of the breakdown, known as work packages, should specify the scope, cost, and owners of each task. Assignments that can be performed within a reporting period should be included in each work package.  

Step 4. Identify Dependencies

Identify the dependencies between the tasks and work packages. This will help you understand the order in which the tasks must be completed and avoid delays or roadblocks. Give each task a time estimate. This can be carried out during the earlier phase. Here, your group can make use of its expertise and knowledge. 

Step 5. Assign Resources

Assign resources to each task and work package. This could include developers, designers, testers, etc. Make sure you have the right resources available at the right time to complete the tasks. 

Step 6. Review and Revise

Review and revise the WBS as needed to ensure it accurately reflects the project scope and requirements. Request a final review of the WBS from your team, and where necessary, fill in the blanks. How to create a work breakdown structure (WBS) that will boost your staff productivity? You should set aside time to create and evaluate the WBS with your team. 

Tips When Creating a WBS

To achieve the best outcomes while creating a work breakdown structure (WBS) for a mobile app, you may follow these guidelines:

• 100 percent rule. Your WBS must only include the work required to accomplish the overarching goal fully and not any more irrelevant activity. Additionally, all labor required to fulfill the major job must be taken into account in any level’s minor tasks.
• Fully unique. Do not account for any amount of work twice or include a subtask twice. This would be against the 100% rule and would lead to inaccurate calculations when figuring out how much money is needed to finish a project.
• Results, not activities. Keep in mind to concentrate more on outcomes and deliveries than on actions. For instance, if you were designing a bicycle, the deliverable might be “the braking system,” and the action may be “calibrate the brake pads.”
• Three levels. A WBS should typically have three different degrees of detail. The scope of your project and the amount of complexity in your WBS are approximately right if the majority of the branches have three levels or less of subdivided detail.
• Create tasks. Each work package needs to be assigned to a certain group or person. If your WBS is well-made, there won’t be any job overlap, making it easy to understand who is responsible for what.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) For a Mobile App: Template

There are many examples, templates, and software tools available to assist you in creating a work breakdown structure for your project if you need some direction. Check out the WBS template we use to manage different-sized projects equally efficiently.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) For a Mobile App: Example

Using templates and getting inspired by real-life examples is always a great idea. If you need more assistance creating your WBS or require a more thorough and complete WBS, Devlight has prepared a live work breakdown structure (WBS): еxample for you.

How to Create a WBS for a Mobile App: Summary

The visual organization of project deliverables into levels according to dependencies is called a work breakdown structure (WBS) for a mobile app. With your project objective at the top and dependents and sub-dependencies underneath, WBS is your project plan in a visual form. 

The various project management components were discussed in this article, along with instructions on how to design one for your next project and a thorough work breakdown structure (WBS): еxample to get you started. In the end, creating a job breakdown structure isn’t that difficult. In fact, once you get the hang of it, adding a visual hierarchy or project tasks will only help your team and you.