Work Breakdown Structures 
Last Updated: July 31, 2018; First Released: February 15, 2013
Author: Kevin Boyle, President, DevTreks
Version: 2.1.4
A. Introduction to Work Breakdown Structures (WBS)
A Work Breakdown Structure, or WBS, is a hierarchical classification system used to classify all of the elements in a project or technology assessment (1*). The GAO (2009) describes the system as follows:  “A WBS deconstructs a program’s end product into successive levels with smaller specific elements until the work is subdivided to a level suitable for management control”.  They point out that using a WBS is considered “the cornerstone of every program because it defines in detail the work necessary to accomplish a program’s objectives”. They recommend using a standardized WBS because “not standardizing WBSs cause extreme difficulty in comparing costs from one contractor or program to another”. Chapter 8 of the GAO includes a “Best Practices Checklist” for developing a WBS.
Section
Page
Work Breakdown Structures in DevTreks
2
How to use WBSs in DevTreks
4
Sample WBSs
9
Summary and Conclusions
19
The GAO describes a WBS as being just one best practice, albeit a “cornerstone” one, in a more comprehensive cost estimating and analysis process. The more comprehensive process includes defining the purpose of the estimate, archival of historical data, carrying out risk analysis, integration with Earned Value Management business practices, and independent reviews of data. This paper focuses exclusively on Work Breakdown Structures because they play a fundamental role in managing data in DevTreks. 
B. Work Breakdown Structures in DevTreks
A WBS is important in DevTreks because all data in DevTreks is hierarchical. The WBS allows the hierarchical data to be aggregated, compared, and shared. When data from two different clubs is aggregated or compared in DevTreks, the WBS labels can be used to carry out the aggregation and comparisons. This option is the only practical way to aggregate data from two different clubs in an analysis. The point estimates contained in individual budget or investment calculations are never an end goal in DevTreks. DevTreks, as social budgeting software, provides decision support by aggregating and analyzing the point estimates. Social budgeting software can’t work without the careful use of a WBS. 
A problem with existing WBSs in the context of DevTreks, is that many are ‘input’, or cost, oriented. They are good at classifying the inputs in production processes and projects, but largely ignore the outputs, outcomes, performance, and benefits. A likely reason is that determining monetary benefits is hard, and in some cases, might be inappropriate. Nevertheless, as economics software, DevTreks weighs benefits just as strongly as costs. Many of the example WBSs listed below need to be revised to include outcomes and outputs in the WBS. The following image (US Department of Health and Human Services) demonstrates that some sectors, such as health care, recognize the importance of classifying outcomes and are developing appropriate classification systems.

A second problem with WBSs is that they are biased toward civil engineering construction elements. The following image displays part of an agricultural conservation WBS, which includes categories covering Human Capital, Economic Capital. Social Capital, Institutional Capital, and Cultural Capital. In some sectors, such as environmental adaptation and mitigation, these elements may be more important to include in a WBS than civil engineering elements (see the IPCC WG2 and WG3 references).

C. How to Use Work Breakdown Structures in DevTreks
Each DevTreks service (i.e. Capital Budget service, Input service, Outcome service) in each network contains a list of categories that correspond to the first or second hierarchical level of a WBS. In general, DevTreks recommends using the second, rather than first, level of a WBS hierarchy for the categories. That allows typical four level WBS hierarchies to be fully used in DevTreks. The third level can be included with DevTreks’ groups, such as component groups and output groups. The fourth level can be included with DevTreks next hierarchical level –components, operations, outcomes, inputs, outputs, budgets, and investments. DevTreks input and output series and time periods can include the same fourth level codes, or even a fifth level. The following images display the proper use of WBSs in DevTreks.
WBS Level 1 (Network Services) (2*):

WBS Levels 2 and 3 (Components, Operations and Outcomes)

WBS Levels 2 and 3 (Inputs and Outputs)

DevTreks recommends that specific networks (or network groups) take ownership of the WBS used in the networks. They should be responsible for maintaining the content in the WBS. The following image (USDOE, 2012) demonstrates that WBS authors should anticipate that the WBS will evolve (3*).

D. Sample WBSs
The GAO 2009 reference contains several examples of Work Breakdown Structures. Additional examples include:
1. Agriculture and Conservation
This example demonstrates a partial WBS that might be appropriate for carrying out agricultural and natural resources conservation projects or technology assessments. The author developed most of this while working as an agricultural economist for the USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service. That agency provides incentives to farmers and ranchers in the USA to implement the types of conservation practices listed in the example. The last column of the table demonstrates some of the internal codes, known as Conservation Practice Numbers, used by that agency. It is important to include both the name and codes used by these types of conservation agencies, because they are an important source of money influencing the conservation decisions of farmers and ranchers. Note that a full WBS should have a full set of categories in the last column.

The first five categories of this WBS demonstrate what an agricultural economist might describe as a long standing bias in this type of WBS. Many of the practices are engineering-oriented, reflecting a perspective that natural resources conservation work involves installing physical structures that may benefit only the producer. The physical infrastructure investment does not go through any cost benefit test –as long as the producer wants to install it, the public agency complies with a subsidy. In the past twenty years, agricultural conservation has become much concerned with management, community, and results. Instead of influencing a rancher to install an Access Road to a remote part of a ranch, current efforts may be directed towards educating communities of ranchers to manage their ranches in a way that reduces damage to fisheries in local streams. Conservationists are much more likely to justify these projects because of the qualitative (and sometimes quantitative) environmental benefits they generate. Section 6 of this WBS (shown in Section B), include categories for Human Capital, Social Capital, Institutional Capital, and Cultural Capital which begin to include categories for classifying environmental benefits and performance.
2. Food Nutrition
The following image displays a WBS for food Inputs developed by the USDA, Agricultural Research Service. 

The following image displays a WBS for food Operations developed by the USDA, ARS. Although ARS uses the term “food coding schema”, in DevTreks this serves as a WBS for food Operations. Preference should be given to using WBSs developed by scientific organizations because those groups maintain the system.

3. Health Care
The following image displays a WBS for health care services developed by the World Health Organization. 

The following image displays a WBS for health care performance Outcomes developed by the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

4. Building Construction and Disaster Recovery
The following image displays a WBS for building construction and disaster recovery Components developed initially by the US Department of Commerce National Institute for Standards and Technology.


5. Miscellaneous
The following images display WBSs used by several US federal agencies for environmental remediation work. The IPCC references discuss society’s critical need to mitigate and adapt to climate change.



Summary and Conclusions
Work Breakdown Structures play an indispensable data management role in social budgeting software like DevTreks. When budgets and government spending need full accountability, WBSs serve as the “blueprints” that document results. However, keep in mind that not all projects, or technology assessments, succeed by the use of good blueprints alone. In fact, the economic development field is strewn with projects that failed precisely because of overreliance on “blueprint” approaches to planning. Don’t mistake highly detailed data with accountability and performance. Good data can play an indispensable role in most projects, technology assessments, and performance analyses, but success comes from knowing how to use the data to make better decisions. 
Footnotes
1. DevTreks is economics software. In this context, the term “technology assessment” is used the same as the term “economic evaluation”. Technology assessments examine how combinations of inputs produce combinations of outputs. Economics adds prices to the inputs and outputs to derive costs and benefits.
2. Each service in a services agreement has an Edit Classifications link that opens the displayed list. Only members who are both club and network coordinators can edit the list. Further information can be found in the Social Budgeting tutorial.
3. A logical evolution of a WBS is semantic data. Semantic data uses a noun-verb-object structure to give greater meaning to taxonomies. A WBS is a good starting point for obtaining the taxonomies needed.
References
IPCC. Climate Change 2014, Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, Part A Global and Sectoral Aspects. Working Group 2 Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [Field, Barnes, Barros, Dockken, Mach, Mastrandrea, Bilir, Chatterjee, Ebi, Estrada, Genova, Girma, Kissel, Levy, MacCracken, Mastrandea, and White (EDS)]. SUBJECT TO FINAL EDIT
IPCC. Climate Change 2014, Mitigation of Climate Change. Working Group 3 Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [Field, Barnes, Barros, Dockken, Mach, Mastrandrea, Bilir, Chatterjee, Ebi, Estrada, Genova, Girma, Kissel, Levy, MacCracken, Mastrandea, and White (EDS)]. SUBJECT TO FINAL EDIT
US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. Composition of Foods Raw, Processed, Prepared USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 24. September, 2011. (http://www.ars.usda.gov/nutrientdata)
USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies, 5.0. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Food Surveys Research Group, Beltsville, MD. 2012
US Department of Commerce, National Institute for Standards and Technology. UNIFORMAT II Elemental Classification for Building Specifications, Cost Estimating and Cost Analysis. October, 1999
US Department of Energy. Work Breakdown Structure Handbook. 2012
US Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Health Care Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) www.cms.gov or www.hhs.gov
US Government Accountability Office. Applied Research and Methods. GAO Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide. Best Practices for Developing and Managing Capital Program Costs. March, 2009.
World Health Organization, International Classification of Diseases, ICD-10; www.who.org
References Note
We try to use references that are open access or that do not charge fees.
Improvements, Errors, and New Calculators
Please notify DevTreks (devtrekkers@gmail.com) if you find errors or can recommend improvements.
A video tutorial explaining this reference can be found at:

https://www.devtreks.org/commontreks/preview/commons/resourcepack/Work Breakdown Structures/467/none/



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