Last Updated: June 6, 2026
Activity 5: Build a Work Breakdown Structure in Microsoft Project
This Activity Workspace is part of the MS Project Master Class, a hands-on training program designed to help project managers, schedulers, students, trainers, consultants, and organizations build well-structured project plans using Microsoft Project and the Project MAP framework. In this Activity, you will learn how to build a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) in Microsoft Project by defining project phases, organizing deliverables, setting up Summary Elements and Activities, and creating a framework for managing project scope, schedules, resources, costs, and controls. With step-by-step exercises, workflows, and real-world examples, this Workspace guides you in building a clear project structure that supports accurate scheduling, consistent management, and effective communication for the rest of the Master Class.
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Figure 5.1 Build Work Breakdown Structure Activity in Project MAP.
Activity 5 Workspace Outline
Activity 4: Adopt PM/MS Project Standards < Activity 5: Build Work Breakdown Structure > Activity 6: Enter Estimates
Workflow (30 minutes)
Exercises (1 hour 25 minutes) jump to
Exercise 5.1: Review WBS and Insert Recurring Task (15 minutes) jump to
Exercise 5.2: Review the Annual Report Template (10 minutes) jump to
Exercise 5.3: Review Outline Numbers and the WBS Manager (15 minutes) jump to
Exercise 5.4: Build WBS for Your Master Project (30 minutes) jump to
Update Journal on Building a WBS (15 minutes) jump to
This entire Activity Workspace should take about 2 hours and 36 minutes
This Activity Workspace is part of the MS Project Master Class learning system and the companion Master Class Book available on Amazon. Many students also complete the Master Class with the assistance of a Master Class Coach or Trainer.
Figure 5.2 WBS Workspace Schedule.
Workflow
Internalizing the Activity 5 Workflow (30 minutes)
What You Will Learn in Activity 5
Before you begin the exercises in this Activity Workspace, review the Build Work Breakdown Structure Workflow. It outlines the key concepts, techniques, and Microsoft Project features used to define and organize the full scope of a project into a clear and manageable structure.
In this Activity, you will learn how to build a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) that supports estimating, scheduling, communication, and project control. You will define the Project Title, organize the project into Major Phases and Summary Elements, create Activities and Milestones, and apply naming conventions and structural standards used throughout the MS Project Master Class.
You will also examine how Microsoft Project represents the WBS using Summary Tasks, Detail Tasks, Milestones, Outline Numbers, and other structural features. As you build your WBS, you will see how the software organizes and displays project scope and why structure is critical to reliable schedule calculations and project management.
Throughout the exercises, you will practice breaking down project scope to an appropriate level of detail, applying WBS best practices, and reinforcing the idea that Microsoft Project is not just a task-tracking tool. It is a professional project planning and calculation system that depends on a well-structured project model.
This Activity also reinforces one of the central ideas of the MS Project Master Class: if the Work Breakdown Structure is weak, every Activity that follows—estimating, schedule logic, resource planning, tracking, and performance analysis—will also be weak. A properly structured WBS is the foundation of a reliable and defensible project plan.
Learn the Build Work Breakdown Structure Workflow (15 minutes)
Title Project Summary: Name and Define the Voyage
Before a major voyage begins, the captain formally identifies the expedition itself. The vessel’s logs, charts, permits, navigation plans, insurance records, and harbor documents must clearly identify the voyage, its purpose, destination, and overall mission. A vague or poorly defined voyage title can create confusion about the objectives, scope, and intent of the journey before the vessel even leaves port.
A casual glance at the graphic above clearly shows it is the British Virgin Islands Spring Regatta and the marks.
I have chartered sailboats in the BVI on several occasions. The British Virgin Islands offer some of the best sailing conditions in the world, with warm, steady trade winds that provide reliable and enjoyable racing nearly every day. The islands are close enough together to allow short passages between destinations, making navigation both exciting and manageable. Sailors move through clear turquoise water surrounded by protected channels that still provide enough open sea for serious competitive racing. Everywhere you look, the scenery is spectacular — green hills rising from the sea, white beaches, dramatic rock formations, and anchored yachts scattered across brilliant blue anchorages.
The weather, the location, and the water are usually perfect - but to have a great trip, detailed planning is required.
This parallels the workflow step of defining the Project Summary. In Microsoft Project, the Project Summary represents the entire project at the top of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). The project title should clearly convey the project’s purpose, objectives, and overall identity, so everyone understands what it represents.
Define Major Phases and Summary Elements: Chart the Major Legs of the Voyage
Figure 5.3 Types of tasks in Microsoft Project.
After deciding on the voyage, the captain divides the journey into main parts, such as leaving the coast, crossing open water, stopping at islands for supplies, navigating through storms, passing through canals, and approaching the final harbor. Breaking the trip into these sections makes it easier to plan navigation, supplies, timing, communication, and operations along the way.
Experienced captains avoid treating a complex voyage as one big, unplanned trip. They break it down into clear sections, which makes it easier to plan, track progress, and make decisions.
This is similar to defining major Phases and Summary Elements in a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Summary Elements group related activities, milestones, and deliverables into sections that help organize and explain the whole project plan.
Identify Activities and Milestones: Define the Voyage Preparation Activities and Checkpoints
Figure 5.4 Organizational Chart type of WBS
Before the sailing trip starts, the captain often prepares a separate plan to organize everything that needs to be done in advance. The Sailing Trip Initial Preparation plan breaks the work into main sections: Destination, Itinerary, Crew, Boat, Pack, Regulations, Communication, and Checklist.
Each section has its own set of tasks. For example, the Itinerary section covers mapping the route, finding anchorages, checking the weather, and making a daily schedule. The Boat section involves inspecting the vessel, restocking supplies, and testing equipment. The Communication section includes setting up devices, sharing the itinerary, and downloading navigation details.
The plan also lists key checkpoints and milestones, such as completing safety training, checking the weather, inspecting the vessel, and ensuring all required documents are ready before leaving.
This is similar to the step in a workflow where you identify Activities and Milestones in the WBS. Activities are the detailed tasks needed to finish the project, while Milestones are key points, approvals, or goals reached during the project.
Breakdown the WBS to the Required Level of Detail: Determine the Appropriate Level of Voyage Planning Detail
A captain ensures the voyage plan is detailed enough for a safe and successful trip, yet simple enough for the crew to understand and follow. Before leaving, it is important to think about preparation steps, sailing operations, safety procedures, supplies, rules, weather, navigation, and backup plans.
Not every trip needs the same amount of planning. For a short coastal journey, a simple checklist and basic route might be enough. For a long trip across open water, you will need more detailed plans, including supplies, schedules, communication, weather checks, emergency steps, and controls. If the plan is too simple, you might miss something important. If it is too detailed, it can be hard to use during the trip.
This is similar to breaking down a work breakdown structure (WBS) to the right level of detail. A project plan should include sufficient information to support planning, scheduling, resource management, progress tracking, reporting, and communication. At the same time, it should remain practical and easy to use.
Best Practices
Create a work breakdown structure using a top-down approach. Start with the project’s SMART+A Objectives, outline the major phases, and create summary elements to group activities (work packages or work tasks) and milestones.
The WBS should include all work defined by the project's scope, encompassing every Activity and deliverable necessary for project completion.
Activity 5: Build Work Breakdown Structure Workflow Chart
Before you start the exercises in this Activity Workspace, take a moment to review and understand the Activity 5 Workflow Chart. This chart is more than just a list of Microsoft Project steps. It shows the logical process for defining, organizing, structuring, and communicating the full scope of a project before you begin detailed scheduling.
While you work through this Activity, keep referring back to the workflow. Use it to see how the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is built from the top down. First, define the overall project. Next, break it into major phases and Summary Elements, then identify Activities and Milestones. Finally, decide how much planning detail is needed to manage the work well.
The aim is not just to make a list of tasks, but to create a clear and repeatable way to think about project scope. A good WBS ensures the project is sufficiently complete for planning, estimating, scheduling, resource management, tracking, reporting, and communication. At the same time, it should be easy to understand and use.
The rest of the Planning Activities rely on having a well-structured WBS. If you learn this workflow now, the rest of the Master Class—like estimating, schedule logic, resource planning, tracking, and project control—will be much easier to follow and use.
Figure 5.3 Build Work Breakdown Structure - Workflow Chart.
Download
Click on the Download icon above and open Activity 5 - Build Work Breakdown Structure Workflow.pdf.
Traditionally, a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is often shown as an organizational chart, with the project title as the top node. In Microsoft Project, the WBS is presented as an outline or a network diagram. In both an organizational chart and a WBS outline, the title or top node is the Project Summary Task.
Viewing the Project Summary Task is a display option that can be toggled on under the Format tab on the ribbon when a task-based view is active, or in Options / Advanced / Display options for this project.
After displaying and naming the Project Summary Task, define the Major Phases of the project at Level 1 in the outline. These appear in Microsoft Project as Summary Tasks at Level 1.
Best Practices
Don’t create redundancy by adding your own Project Summary Task. Instead, toggle the display for the one that Microsoft Project calculates, regardless of whether you display it.
Level 1 of the Outline or WBS should be reserved for the project phases.
Except for notes or attachments, or perhaps information entered into custom fields, do not add additional details, such as links and resources, at the summary level. That includes the Project Summary Task, Project Phases at Level 1, and any Summary Element.
Some project management practitioners call these phases major deliverables because there is a deliverable or significant deliverable at the end of each primary phase. For instance, there could be a completed Strategic Plan document in the figure below at the end of Phase 1 - Strategic Plan. Something tangible, something in your hand. A specific and measurable product, service, or result. Deliverables are outcomes of completing a Major Phase. Milestones typically mark the point in time when those outcomes are achieved.
Figure 5.4 Level 1 and Outline Level field.
Figure 5.5 Triple Constraints with Scope defined by WBS.
A Major Phase is then broken down further into Activities and Milestones, which may be grouped under a Summary.
A project is constrained by time, cost, and Scope, often called the Triple Constraints. The Work Breakdown Structure defines the Scope of a project by breaking it down to the detail level. In Microsoft Project, this is called a task or detail task. It is a task of some duration, and nothing is indented below it. It is the terminal or ending WBS element.
Timing, costs, and Scope also constrain each activity or detailed task in the WBS. The sum of the entire WBS is the project's scope.
Other names often used for Activities are Terminal Elements, Work Tasks, and Work Packages.
A question that is always asked is how far do you break down a project. These are the three best practices to consider.
Best Practices
The WBS should include all work defined by the project's scope, encompassing every Phase, Activity, Milestone, and deliverable necessary for project completion.
A project should be broken down to a level so that 1) you are confident with your estimates and 2) you can communicate effectively about the project.
You should be able to confidently say, “The project will be successful if we complete all of the activities and reach all of the milestones in the Work Breakdown Structure within the triple constraints of the project.”
Update Journal on the Build Work Breakdown Structure Workflow -15 minutes
Journal Question: Reflect on future project you might plan and managed. How would applying the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) techniques, as outlined in this workflow, better help you plan and then manage that project?
Exercises
Completing the Exercises for Activity 5 (1 hour 25 minutes)
These exercises will help you go from learning about Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) to actually building one in Microsoft Project. As you work through them, you’ll create and organize your Master Project using the standards, terms, and best practices from this chapter.
First, you’ll look at examples of both well-structured and poorly structured WBS models. You’ll also see how Microsoft Project shows project scope with Summary Tasks, Detail Tasks, Milestones, and Outline Numbers. After that, you’ll start building your own WBS by setting the Project Title, creating Major Phases, organizing Summary Elements, and adding Activities and Milestones.
These exercises will also show why decomposition, naming conventions, and the right level of detail matter when building a WBS. As you go, you’ll see how the structure you create affects estimating, scheduling, communication, and Microsoft Project's calculations.
By the end of these exercises, your Master Project will have a clear, well-organized WBS that’s ready for estimating, scheduling, resource planning, and updates.
Definitions
Project Summary Task: Row Zero in the task outline.
The Project Summary Task in Microsoft Project is an automatically created summary task at the top level of the project hierarchy. It represents the entire project and summarizes key information, such as the project start date, finish date, duration, total cost, and total work.
Master Class: This is called the Project Title in this class. The organization often determines the naming convention. Otherwise, the title should be descriptive, concise, unique, and outcome-focused.
Summary Task: A task that has at least one task indented below it.
A summary task is a higher-level task that groups related lower-level tasks together, known as subtasks, to form a hierarchical structure in the project. It serves as a header or category for these subtasks, helping to organize and outline the project in a more manageable and logical manner. Summary Tasks provide a broad overview of major sections or phases of the project, and their completion is typically dependent on the completion of the associated subtasks. They are a key component in structuring a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) within Microsoft Project, facilitating easier tracking, management, and project progress reporting.
Master Class: This is a Major Phase when placed at Level 1 in the WBS. The naming convention is short clear nouns. At any other level, a Summary Task is called a Summary. In most cases, a noun phrase is preferred (e.g., “Employee Training Program,” “Project Reporting Dashboard,” or “Electrical Distribution System.”
Detail Task: A task with some duration and no tasks indented below it.
In Microsoft Project, a "detail task" refers to the specific, individual tasks that form the basic building blocks of a project. These are the actionable, discrete elements that must be completed for the project to progress. Each detail task is typically defined by its parameters, such as start and end dates, duration, resources required, and dependencies on other tasks.
Detail tasks are positioned under summary tasks within the project's Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Unlike summary tasks, which provide a broader overview of project phases or sections, detail tasks represent the specific work needed. They are essential for the detailed planning and tracking of a project, allowing project managers to assign particular resources, track progress, and manage the workload effectively.
Master Class: This is called an Activity. They are usually named using a verb-noun format, which describes the action to be taken and the specific item of work, for example, Gather Requirements, Design Prototype, Compile Report
Milestone: A detail task of zero duration or any task marked as a milestone.
In Microsoft Project, a milestone is a specific task to mark key points along a project timeline. It represents a significant event or achievement in the project, such as the completion of a major phase, a SMART+A project objective, or a critical deliverable.
Master Class: Also called a Milestone. Milestones are typically named using a past-participle phrase. Milestones represent deliverables, or key events (e.g., Design Approved, or Contract Awarded). Budget Obtained = budget, a noun (object of the action), + obtained, past participle of the verb obtain.
Recurring Task: A summary task with recurring tasks or milestones indented below it.
In Microsoft Project, a recurring task is a task that repeats at regular intervals over a specified period. This feature is handy for activities that need to occur periodically, such as weekly meetings, monthly reports, or routine maintenance checks. Key aspects of recurring tasks in Microsoft Project include:
Scheduled Repetition: Recurring tasks are set to occur at regular intervals (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.). The project manager defines the frequency and the pattern of repetition when setting up the task.
Automated Scheduling: Once a recurring task is defined, Microsoft Project automatically schedules it according to the specified frequency and pattern. This saves time and effort in project planning, especially for long-term projects with routine tasks.
Adjustable Duration and Resources: Each occurrence of a recurring task can be assigned a specific duration and allocated resources. This allows for efficient planning and allocation of resources for these repetitive activities.
Flexibility in Management: Project managers can edit, delete, or individually adjust the occurrences of a recurring task. This allows them to accommodate changes or exceptions within the project's lifecycle.
Master Class: Recurring Tasks are called Recurring Summary. Name with a short noun.
Best Practice
All elements in a WBS should have unique names.
The idea behind naming conventions for elements in the WBS is to standardize them across all projects and to make elements easy to recognize by the convention used.
Project Title - The organization often determines the naming convention. However, the following are industry standards:
Phase - The naming convention at the phase level is short nouns, such as:
Initiate
Plan
Deploy
Summary - For a summary, the naming convention is noun phrase; for instance:
Project Server Design
Project Server Customization
Project Server Pilot
Activity - The naming convention is verb-noun. For instance:
Gather Requirements
Design Prototype
Compile Report
Milestone - The naming convention is a past-participle phrase. For instance:
Project Started
Budget Approved
Signature Obtained
Project Completed
Recurring Task - If you use this type of task, it is a Summary. It will summarize activities and/or milestones; the naming convention should be a noun phrase.
Monthly Review
Scheduled Inspection
Client Update
Exercise 5.1: Review WBS and Insert Recurring Task (15 minutes)
This first exercise will look at several WBS management features, and you will insert a recurring task. In addition, we will review a calculation selection that is called duration conversion.
Download
Click the Download icon above to download and open the Residential Construction.mpp file.
This project plan is based on a template file downloaded from Microsoft.
Notice the following:
The Project Summary task is a display feature that can be toggled on and off. Toggle it by clicking Format / Show/Hide group / Project Summary Task.
The numbers in the far left column are called ID numbers. The first row is zero; this is the Project Summary task. The top node in a work breakdown structure. Notice it is zero in the WBS field, too. (To show the WBS field, select the Task Name header, right-click, select Insert Column, and type WBS.) It is called a project summary task because it summarizes the entire project. Zoom project as a whole; as you can see, it summarizes the timeline. The project is 152 working days as defined by the project calendar, starting 1/2/23 and finishing 8/1/23.
(Inserting a column in a table and zooming the entire project are commands on the Quick Access Toolbar.)
Figure 5.6 Project Summary Task.
Some people struggle to grasp the meaning of 152 working days, so let’s display the summary task durations in weeks. Open Project Options and select Schedule / Scheduling options for this project / Duration, which is entered in:, and choose Months. That makes more sense: It takes about 7.5 months to build the house, about how long it takes to build an average stick house in the U.S.
Figure 5.7 Duration in days, converted to months on the summary level.
Next, collapse all tasks to Level 1 in the outline or WBS. Select the View tab / Data group / Outline and then Level 1. Notice the features under the Outline command.
(Project Options and the Outline commands are on the Quick Access Toolbar)
Figure 5.8 Outline Level 1.
Level 1 should be reserved for the phases of your project, but there is nothing unique about these tasks other than that they are become Summary Tasks when tasks are indented below them. They are summary tasks in Microsoft Project because they have tasks indented below them. It is automatic. Microsoft Project does not enforce any WBS criteria. You could place detail tasks and milestones at Level 1.
Go down to the Interior Finishes task and expand its summary. The next level contains more summary tasks. Below those are detail tasks and milestones.
A detail task is a task of some duration with nothing indented below it. Milestones are detail tasks with zero duration. You do all of your work in Microsoft Project at this detail level. It is where you enter estimates, assign resources, enter timing constraints, and link. Typically, you don’t do anything to summary tasks; just let those tasks do their job and summarize.
You might also include a recurring task in Microsoft Project in your work breakdown structure. For example, if you like to meet with your project manager and the customer you are building the house with every two weeks, you could make that a recurring task.
Go to the blank row below the Final Acceptance phase and insert a Recurring Task (Task / Insert group / Task / Recurring Task).
Name this On-site Review.
Enter a Duration of 3hrs.
It is going to occur every 2 weeks on Friday.
Click Ok, and then Zoom Selected Task.
(The Insert Recurring Task and Zoom Selected Task are commands on the Bridge Quick Access Toolbar.)
You have just scheduled 15 on-site meetings.
Next, collapse the On-site Review summary task and move it to the top of the phases. Do this by selecting the entire row and moving your cursor to the ID number (111). When the move tool appears, click hold and drag the row to the top. The figure above shows the gray line when you move the row. A task or summary task can be moved like this.
Figure 5.9 Recurring task.
Figure 5.10 Moving a summary task.
Review a topic we covered in Activity 4 - Adopt PM/MS Project Standards related to the calculation engine.
In this exercise, you changed the summary tasks to display months in the duration column, converting the duration to 7.6 months for the project. How did the software know how to do that? What was the basis of the conversion? Where are those calculation settings?
You would be correct if you answered duration conversions in this project's Options / Schedule / Calendar options.
The default number used in the Days per Month field is 20. Perhaps that is the average number of working days each month at Microsoft. In the book “The Everything Store,” on the history of Amazon, Brad Stone of Bloomberg Businessweek claimed that Jeff Bezos liked to say that he didn’t want the company to become “a country club” like Microsoft on the other side of the lake (Washington), where people who had worked hard to build their careers went “to retire.” I guess that this perspective Bezos had or has isn’t accurate, but the point is that for many Americans, the average number of workdays per month is closer to 21.5 per month. The entry in the software does not allow fractions, so let’s round up and enter 22 and click OK.
What changed in the calculation on the Project Summary Task level? The project's duration decreased from 7.6 to 6.91 months.
In some countries, the number of workdays is less than in the U.S. Costa Rica, which I frequent, has ten national holidays, but with two weeks of vacation, a week off at Christmas, and a week off for Easter, the number of workdays per month is closer to 19. In some European countries, the weekly hours are 37 - 38, and the monthly workdays are slightly less than 19.
These differences are significant for longer projects.
A medium-sized company that builds 300 production homes a year could have a template project for each type of home they make for a particular municipality. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to visualize how they could streamline the planning steps with well-developed project templates. In addition, templates would standardize many of their project management practices and also improve the onboarding of new project managers, integrating them faster into the workplace.
Let’s evaluate more aspects of WBS for this template.
Click the Zoom Entire Project command on the toolbar and show or display just Level 1.
Level 1 looks pretty good, and the phases are in chronological order. I think an improvement would be to make these changes to the naming convention:
General Conditions = Conditions
Site Work = Site Work
Foundation = Foundation
Framing = Framing
Dry In = Dry In
Exterior Finishes = Exterior
Utility Rough-Ins and Complete Concrete = Infrastructure
Interior Finishes = Interior
Landscaping and Grounds Work = Landscaping
Final Acceptance = Acceptance
Expand the project. The only milestone in this project is applying for permits. Since permits require time, money, and effort, it is unclear why they would be considered milestones. This might mean that another department does this permitting work and only provides the project manager with the dates. Of course, you could easily change these milestones.
Another possibility is that these permit milestones represent permits in another project, and the project manager will link these milestones to tasks in that project.
Save the project.
Case Example
I worked on a Microsoft Project Server deployment for a construction company in Orlando that built apartment complexes. What stood out to me was how they managed two Microsoft Project plans simultaneously for each building project.
The first project plan covered all the permitting and regulatory approvals required before construction could start. The corporate office managed this schedule because permitting involved standard steps, including working with local governments, inspections, environmental checks, utility approvals, and other tasks common to many projects.
The second project plan was the actual construction plan, managed by the field project managers. It included site prep, foundations, framing, utilities, inspections, interior work, landscaping, turnover, and all the construction tasks needed to finish the building.
The system worked well because the two projects were linked together. Key permit milestones in the construction schedule depended on activities and milestones in the separate permitting project. This meant construction could not proceed until the required permits were obtained. By linking the schedules, the permitting work directly controlled when construction could start and the sequencing of construction.
External links or dependencies is something we will review in Activity 7: Determine Schedule Logic.
This idea is important in advanced project planning because many projects rely on work outside a single Microsoft Project file. Big deliverables, approvals, buying materials, engineering checks, compliance steps, or regulatory actions might be managed in separate plans by different teams or organizations. Using external predecessors lets you show these dependencies directly in the schedule, instead of tracking them informally through meetings or emails.
You can use the permit milestone in the New House.mpp project in the same way. Instead of guessing when a permit will be approved, you can link the milestone to activities and milestones in a separate permitting project file. When the permitting schedule changes, the construction project updates automatically, helping keep the plan in sync with real-world conditions and dependencies.
This idea also connects to Activity 5 and the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). A good WBS does more than organize tasks within one project. It helps show where project boundaries are, what work is part of the project, what work is managed outside the project, and how these efforts need to connect for effective planning and control.
When Finished with Exercise 5.1
The Residential Construction.mpp file should have:
An On-Site Review recurring task. The tasks under the recurring task are each 3 hours long and occur every two weeks on Friday.
The project Phases, or Level 1 summary tasks, have one or two-word noun names.
In addition, the duration of the project should be 6.91 months.
(2)
Figure 5.11 Duration conversion in Microsoft Project.
Exercise 5.2: Review Annual Report Template (10 minutes)
You likely already know how to insert and indent tasks, so based on what you have learned about WBS, let’s critique several of the Microsoft Project Templates.
The following review is based on a Microsoft template file for creating a company annual report.
Download
Click the Download icon above to download, then open the Annual Report Preparation.mpp file.
Things to notice:
Does the template show the Project Summary Task? Add the Project Summary Task.
Is Level 1 just Phases? In this case, the finish milestone is at Level 1. Indent Annual Report Completed under Produce Annual Report, placing this milestone in the proper location.
Also, change the naming conventions used to the following simple nouns:
Perform Initial Planning = Plan
Design Annual Report = Design
Define SEC 10-K… = Schedule
Develop Annual Report = Development
Perform Financial Closing Activities = Closure
Produce Annual Report = Publication
Note
In contrast to the naming convention for activities (detail tasks in MS Project), a summary (summary task in MSP Project) is typically named using a short noun phrase. For example,
User Interface
Database Schema
Software Test
Typically, the project phases or (summary task at Level 1 in MS Project) use relatively short nouns, for example,
Planning
Design
Permitting
Sitework
Foundation
Structure
Utilities
Finishing
Inspection
Handover
Next, format the background of all milestones in light green. Go to Format / Text Style / Milestone Tasks.
Then, expand the WBS by selecting View / Outline / All Subtasks. Review the milestones. There seems to be a milestone after each phase, but that seems a bit excessive for a project with only 110 elements in the WBS. In addition, one milestone, External Audit Complete, is redundant. That said, some organizations standardize around milestone reporting, meaning they tend to report mainly against milestones. In that case, a milestone after each phase in the project might be appropriate.
(The All Subtasks command is on the Bridge Quick Access Toolbar.)
When finished, show Level 1, and then expand the Publish phase.
Save the project.
Best Practice
All elements in a Work Breakdown Structure should have unique names.
We will not make any improvements to another project file. Still, if you open the Marketing Campaign Plan template in Microsoft Project and filter the outline to Level 1, not everything listed here is a phase, you will notice elements that should be placed under a phase. For a marketing campaign project, I would have expected to see something like this for the Level 1 phases:
Strategy
Audience
Campaign
Pilot
Deploy
Evaluate
The main point is that any reviewer should be able to understand the Level 1 phases immediately and see their broad waterfall sequence.. In the above example, Pilot obviously comes before Deploy.
Figure 5.12 Example of poor WBS at Level 1.
When Finished with Exercise 5.2
In the Annual Report Preparation.mpp project, you should have:
Displayed the Project Summary Task.
Renamed the phases at Level 1.
Indented the Annual Report Complete milestone.
Highlighted the background of all milestones in a light green.
(4)
Figure 5.13 Annual report project.
Case Example
I worked closely with the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which oversees animal drugs, animal food, veterinary medical devices, and other products that affect animal health and safety in the United States. One of my contacts at CVM had managed and published the annual report for many years and was preparing to retire after completing one last edition.
He didn’t just want to finish the report. He wanted to leave a complete, well-organized project plan that the next person could use successfully. He knew that much of the knowledge needed to produce the report was in his own experience: what needed to be done, when it should be done, who to involve, which approvals were important, where delays usually occurred, and how to coordinate the work across the organization.
What he truly wanted to leave was a Master Project—a project plan clear enough that someone with much less experience could still manage the work well. This idea is central to Activity 5 and to building a strong Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). A good WBS captures both the work and the thinking behind the project. It breaks down complex efforts into clear phases, activities, milestones, and deliverables that others can follow, manage, communicate, and improve over time.
The concept of an expert or Master Project has always been important in project management. Experienced project managers often leave behind plans, templates, workflows, standards, and schedules that help others manage projects more effectively. In many organizations, the best project managers are not just those who finish projects themselves, but those who create repeatable structures that help others succeed even after they have moved on.
Exercise 5.3: Review Outline Numbers and the WBS Manager (15 minutes)
As mentioned throughout this Activity or chapter, the central purpose of Microsoft Project is to validate the primary constraints of time, cost, scope, work, and resources.
Download
Click the Download icon above to download and then open the WBS Manager.mpp file.
There are four sets or types of numbers for all elements in a Microsoft Project WBS.
A - There are four types of numbers associated with tasks. Those numbers are ID, Unique ID, Outline Number, and WBS code. In the figure below, two ID columns are displayed. The table definition locks the first one, and the other is inserted as a regular column in the table.
Insert all of these columns.
B - Microsoft Project generates unique IDs for all rows or tasks. The task ID, Outline Number, and WBS renumber are based on changes to the WBS. Unique IDs never change and are typically used for importing/exporting and database management. In the figure below, I moved Unique ID 10 up the WBS. The ID changed to 9, but the Unique ID stayed the same.
C - There is an Outline Number. Microsoft Project generated these outline numbers based on a task’s position in the WBS. Under Gantt Chart Format, the numbers appear before each task name if the Outline Number is checked.
The WBS Manager generates the WBS codes shown in the figure below. If the WBS changes, the Renumber… command must be selected.
Figure 5.14 All of the types of numbers for tasks.
Suppose your company is deploying a software system in several countries. You plan to have a project for each country deployment, and you would like to combine all of the projects into a master project for reporting and resource leveling since some team members will be assigned to all projects. Some resources will also be working across the deployments, and you want to ensure those resources are not scheduled to be in two places simultaneously.
You believe that if each project has a unique WBS code, it will be easier to distinguish one project from another.
Use the WBS Manager to develop a unique WBS code.
This feature is no longer called the WBS Manager. It is now viewed as an action, and the command is Project / WBS / Define Code… . A search in MSP for the WBS Manager will still return the Define Code…command.
First, correct any problems you might notice in the Level 1 project phases.
Open the WBS Manager at Project / WBS command in the Properties group / Define Code. Match the Code Preview to the example below.
Generate the WBS codes and save the project.
Simulation Results
The file 5 - 5 WBS Manager.mpp should have the same WBS definition at the figure above. In addition, Level 1 should be defined correctly.
Figure 5.22 Custom WBS code.
Figure 5.15 Custom WBS code.
We have examined formatting Text Styles, such as milestones and summary tasks. Another way to highlight this is to use the filter feature.
Notice in the figure below that there is a Highlight Tasks item. The formatting selected for this item is applied when using the filter feature for highlighting rather than filtering.
Let’s look at this feature. First, select the Highlight Tasks item and change the default background from bright yellow to light pink or magenta.
Figure 5.16 Formatting the Highlight Tasks filter in Microsoft Project.
Then, select the View tab, the Filter drop-down list, More Filters, and the filter you want to highlight or apply. Applying the filter would filter out all tasks except milestones and associated summary tasks. The filter could be edited so as not to show summary tasks.
Clicking the Highlight button applies the filter, but instead of filtering out, it applies to formatting associated with the Text Styles Highlighted Tasks item for those tasks that meet the filter criteria.
Save the project after you have highlighted milestones with a pink or magenta background.
Filters can be cleared or removed by selecting the Filter drop-down and then Clear Filter.
A keystroke that clears or removes filters is worth memorizing. F3 will clear any filter applied in any active view.
A technicality that is important to understand is that a filter is never really removed; instead, when you clear a filter by clicking the Clear Filter command or by pressing F3, Microsoft Project applies either the All Tasks filter or the All Resources filter, depending on what view you are in. This technicality will be relevant when creating views later in this MS Project Master Class.
Figure 5.17 Using the Filter to highlight in Microsoft Project.
When Finished with Exercise 5.3
The WBS Manager.mpp file should have the following:
The exact WBS definition is shown in the figures above, which show the code definitions and the WBS column.
All milestones should have a background highlighted in light pink or magenta.
(3)
Exercise 5.4: Build WBS for Your Master Project (30 minutes)
It is time to build your own WBS for your master project. You do not need to complete it right now; perhaps you only have time to work on one section of one of your phases. However, you plan to finish it as you progress through the MS Project Master Class.
At least create your phases and put Project Started and Project Finish milestones (name them how you want). If you started the MS Project Master Class from the beginning, you have milestones for each SMART+A project objective, so position those milestones appropriately within your WBS.
When Finished with Exercise 5.4
Your Master Project should have the following:
All of the project phases, or Level 1 summary tasks.
At least one project phase’s WBS is fully defined.
Milestones for the start and finish of the project. These milestones are positioned correctly.
In previous exercises, you converted your SMART+A Objectives into milestones, which should now be positioned correctly in the WBS.
(2)
Update Journal on Building a WBS -15 minutes
Reflect on creating your Work Breakdown Structure compared to the templates you reviewed.
Journal questions:
What did you learn about an effective WBS's key elements and organization that you want to continue to use on projects you plan and manage?
How did you decide what to include in the WBS for your Master Project, and were there any challenges you faced in structuring your project?
Final Steps
Finalizing Activity 5 and Taking the Exam (41 minutes)
This is the final section on Build Work Breakdown Structure:
Take some time to review the best practices for project management and using Microsoft Project. Think about the main ideas of project management and how you use them in Microsoft Project. There are conflicting labels and ideas related to WBS. Make sure you are using best practices when creating a WBS.
Check your Master Project for accuracy. Make sure your Master Project is up to date and demonstrates your ability to create a WBS correctly.
Look over the files you used in this Activity. Review the files from this Activity to help you remember the tools, techniques, and resources you used for creating a WBS.
Check Your Progress on Learning Objectives. Go back to the learning objectives for this Activity and see how well you have met each one. Note any areas where you need more practice.
Take the Activity Exam. Show what you’ve learned by taking the Activity exam. It covers the main ideas and practical skills from the MS Project Master Class Book and this Activity Workspace.
Review Best Practices for Activity 5 (5 minutes)
Best practices in project management, including Microsoft Project, refer to a set of proven techniques, methods, or processes recognized as effective and efficient in achieving project objectives. These practices have evolved through the collective experiences of project managers and organizations across various industries. They are considered the most reliable and successful approach to managing projects and can be applied in different environments. When incorporating Microsoft Project into project management workflows, several specific best practices can further enhance project initiation, planning, execution, closing, and control.
Top-Down Approach
Create a work breakdown structure using a top-down approach. Start with the project’s SMART+A Objectives, outline the major phases, and create summary elements to group activities (work packages or work tasks) and milestones.
The WBS should include all work defined by the project's scope, encompassing every Phase, Activity, Milestone, and deliverable necessary for project completion.
What to Include
The WBS should include all work defined by the project's scope, encompassing every Phase, Activity, Milestone, and deliverable necessary for project completion.
A project should be broken down to a level so that 1) you are confident with your estimates and 2) you can communicate effectively about the project.
You should be able to confidently say, “The project will be successful if we complete all of the activities and reach all of the milestones in the Work Breakdown Structure within the triple constraints of the project.”
Naming Conventions
All elements in a WBS should have unique names.
The idea behind naming conventions for elements in the WBS is to standardize them across all projects and to recognize elements easily by the convention used.
Project Title - The organization often determines the naming convention. However, the following are industry standards:
Phase - (Level 1) The naming convention at the phase level is short nouns, such as:
Initiate
Plan
Deploy
Summary - The naming convention is noun phrase; for instance:
Project Server Design
Project Server Configuration
Project Server Pilot
Activity - The naming convention is a verb-noun format. For instance:
Gather Requirements
Design Prototype
Compile Report
Milestone - The naming convention is a past-participle phrase. For instance:
Project Started
Budget Approved
Signature Obtained
Project Completed
Recurring Summary - Depending on the position in the WBS, this is a summary element; the naming convention should a noun phrase.
Phases and Summary Tasks
Don’t create redundancy by adding your own Project Summary Task. Instead, toggle the display for the one that Microsoft Project calculates, regardless of whether you display it.
Level 1 of the Outline or WBS should be reserved for the project phases.
Except for notes or attachments, or perhaps information entered into custom fields, do not add additional details, such as links and resources, at the summary level. That includes the Project Summary Task, Project Phases at Level 1, and Summary Tasks,
Review Microsoft Project Features Used in Activity 5 (5 minutes)
Summary Tasks
Summary Tasks in Microsoft Project are any row items with tasks indented below.
Microsoft Project has two types of Summary Tasks, and we have added a third classification at Level 1 of the outline. Number three is a distinction we have made, not a type of task in Microsoft Project.
The Project Summary Task, or row zero.
Summary Tasks that summarize Detail Tasks and Milestones are indented below them.
The Phases or Major Deliverables of the project at Level 1 in the outline or WBS.
Detail Tasks
Detail Tasks have some duration, and no tasks are indented below them. We call these types of tasks activities. Some also call them work packages or terminal elements.
For instance, work packages are defined as the smallest unit of work into which a project can be broken down when creating a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
In MS Project, detail tasks are known as activities, work packages, and terminal elements.
It is on these tasks that all of the additional detail is added, such as:
Estimates of duration and/or work (Covered in Activity 6: Enter Estimates).
Assigned resources and costs (Covered in Activity 10: Acquire Project Team).
Thus, the word “detail.”
Milestones
Milestones are Detail Tasks of zero duration. In Microsoft Project, milestones can be any detail task or summary task marked as a milestone, meaning that a summary task and a detail task can be displayed as a milestone in any Microsoft Project view displaying milestones.
Figure 5.18 Mark task as a milestone feature in Microsoft Project.
Recurring Task
In Microsoft Project, recurring tasks are a feature that allows you to schedule tasks that occur regularly without manually entering them each time. This is especially useful for regular meetings, inspections, or routine activities.
To create a recurring task in Microsoft Project, you typically need to:
Navigate to a Gantt Chart or Task Sheet view and select where to insert the recurring task.
Access the 'Task' menu, where you'll find the option for a recurring task.
In the 'Recurring Task Information' dialog box, enter the details of the task, such as its name, duration, recurrence pattern (daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly), and start date. You can also set how often the task repeats, such as every Tuesday and Thursday or every three weeks.
Once you've set up a recurring task, Microsoft Project will display it as a summary task, with each occurrence shown as a subtask. You can then assign resources, set predecessors, and manage these tasks as part of your project plan. However, it's important to note that while recurring tasks can help keep track of routine activities, they may not always be necessary for events that don't impact the project's critical path, such as status meetings.
Recurring tasks in Microsoft Project are a helpful way to manage and track regular activities and ensure they are not overlooked in the hustle of project management. It's a feature that aids in both organizing and visualizing routine parts of your project timeline
Figure 5.19 Inserting a recurring task in Microsoft Project.
Ensure Your Master Project and Exercise Activity 5 Files are Up-To-Date (10 minutes)
When finished with exercises 1 - 4, your Master Project should be current, and you have updated several other files.
Exercise 5.4:
Your Master Project should have the following:
All of the project phases, or Level 1 summary elements.
At least one project phase’s WBS is fully defined.
Milestones for the start and finish of the project. These milestones are positioned correctly.
In previous exercises, you converted your SMART+A Objectives into milestones, which should now be positioned correctly in the WBS.
Exercise 5.1:
The Residential Construction.mpp file should have:
An On-Site Review recurring task. The tasks under the recurring task are each 3 hours long and occur every two weeks on Friday.
The project Phases, or Level 1 summary elements, have one or two-word nouns.
In addition, the duration of the project should be 6.91 months.
Figure 5.20 Residential Construction.mpp exercise file.
Exercise 5.2:
In the Annual Report Preparation.mpp project, you should have:
Displayed the Project Summary Task.
Renamed the phases at Level 1.
Indented the Annual Report Complete milestone.
Highlighted the background of all milestones in a light green.
Figure 5.21 Annual Report Preparation.mpp exercise file.
Exercises 5.3:
The WBS Manager.mpp file should have the following:
The exact WBS definition appears in the figures above, including the code definitions and the WBS column.
All milestones should have a background highlighted in light pink or magenta.
Figure 5.22 WBS Manager.mpp exercise file.
If you are working with a coach or plan on earning a certificate, use this file folder system to store your files.
Review List of All Completed Activity 5 Files (5 minutes)
The files used in this Activity Workspace:
Your Master Project.mpp.
Residential Construction.mpp.
Annual Report Preparation.mpp.
WBS Manager.mpp.
Your Updated Journal.
Build Work Breakdown Structure Learning Objectives.docx.
Printed PDF Exam Results.
What to Do with Your Files
After you finish this Activity, remember to save your files and keep them organized.
If you are working with a Master Class Coach:
Put all the files listed above into your folder structure as suggested.
Zip these folders before your next session.
Email the zipped file to your Master Class Coach.
You don’t need to send your files to a Certified Master Class Reviewer to earn a certificate; your coach will review your work.
If you are NOT working with a Master Class Coach (Certificate Path):
Put all the files listed above into your folder structure.
Zip the files to archive them and keep everything organized.
When you’re ready, send all your Activity files together to a Certified Master Class Reviewer for evaluation.
Important
As you work through all Activities, you’re building a complete set of project files. Keep everything organized since you’ll need the full set for review.
Evaluate the Activity 5 Learning Objectives (10 minutes)
To assess whether you have met the learning objectives outlined for the chapter on work breakdown structure, you could ask the following questions:
Project Title Importance:
How do you set and display the project title in Microsoft Project, and why must it be unique and at the top of the WBS (row zero)?
Defining Major Phases as Level 1
Can you give an example of how to name a major phase as a Level 1 summary task in the WBS?
What is a good naming convention for a project phase?
Identifying and Naming Activities (Detail Tasks)
What are the key considerations when identifying and naming activities in your project?
Recognizing and Defining Milestones
How do you identify and name milestones in Microsoft Project, and what significance do they hold in project management?
Balancing Detail in the WBS
How do you determine the appropriate level of detail for the WBS?
What are the risks of having too much or too little detail?
Navigating Task Types in Microsoft Project
How do Microsoft Project’s different types of tasks differ from traditional WBS elements?
How would you use different types of tasks in WBS construction?
These questions cover a range of cognitive levels, from understanding and application to analysis and synthesis, ensuring a comprehensive assessment of the learning objectives.
Before taking the following, click the Download icon above to open the Build Work Breakdown Structure Learning Objectives.docx and complete this assessment.
Final Score
When you are finished, print your score and exam results as a PDF file if you are working with a Coach or plan to earn a certificate.
Take the Activity 5 Exam (6 minutes)
Complete this Activity by taking the exam. Take the exam by clicking on the Exams button below.
Here are some essential guidelines for taking the exam:
Approach the exam as a closed-book assessment, relying solely on your memory and grasp of the subject matter.
Always select the most appropriate answer.
Keep in mind that answers carry different weights.
Feel free to attempt the exam multiple times to refine your understanding.
To attain the MS Project 24 Hour Master Class Certificate of Completion, achieve a final score of 80% or higher.
In this Master Class, the goal is not to build a detailed schedule too early—it is to build the project correctly so that Microsoft Project produces a reliable and defensible plan.
With your Work Breakdown Structure now in place, you have defined what will be built. The next Activity is about how long it will take, how much work is required, and what it will cost.
Starting with Activity 6: Enter Estimates, you will assign duration, work, and cost to each Activity. This is where the structure you created begins to take shape as a project plan, transforming a well-defined plan into a model that can be calculated, analyzed, and managed.
Return to the Master Class Book, read the rest of the chapter and then begin Activity 6: Enter Estimates.
Build Work Breakdown Structure FAQs
What Is a Work Breakdown Structure in Microsoft Project?
A Work Breakdown Structure, or WBS, is the organized structure of the project’s scope. In Microsoft Project, the WBS is usually shown as an outline comprising the Project Summary Task, Major Phases, Summary Elements, Activities, Milestones, and Recurring Summaries.
Why Is the WBS Important?
The WBS defines what work is included in the project. It becomes the foundation for estimating, scheduling, resource planning, communication, reporting, updates, and project control. If the WBS is weak, the rest of the project plan will also be weak.
What Is the Project Summary Task?
The Project Summary Task is the top-level summary row in Microsoft Project. In the MS Project Master Class, this is treated as the Project Title. It represents the entire project and summarizes total duration, work, cost, start date, and finish date.
What Should Be Placed at Level 1 of the WBS?
Level 1 should be reserved for the project’s Major Phases. These phases organize the project into its broadest sections and should usually be named with short nouns or noun phrases.
What Is the Difference Between a Summary Task and an Activity?
A Summary Task groups related work below it. An Activity is what Microsoft Project calls a detail task with duration and no elements indented below it. In the MS Project Master Class, most planning detail—such as estimates, resources, links, and updates—is added at the Activity level.
How Should Activities Be Named?
Activities should usually be named using a verb-noun format, such as Gather Requirements, Design Prototype, or Compile Report. This makes the work clear, action-oriented, and easier to manage.
How Should Milestones Be Named?
Milestones should usually be named with a past-participle phrase or noun phrase, such as Budget Approved, Design Completed, Contract Awarded, or Project Finished. Milestones mark important events, approvals, or completed outcomes.
How Detailed Should the WBS Be?
The WBS should be detailed enough to support confident estimates and clear communication, but not so detailed that the project becomes difficult to manage. A good test is whether the project manager can estimate, schedule, assign resources, track progress, and communicate effectively at the Activity level.
Should Resources, Links, and Estimates Be Added to Summary Elements?
Usually, no. Summary Tasks should summarize the work below them. Estimates, resources, dependencies, constraints, and progress updates should normally be added to Activities rather than Summary Elements.
What Are WBS Codes in Microsoft Project?
WBS codes are structured codes used to identify and organize tasks in the project outline. Microsoft Project can generate custom WBS codes using the Define Code command. These codes can help organize large projects or distinguish work across multiple related project files.
What Is the Difference Between ID, Unique ID, Outline Number, and WBS Code?
The ID changes when tasks move in the schedule. The Unique ID stays with the task and does not change. The Outline Number shows the task’s position in the WBS outline. The WBS Code can be customized to support organizational or project reporting needs.
How Does Building the WBS Support the Master Project?
Building the WBS gives the Master Project its structure. Once the WBS is in place, the project is ready for estimating, schedule logic, resource planning, baselining, updating, and project control. This Activity defines what the project includes before later Activities define how long it will take, what resources are needed, and how the work will be managed.
Why Does Activity 5 Come Before Enter Estimates?
You cannot estimate work intelligently until you know what work exists. Activity 5 defines the scope and structure of the project. Activity 6 then adds duration, work, cost, and resource-related estimates to the Activities in that structure.
What Should I Have Completed by the End of Activity 5?
By the end of Activity 5, your Master Project should include the major project phases, at least one fully developed WBS section, start and finish milestones, and any SMART+A objective milestones positioned correctly within the WBS.
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