Build a Work Breakdown Structure

Quick reference

• 00:04 We're going to create a work breakdown structure in this lesson.
• 00:08 But before we do that, we have this task form displayed, which is a split view.
• 00:13 We don't want to display that anymore,
• 00:16 so the easiest way to get rid of it is to just double click on the resize line.
• 00:20 So this is the resize line, just double click, and it will go away.
• 00:26 If you ever want it back again,
• 00:27 you can just double click down here on the bottom right.
• 00:30 Of course, you can always use the View tab and deselect the Details checkbox.
• 00:38 Let's scroll to the top of the project.
• 00:40 We essentially have a list of tasks, and
• 00:43 they're not broken down into any additional categories.
• 00:48 We want to break these down into categories, so it will be easier for
• 00:52 us to understand when one major area of work starts and another finishes.
• 00:57 We do this by creating what's called a work breakdown structure.
• 01:01 And the work breakdown structure actually is made up of summary tasks.
• 01:06 And summary tasks might also be referred to as phases, stages, or gates,
• 01:11 but essentially it's just a way to break up the project a little bit more.
• 01:16 And we're going to do that now.
• 01:18 When you build a work breakdown structure,
• 01:21 you can look at what's called the outline number.
• 01:23 And this gives you a sense for how far indented certain tasks are.
• 01:29 So if we have our Gantt chart selected,
• 01:31 we'll now click on the Format tab, under Gantt Chart Tools.
• 01:36 Locate the Show Hide section, and then check the Outline Number checkbox.
• 01:42 Now your tasks might move around a little bit,
• 01:45 you can just scroll back up to the top.
• 01:47 Now you can see these numbers next to each task.
• 01:50 Right now each number is coordinated with the item number on
• 01:55 the left hand side of the screen.
• 01:58 What we're going to do is now indent some of these tasks.
• 02:02 So the first thing I'm going to do is create a new heading just above
• 02:07 acquire land.
• 02:08 So I'll right click on task one and choose Insert Task.
• 02:15 Now I can type a heading for some of these tasks that are below.
• 02:22 And then I can select the tasks that are relating to prepare house purchase.
• 02:32 And then what I'll do is go to the Tasks tab and then locate the Indent icon.
• 02:39 Note when you mouse over certain icons, here's the Outdent icon,
• 02:44 you'll also see that there's shortcut keys.
• 02:47 So you can also type Alt + Shift + the right arrow, and
• 02:51 you'll be able to indent the task.
• 02:53 I'm going to use the icon, so I'll indent the tasks.
• 02:56 Now you can see we have this major heading of 1, and
• 03:00 then we have 1.1, 1.2, and so on for these tasks.
• 03:05 Let's create another one.
• 03:12 Now build house went under our 1 section, we want this to be a 2 section.
• 03:19 So we'll outdent this, and
• 03:21 then we'll select all the tasks relating to building the house.
• 03:33 Finally, I'll scroll down and I'll choose one more heading.
• 03:39 So I'll insert a task, outdent it,
• 03:44 and then say interior design
• 03:57 And then I'll do one more task.
• 04:08 There, so now we have a work breakdown structure.
• 04:12 Now it's important to note that you can actually turn a task into a summary task.
• 04:17 A summary task is what's listed as bold.
• 04:19 So here I have paint walls, if I press the indent key, indent icon rather,
• 04:24 you can see the task above it turned into a summary task.
• 04:28 So you should be aware that that happens.
• 04:30 You should never assign resources to summary tasks, nor
• 04:33 do we ever link them with the predecessor linkages.
• 04:36 So I'm going to outdent that and bring it back again, so just be aware of that.
• 04:42 When you create a new summary task, you really should insert a blank line,
• 04:47 and then turn that into a summary task,
• 04:50 rather than converting a current task into a summary task.
• 04:55 To summarize, we created a work breakdown structure that
• 04:59 allows us to logically group tasks into major phases of work.
• 05:04 We can indent these tasks as much as we want, but I recommend you
• 05:08 don't do more than three or four indents, otherwise is going to be hard to read.
• 05:13 Also on the Gantt chart you can see that the summary tasks are listed here by
• 05:18 these brackets.
• 05:19 Summary tasks are always going to represent the start and
• 05:23 finish of the tasks that are located underneath them.
• 05:26 You do not need to keep this number on here.
• 05:30 And you can turn that on anytime you'd like by going to the Format tab and
• 05:37 choosing the Outline Number checkbox to turn it on and off.

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