WBS and Scheduling

The WBS should be used as the outline for the schedule, using the levels of indenture down to the work package level. Because the WBS defines the work in lower levels of detail, its framework provides the starting point for defining all activities that will be used to develop the program schedule.

The lowest level of the WBS is the work package. Within the work packages, the activities are defined and scheduled. When developing the program schedule, the WBS may be copied into the scheduling software. From there, the lower-level work packages and subsequent activities and tasks are defined.

Accordingly, the WBS provides a logical and orderly way to begin preparing the detailed schedule, determining the relationships between activities, and identifying resources required to accomplish the tasks. High-level summary activities and detail activities in the schedule should map directly to the WBS to ensure that the schedule encompasses the entire work effort. GAO’s Schedule Assessment Guide has more information on WBS and scheduling.16

  1. GAO, Schedule Assessment Guide: Best Practices for Project Schedules, GAO-16-89G (Washington, D.C.: December 2015).↩︎