Work Breakdown Structure
The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a project management tool that helps us establish realistic goals and minimize the unpredictability of drug development projects. Also referred to as "How-How" analysis, the WBS allows us to step back and get a bird's eye view of the entire scope of a specific project. We get a good look at the tangible goals and the detailed steps required to attain these. The WBS helps the development team assess and manage the scope, time, and risk factors that may affect the project's outcome.
We build the WBS by first identifying the desired end results and work our way backwards by repeatedly asking, "How can we achieve this task?" Using this simple iterative process we break down each goal into a set of tasks or work units that need to be accomplished to achieve the desired objectives. We then further process each of the resulting tasks to break these down into smaller and smaller work units until we produce a detailed list of tasks that will help give the team an idea of all the activities involved. This process naturally flows into the next stages, where each activity can be assigned an amount of time and delegated to specific resources.
