Introduction
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The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a view into the project which shows what work the project encompasses. It is a tool which helps to easily communicate the work and processes involved to execute the project. The Project Manager and project team use the WBS to develop the project schedule, resource requirements and costs. There are many ways you can present the WBS for your project; this template provides many of the most popular layouts from which you can choose. Depending on where in the Project Plan you’re putting the WBS a different layout may be more suitable for you. For instance many Project Managers include a high level WBS within the project plan, then a detailed version as an appendix to the plan. You may find that you prefer one layout for a high level WBS and a different one for a detailed WBS.
In order to save space in this work breakdown structure template we only developed the WBS examples down to the third level. In your project you will want to develop them down to a much more detailed level using the 8 to 80 rule (where the WBS is broken down to where a work package contains between 8 and 80 hours of work to complete).
The Work Breakdown Structure presented here represents all the work required to complete this project.
Outline View
The outline view presents an easy to view and understand layout for the WBS. It is also a good layout to use when developing the WBS because you can easily make changes, especially since the Microsoft Word auto numbering feature updates the WBS Code automatically.
1. Widget Management System
1.1 Initiation
1.1.1 Evaluation & Recommendations
1.1.2 Develop Project Charter
1.1.3 Deliverable: Submit Project Charter
1.1.4 Project Sponsor Reviews Project Charter
1.1.5 Project Charter Signed/Approved
1.2 Planning
1.2.1 Create Preliminary Scope Statement
1.2.2 Determine Project Team
1.2.3 Project Team Kickoff Meeting
1.2.4 Develop Project Plan
1.2.5 Submit Project Plan
1.2.6 Milestone: Project Plan Approval
1.3 Execution
1.3.1 Project Kickoff Meeting
1.3.2 Verify & Validate User Requirements
1.3.3 Design System
1.3.4 Procure Hardware/Software
1.3.5 Install Development System
1.3.6 Testing Phase
1.3.7 Install Live System
1.3.8 User Training
1.3.9 Go Live
1.4 Control
1.4.1 Project Management
1.4.2 Project Status Meetings
1.4.3 Risk Management
1.4.4 Update Project Management Plan
1.5 Closeout
1.5.1 Audit Procurement
1.5.2 Document Lessons Learned
1.5.3 Update Files/Records
1.5.4 Gain Formal Acceptance
1.5.5 Archive Files/Documents
1.1 Initiation
1.1.1 Evaluation & Recommendations
1.1.2 Develop Project Charter
1.1.3 Deliverable: Submit Project Charter
1.1.4 Project Sponsor Reviews Project Charter
1.1.5 Project Charter Signed/Approved
1.2 Planning
1.2.1 Create Preliminary Scope Statement
1.2.2 Determine Project Team
1.2.3 Project Team Kickoff Meeting
1.2.4 Develop Project Plan
1.2.5 Submit Project Plan
1.2.6 Milestone: Project Plan Approval
1.3 Execution
1.3.1 Project Kickoff Meeting
1.3.2 Verify & Validate User Requirements
1.3.3 Design System
1.3.4 Procure Hardware/Software
1.3.5 Install Development System
1.3.6 Testing Phase
1.3.7 Install Live System
1.3.8 User Training
1.3.9 Go Live
1.4 Control
1.4.1 Project Management
1.4.2 Project Status Meetings
1.4.3 Risk Management
1.4.4 Update Project Management Plan
1.5 Closeout
1.5.1 Audit Procurement
1.5.2 Document Lessons Learned
1.5.3 Update Files/Records
1.5.4 Gain Formal Acceptance
1.5.5 Archive Files/Documents
Hierarchical Structure
The hierarchal structure is similar to the outline view but without indentation. Although this format is more difficult to read, it may be useful where you have many levels and indenting each level would make the table to large to fit into a document.
Level | WBS Code | Element Name |
---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Widget Management System |
2 | 1.1 | Initiation |
3 | 1.1.1 | Evaluation & Recommendations |
3 | 1.1.2 | Develop Project Charter |
3 | 1.1.3 | Deliverable: Submit Project Charter |
3 | 1.1.4 | Project Sponsor Reviews Project Charter |
3 | 1.1.5 | Project Charter Signed/Approved |
2 | 1.2 | Planning |
3 | 1.2.1 | Create Preliminary Scope Statement |
3 | 1.2.2 | Determine Project Team |
3 | 1.2.3 | Project Team Kickoff Meeting |
3 | 1.2.4 | Develop Project Plan |
3 | 1.2.5 | Submit Project Plan |
3 | 1.2.6 | Milestone: Project Plan Approval |
2 | 1.3 | Execution |
3 | 1.3.1 | Project Kickoff Meeting |
3 | 1.3.2 | Verify & Validate User Requirements |
3 | 1.3.3 | Design System |
3 | 1.3.4 | Procure Hardware/Software |
3 | 1.3.5 | Install Development System |
3 | 1.3.6 | Testing Phase |
3 | 1.3.7 | Install Live System |
3 | 1.3.8 | User Training |
3 | 1.3.9 | Go Live |
2 | 1.4 | Control |
3 | 1.4.1 | Project Management |
3 | 1.4.2 | Project Status Meetings |
3 | 1.4.3 | Risk Management |
3 | 1.4.4 | Update Project Management Plan |
2 | 1.5 | Closeout |
3 | 1.5.1 | Audit Procurement |
3 | 1.5.2 | Document Lessons Learned |
3 | 1.5.3 | Update Files/Records |
3 | 1.5.4 | Gain Formal Acceptance |
3 | 1.5.5 | Archive Files/Documents |
Tabular View
The Tabular View is a nicely organized table view of the WBS. It is a good option for organizations which prefer table formats.
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 |
---|---|---|
1 Widget Management System | 1.1 Initiation | 1.1.1 Evaluation & Recommendations 1.1.2 Develop Project Charter 1.1.3 Deliverable: Submit Project Charter 1.1.4 Project Sponsor Reviews Project Charter 1.1.5 Project Charter Signed/Approved |
1.2 Planning | 1.2.1 Create Preliminary Scope Statement 1.2.2 Determine Project Team 1.2.3 Project Team Kickoff Meeting 1.2.4 Develop Project Plan 1.2.5 Submit Project Plan 1.2.6 Milestone: Project Plan Approval | |
1.3 Execution | 1.3.1 Project Kickoff Meeting 1.3.2 Verify & Validate User Requirements 1.3.3 Design System 1.3.4 Procure Hardware/Software 1.3.5 Install Development System 1.3.6 Testing Phase 1.3.7 Install Live System 1.3.8 User Training 1.3.9 Go Live | |
1.4 Control | 1.4.1 Project Management 1.4.2 Project Status Meetings 1.4.3 Risk Management 1.4.4 Update Project Management Plan | |
1.5 Closeout | 1.5.1 Audit Procurement 1.5.2 Document Lessons Learned 1.5.3 Update Files/Records 1.5.4 Gain Formal Acceptance 1.5.5 Archive Files/Documents |
Tree Structure View
The Tree Structure View is the most popular format for the Work Breakdown Structure. It presents an easy to understand view into the WBS; however, it is also tricky to create without an application specifically designed for creating this organizational chart structure. The Tree Structure below was created using only Microsoft Word and the SmartArt graphics option under the insert menu.
WBS Dictionary
The WBS Dictionary contains all the details of the Work Breakdown Structure which are necessary to successfully complete the project. Most importantly it contains a definition of each Work Package which can be thought of as a mini scope statement. Resources on the project will look at the WBS dictionary to determine the scope of the Work Package they’ve been assigned, so it’s important to be clear when writing the definition. Most WBS dictionaries contain more information than we show in our sample. These things usually include Level of Effort, Cost Control Numbers, Resource Assignments, Responsibility Assignments – just to name a few.
Level | WBS Code | WBS Code | Definition |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Widget Management System | All work to implement a new widget management system. |
2 | 1.1 | Initiation | The work to initiate the project. |
3 | 1.1.1 | Evaluation & Recommendations | Working group to evaluate solution sets and make recommendations. |
3 | 1.1.2 | Develop Project Charter | Project Manager to develop the Project Charter. |
3 | 1.1.3 | Deliverable: Submit Project Charter | Project Charter is delivered to the Project Sponsor. |
3 | 1.1.4 | Project Sponsor Reviews Project Charter | Project sponsor reviews the Project Charter. |
3 | 1.1.5 | Project Charter Signed/Approved | The Project Sponsor signs the Project Charter which authorizes the Project Manager to move to the Planning Process. |
2 | 1.2 | Planning | The work for the planning process for the project. |
3 | 1.2.1 | Create Preliminary Scope Statement | Project Manager creates a Preliminary Scope Statement. |
3 | 1.2.2 | Determine Project Team | The Project Manager determines the project team and requests the resources. |
3 | 1.2.3 | Project Team Kickoff Meeting | The planning process is officially started with a project kickoff meeting which includes the Project Manager, Project Team and Project Sponsor (optional). |
3 | 1.2.4 | Develop Project Plan | Under the direction of the Project Manager the team develops the project plan. |
3 | 1.2.5 | Submit Project Plan | Project Manager submits the project plan for approval. |
3 | 1.2.6 | Milestone: Project Plan Approval | The project plan is approved and the Project Manager has permission to proceed to execute the project according to the project plan. |
2 | 1.3 | Execution | Work involved to execute the project. |
3 | 1.3.1 | Project Kickoff Meeting | Project Manager conducts a formal kick off meeting with the project team, project stakeholders and project sponsor. |
3 | 1.3.2 | Verify & Validate User Requirements | The original user requirements is reviewed by the project manager and team, then validated with the users/stakeholders. This is where additional clarification may be needed. |
3 | 1.3.3 | Design System | The technical resources design the new widget management system. |
3 | 1.3.4 | Procure Hardware/Software | The procurement of all hardware, software and facility needs for the project. |
3 | 1.3.5 | Install Development System | Team installs a development system for testing and customizations of user interfaces. |
3 | 1.3.6 | Testing Phase | The system is tested with a select set of users. |
3 | 1.3.7 | Install Live System | The actual system is installed and configured. |
3 | 1.3.8 | User Training | All users are provided with a four hours training class. Additionally, managers are provided with an additional two hours class to cover advanced reporting. |
3 | 1.3.9 | Go Live | System goes live with all users. |
2 | 1.4 | Control | The work involved for the control process of the project. |
3 | 1.4.1 | Project Management | Overall project management for the project. |
3 | 1.4.2 | Project Status Meetings | Weekly team status meetings. |
3 | 1.4.3 | Risk Management | Risk management efforts as defined in the Risk Management Plan. |
3 | 1.4.4 | Update Project Management Plan | Project Manager updates the Project Management Plan as the project progresses. |
2 | 1.5 | Closeout | The work to close-out the project. |
3 | 1.5.1 | Audit Procurement | An audit of all hardware and software procured for the project, ensures that all procured products are accounted for and in the asset management system. |
3 | 1.5.2 | Document Lessons Learned | Project Manager along with the project team performs a lessons learned meeting and documents the lessons learned for the project. |
3 | 1.5.3 | Update Files/Records | All files and records are updated to reflect the widget management system. |
3 | 1.5.4 | Gain Formal Acceptance | The Project Sponsor formally accepts the project by signing the acceptance document included in the project plan. |
3 | 1.5.5 | Archive Files/Documents | All project related files and documents are formally archived. |
Glossary of Terms
It’s important that you provide a glossary of terms as some of the terms are not understood by persons without a project management background. For instance what the PMI Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures refers to as the WBS Code is commonly referred to as the WBS number.
Level of Effort: Level of Effort (LOE) is how much work is required to complete a task.
WBS Code: A unique identifier assigned to each element in a Work Breakdown Structure for the purpose of designating the elements hierarchical location within the WBS.
Work Package: A Work Package is a deliverable or work component at the lowest level of its WBS branch.
WBS Component: A component of a WBS which is located at any level. It can be a Work Package or a WBS Element as there’s no restriction on what a WBS Component is.
WBS Element: A WBS Element is a single Work Breakdown Structure component and its associated attributes located anywhere within a WBS. A WBS Element can contain work, or it can contain other WBS Elements or Work Packages.
What’s worse than sitting through a boring presentation? Being the one to deliver a boring presentation. Presentation templates to the rescue!
Say goodbye to typical, boring PowerPoint slides, too. Instead, use presentation templates like this one to engage your audience:
Just so you know, some of our templates are free and some require a small monthly fee to use. Signing up to Venngage is always free.
In this post, we’ll show you how create a presentation that will not only grab the attention of your audience but hold onto it as well. And we’ll give you design tips to customize our presentation templates.
The example above shows how you can customize our templates and export them directly to PowerPoint. Click any of the presentation templates on this page, sign up for free and you’ll enter Venngage’s online presentation maker tool. It’s a drag and drop editor that anyone can use.
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Design a presentation that engages your audience
Think about the last boring presentation you sat through:
- What did the slides look like?
- Did they have a bland color scheme?
- Were there too many points (or worse, paragraphs) crammed onto one slide?
- Were the charts and diagrams clunky and hard to understand?
When people see the same old boring PowerPoint themes, there’s a good chance they’re going to lose focus.
The demand for creative, engaging visual content is higher than ever. If you want to really capture your audience’s attention, you need to use creative presentation designs, like this one:
That means incorporating eye-catching images, effective data visualizations, and bold typography into your slide decks.
This onboarding presentation, for example, strategically uses bright icons and illustrations to make the material more engaging. This is especially important when presenting to new hires, who are likely dealing with information overload on their first day.
In this particular case, a more visual approach is not necessarily a matter of aesthetic preference, but a decision that can make your presentations more likely to stick.
Pro Tip: Venngage has over 40,000 icons and illustrations you can use to spice up your presentations!
Pro Tip: Venngage has over 40,000 icons and illustrations you can use to spice up your presentations!
Need something more geared towards speaking? Our keynote presentation templates are all the rage.
Many Venngage users have told us that they’re always looking for ways to make presentations more engaging. But most of them don’t have any formal design experience.
If you’re in the same boat, don’t worry–this guide is for you. You can also check out this video for all the highlights:
Here are my top tips for designing a presentation with impact:
1. Dedicate each slide to only one topic
Just as it’s important for your slides to not be cluttered, it’s also important for your slides to be cohesive.
Keep each slide focused on just one topic. The topic of each slide should be clearly stated in the slide title.
For example, this presentation template covers different ways to be creative. Each individual slide covers one approach:
This simple, straightforward slide pattern will help the audience follow along without any confusion.
Or take this presentation template that introduces some of this year’s biggest business trends. Rather than listing multiple trends on one slide, each trend is fleshed out in its own slide:
As a presenter, keeping your slide topics organized will help you organize your thoughts as well. Each new slide will signal a new topic.
2. Start with presentation templates
Before jumping into the other tips, let’s set the foundation.
You’ve decided to create something a little more interesting than a standard PowerPoint theme–good on you! But that doesn’t mean you have to start completely from scratch.
Instead, you can give yourself a head start by using creative presentation templates, like this one:
Or this one:
While most PowerPoint themes are fairly limited in how much you can customize them, freeform presentation templates will give you the freedom to alter the design as much as you want.
For example, let’s take this template:
I used Venngage’s My Brand Kit tool to apply our brand color palette to the Uber template in one click:
We’ve got a ton of creative presentation templates. You can take a look at them in our templates library.
Cool? Now let’s talk presentation design.
3. Don’t overburden your slides with text
Even if you decide to ignore most of the other tips in this guide, don’t skip over this one. This is presentation design 101.
When you flip to a slide covered wall-to-wall with text, there’s a good chance your audience is going to think:
- I don’t want to read all of that.
- This presenter isn’t well-prepared.
In fact, a study published in Business and Professional Communication Quarterly found that anxious presenters tended to use more text on their slides, usually because they used their slides as speaking notes.
Instead of using a bunch of text, look for ways to present information visually using images, charts and infographics.
For example, this presentation slide template uses brief text and some simple icons to summarize the information:
This startup pitch deck makes use of evocative images, icons and big text to help present its ideas:
4. Establish a visual hierarchy on your slides
When you flip to a new slide, your audience will be seeing it for the first time. Their eyes are going to naturally be drawn whatever the focal point on the page is.
The focal point is the most dominant area on your slide–the point that draws the most attention.
You can create a hierarchy of information on your slide by making the most important information the focal point of your slide. In most cases, the focal point will be the slide title, or a particular visual, or an important phrase or number.
There are a few ways you can create a visual hierarchy on your slides.
You can bold important phrases, like the word “Facebook” in this slide:
Icons also help to establish a reading order. They draw your eye from point to point. Placing icons beside headers and important points will make them stand out from the other information on the slide.
Icons can also be used to indicate where a new point begins:
Color selection can also be used to establish a visual hierarchy. Take a look at how the colorful blocks in this slide help to make the slide titles pop:
Your eyes are drawn first to the title text, then to the supporting information beside it.
5. Pick a visual motif that runs throughout your presentation templates
You can use visuals to pull your presentation design together and make it cohesive. Picking a visual motif will allow you to use consistent visuals throughout your presentation.
A visual motif is a repeated pattern, design, or image. In your presentation design, a motif can take many forms.
One of the simplest approaches is to use a consistent color motif (or color scheme). That could mean using one or two colors for all of your headers, background and borders.
For example, this presentation template uses to shades of purple for a modern design:
But combining different colors and patterns can also make for a more interesting design. For example, this presentation template uses a blue stripe motif to link the slides together visually:
You could also use a recurring shape or image, like the the circle image frames in this presentation template:
Or you could use a motif that reflects the theme of your presentation. For example, this presentation template uses a recurring cloud motif throughout the presentation to reflect the “dream” theme of the brand:
This is a case where starting with a presentation template can really come in handy, because the template will already have a motif. Look for presentation templates with a motif that fits your topic and brand.
6. Visualize data using charts and infographics
Replacing text with visuals is one of the best ways to prevent your slide design from becoming cluttered. Charts and infographics present information in an engaging, digestible way.
I won’t go into too much detail here about what types of charts you should use for what data. We’ve got an in-depth guide to picking charts for that.
But I’ll give you a few ideas for some types of charts and infographics that work well in presentations.
If you want to visualize steps in a process, the history of something, or a roadmap, use a timeline.
This slide template uses a simple timeline with complementary icons to emphasize each date:
To compare amounts or sizes, a bubble chart can help drive the point home:
Learn how to customize this template:
For geographic and demographic information, a map can make a big impact on your audience:
A classic pie chart or bar graph should be easily understood by your audience, provided you’re following chart best practices.
This presentation template uses a bar graph, a pie chart and a line graph to show different metrics:
If you can, mix up the types of data visualizations you use. This will help prevent your audience from getting bored.
Those are just a few different ways you can use charts to visualize. For more ideas, check out our guide to picking the best charts for your data.
7. Create custom illustrations using icons to help tell stories
Custom illustrations are one of this year’s biggest graphic design trends. They’re fun, quirky, and more exciting than a boring old stock photo.
Creating your own illustrations might seem like a costly and time-consuming undertaking. And it can be. But I’m going to offer you a hack:
Use icons to create illustrations.
You can arrange icons together to create a scene–like the pieces of a puzzle. (Venngage offers over 40,000 icons, so finding an image shouldn’t be too hard!)
For example, this real estate presentation template uses icons to illustrate each real estate hack:
When picking icons or symbols for your illustrations, make sure that the icon style you use is consistent. For example, this presentation template uses line art icons for a scribbly youthful look:
For more ideas, read our guide to creating icon illustrations.
8. Highlight important information using big, bold colorful text
Returning the the idea of focal points on your slide: emphasize a key number or phrase in your persuasive presentation using big, bold text in a contrasting color.
This will communicate to your audience that if they take away one thing from your slide, it should be that piece of information.
For example, this presentation template uses brightly colored font in several sizes larger than the rest of the text to emphasize important numbers on each slide:
But you could also pick one color to emphasize key information with. That way, your audience will catch on to the pattern and look for that color in upcoming slides.
Take a look at how this presentation uses teal to contrast with the other text and emphasize information:
9. Alternate between different slide layouts to keep your audience engaged
You may be tempted to use the same slide layout throughout your entire presentation–either for consistency, or because you’re not sure how else to design your slide.
The problem is, using the same slide layout over and over again won’t do much to excite your audience.
There are other ways you can create consistency throughout your presentation, while also using different slide layouts–like through a visual motif.
For example, this presentation template uses five different slide layouts. The consistent color scheme, image style and font style pulls the presentation together.
To come up with different slide layouts, try dividing your slide into columns. This can make it easier to arrange the elements in your slide.
This can make it easier to arrange the elements in your slide.
10. Add a progress tracker to your presentation slides
Creating a sense of forward movement will help keep your audience engaged.
Similar to how you would put the chapter title at the top of the pages in a book, you can track the progress of your presentations in your slides. This will let your audience know what stage you’re at in your presentation. Your audience will also be able to refer to the sections in your presentation more easily afterwards.
A simple progress bar along the bottom of your slide shouldn’t distract too much from the rest of your information.
11. Download your presentation as a PDF to give to your audience afterwards
It’s common for audience members to request a copy of your presentation for their reference. Make sharing your presentation easy by exporting it as a PDF or zipped file.
If you don’t want to send a PDF, you can present directly in Venngage using our presentation tool. Simply Publish your presentation to be taken to the presentation page, or click the Preview button to view your presentation privately.
Now that you’re equipped with some fundamentals of presentation design, the best way to learn is by doing. It’s also the perfect time to upgrade your presentation skills while you’re thinking about it too!
Work Templates 1.1 Download
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below.
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