Work Breakdown Structure Template
Scope projects and keep track of all the moving pieces with the Work Breakdown Structure Template. Know right away what needs to be done and execute tasks more efficiently.
Trusted by 65M+ users and leading companies
About the Work Breakdown Structure Template
Planning complex projects can be challenging. Use the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) template to quickly decompose the project’s total scope, including specific deliverables and activities. This helps with estimating resources and costs, creating a phased schedule of tasks, and managing each phase.
When to use a Work Breakdown Structure Template
A Work Breakdown Structure template is a project management tool that lays out everything a project must accomplish, organizes those tasks into multiple levels, and displays these elements graphically. It’s a deliverable-based approach, meaning you’ll end up with a detailed project plan of the deliverables you must create to finish the job.
Use the WBS template when you need to deconstruct your team's work into smaller, well-defined elements to make it more manageable. The template makes it easy to keep team members informed, identify specific project deliverables, and help you develop a project schedule. The hierarchical structure makes it easier for a project manager to oversee a complex project and make sure every task gets done.
Share your expertise on Miroverse 🚀
Publish your own template and help over 60M+ Miro users jump-start their work.
What are the 4 elements of the Work Breakdown Structure template?
1. Hierarchy.
Each Work Breakdown Structure is hierarchical. That means every “child” on the graph has a hierarchical relationship with its parent task. When you add up all the “child” elements, it’ll give you a clear picture of the parent task.
2. 100% rule.
While every Work Breakdown Structure is a little different, they all follow the 100% rule. Every level of the graph must make up 100% of the parent level, and it must have at least two “child” elements.
3. Mutually exclusive elements.
Every element at each level of a WBS template has to be mutually exclusive. That means there can’t be any overlap between deliverables or work. Enforcing mutual exclusivity helps cut down on miscommunication and avoid duplicate work.
4. Outcome-oriented.
The Work Breakdown Structure is fundamentally a deliverable-oriented system. That means your graphic depiction must focus on the outcomes rather than the activities required to produce them. A good rule of thumb is to describe elements using nouns rather than verbs.
How to Create a Work Breakdown Structure with Miro in 3 Steps
Get started by selecting the Work Breakdown Structure Template and adding it to your board. Then, follow these steps to fill it in:
1. Set goals & objectives
First, scope the entire project and make sure you understand the goals and objectives. That means determining what your project team is trying to accomplish with the project, how it fits into the broader goals of your organization.
2. Lay out deliverables
Next, catalog all of the major high-level deliverables of the project. These will be the second tier of the structure, and will be comprised of sub-projects that work towards the overall goals & objectives laid out in the first step.
3. Break deliverables into individual tasks
Finally, break those high-level deliverables into smaller pieces for a third level of activities that need to be done to complete the project. These are the specific daily sub-tasks required to get the project off the ground and ultimately completed.
If you'd prefer to start from scratch, Miro's diagramming functionalities make it the perfect WBS creator to visualize a project's components.
Work Breakdown Structure Example
As a product manager, you probably need to organize projects and align different teams across product launches and updates.
In Miro’s WBS Template, you can see the product launch steps divided into departments:
Research
Design
Development
QA
Measurement
We know that every organization is different, and for that reason, you can easily customize the Work Breakdown Structure Template to meet your specific project's needs.
To complete your WBS template, you can add the tasks under each area or department. It can be user research, product development, performance tracking, etc. Once you are done, you will be able to see the whole process at a glance.
What is included in a work breakdown structure template?
There are typically three levels to a work breakdown structure: first, overall goals and objectives, with deliverables as the next level, and finally individual tasks as the final level.
Why use a work breakdown structure?
A work breakdown structure is a great way to break down an overall project into distinct individual tasks, along with aligning each of those tasks with priorities, goals & objectives. Get started with Miro's Work Breakdown Structure template.
How do you create a work breakdown structure?
You can create a WBS template in 3 simple steps: 1. Set goals and project scope 2. Set deliverables in the second tier of the structure 3. Break deliverables into individual tasks and assign them
What are the benefits of a work breakdown structure?
The WBS template can help you visualize your project needs and outcomes easily and better manage your team capacity and resources.
Get started with this template right now.
Floor Plan Template
Works best for:
Operations, Workshops
Maybe you’re planning a big occasion or event. Or maybe you’re arranging seating structures and traffic flows that are more permanent. Either way, creating a floor plan—an overhead scaled diagram of the space—is equal parts functional and fun. This template will let you visualize how people will move about the space and know quickly if the space will do what you need, before you commit time, money, or resources. And you’ll be able to get as detailed as you want—finding the right measurements and dimensions, and adding or removing appliances and furniture.
Multiple-Product Roadmap
Works best for:
Planning, Mapping
The Multiple Product Roadmap template empowers product managers to visualize and manage multiple product initiatives effectively. By providing a centralized view of project timelines, dependencies, and milestones, this template fosters alignment and transparency across teams. With sections for prioritizing initiatives, tracking progress, and communicating updates, it enables teams to coordinate efforts and drive collective success. This template serves as a strategic tool for planning and executing product roadmaps that align with organizational goals and drive business growth.
Market Segmentation Matrix Template
Works best for:
Marketing, Strategic Planning, Product Management
Successful, compelling marketing begins and ends with knowing your audience — who they are, where they are, and what they want and expect. A market segmentation matrix will help you understand them on a deeper level. This business tool divides your target market into subsets based on demographics, geography, needs, interests, psychographics, or behavioral characteristics. You can then use these insights and data to hit it out of the park, by building better product, sales, and marketing strategies. Our template lets you set up and populate a Market Segmentation Matrix with ease.
Crazy Eights Template
Works best for:
Design Thinking, Brainstorming, Ideation
Sometimes you just need to get the team’s creative juices flowing for a brainstorm—and get them thinking of as many ideas as they can, as fast as they can. Crazy Eights will do it in a hurry. Favoring quantity over quality, this sketch brainstorming exercise challenges them to come up with eight ideas in eight minutes, which leaves no time to second guess ideas. It’s perfect for early stages of development, and it’s a team favorite for being fast paced and fun.
Define Your Product's Target Audience
Works best for:
Product Management, Planning
Too broad an audience? Or trying to target too many audiences? This is a certain path to product failure.
Monthly Planner Template
Works best for:
Operations, Strategic Planning, Project Planning
To knock out every task and accomplish every goal for the month, it helps to take a big picture, 10,000 foot view of things—meaning a 30-day view. That’s why a monthly calendar can come in so handy, especially on bigger projects. Use our template to create a visual representation that helps you track and space out every deadline and to-do, both for individuals and full teams. You’ll even be able to customize it your way, with images, video, and sticky notes.