There is no WBS in Agile
But there is something better
The Work Breakdown Structure is a project management tool used to define the scope of a project. The Project Management Institute says that “creation of a WBS to define the scope of the project will help ensure delivery of the project’s objectives and outcomes”
Forbes provides some reasons why a WBS is helpful to Project Managers:
- it breaks the project down into constituent deliverables and tasks so that it is more manageable
- it helps individuals and teams focus on their specific tasks and deliverables, and
- it helps to monitor progress.
So why do Agile teams not use a WBS?
Firstly, because we don’t plan projects based on the tasks required to hit milestones and create ‘deliverables’.
The sort of projects for which that planning approach are suitable (and yes, they do exist) are categorised in Cynefin as Complicated projects; i.e. those where it is feasible and appropriate to utilise experts to analyse the problem, design the solution and then implement it, i.e. waterfall style.
Agile teams plan based on granular customer or user needs, captured as user stories. We use this approach on Complex projects because it recognises…
