Effectively managing of the plethora of elements that constitute any type of project implicitly demand the creation and implementation of effective management tools and techniques. These elements need to be properly defined, including their interactions and relationships, in order to establish the influence that they will exert in each phase of a project lifecycle. The purpose of a WBS is to provide a visual, product-oriented, hierarchical structure to organize and breakdown the total work scope of a project, allowing the manager to measure contractor performance and to monitor the different project activities, controlling the effect (positive or negative) that each group of elements is having on the project. In other words, by defining and using a WBS, project managers can pin down and mitigate the group of activities that are causing project cost and schedule overruns.

The WBS structure has to be sufficiently detailed at every level of the hierarchy in order to control work progress, determine responsibilities and facilitate effective management. This structure is required to follow a logical grouping of components to clarify the relationship between the parts, specify project objectives, enable coordination and organize scope. Furthermore, a WBS dictionary has to be develop to provide proper explanation of what each task entails. WBS are composed by elements that are product and action-oriented, excluding activities related to project initiation, acquisition, cost classification, project function or project organization. The process of developing a WBS is typically an iterative process. A WBS is developed during the early stages of the project and is further detailed as the project evolves.

Moreover, WBS is one of the techniques that allow project managers to develop a plan for project lifecycle management. This plan is called a Schedule Management Plan. It is the process through which an Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) is developed, maintained, controlled and archived. The integration of the WBS and the IMS is critical to guarantee that all the project objectives are accomplished as agreed upon and that resources are available to execute the work as planned. Through the IMS, the Critical Path, which is the longest path (hence the minimum amount of time, if evaluated from a time constrain perspective) in which a project can be completed, can be defined and analyzed to a desired level of detail and tailored to the capabilities of the management staff. Additionally, the IMS is critical for the development of an Earned Value Management System (compares planned work against actual work performed and provides schedule forecasts) and Performance Measurement Baselines (the reference used to compare planned and authorized work).

These techniques allow project manager and all related stakeholders to understand their specific role and responsibilities in each of the work processes, as well as proper coordination between them. This ensures that project deliverables and contractual obligations are aligned with the IMS and successfully achieved. Additionally, they help to avoid any confusion to those in charge of project implementation, favoring a more fluent project workflow.