What is a work breakdown structure?Ī work breakdown structure (WBS) is a useful and widely-used project management tool. You’ll use it as a basis for planning projects and identifying and organizing project phases and deliverables. A WBS is a snapshot of all the work stakeholders and teams need to complete to successfully finish a project. A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a project management tool that decomposes the total scope of work required to deliver a product, service, or project into smaller, more manageable components.