How To Create An Automatic Visual Work Breakdown Structure

The work breakdown structure is the mother of all plans in a project. It's essential for a project manager to create one. But not every projectmanagement software supports it.

This Microsoft Excel tool creates a visual WBS automatically for you - only from a structured list.

Get more information on:
https://techpluscode.de/work-breakdown-structure-with-automatic-progress-visualization/

or

https://techpluscode.de/work-breakdown-structure-wbs-in-3-minutes/

Transcript

1. Techpluscode.de
   How To Create An Automatic
   Visual Work Breakdown
   Structure
   With Microsoft Excel
   And VBA Macro
   

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2. 2
   ▪ Contains sub-projects, work package and tasks
   ▪ Consists of all project work you have to do
   ▪ Is the foundation of your time schedule
   ▪ And of the project plan
   What is a WBS?
   A Work Breakdown Structure is the base plan
   in projectmanagement.
   Creating a WBS is the central task you have to
   do as a project manager
   

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3. 3
   Automatic generated Work
   Breakdown Structure
   Projekt:
   New assembly
   workplace
   2
   Project
   management
   2.1
   Data storage
   2.2
   Controlling
   2.3
   Marketing
   3
   Initialization
   3.1
   Definition
   3.2
   Aims
   4
   Planning
   4.1
   Work prozess
   4.2
   Workplace design
   4.3
   Search of suppliers
   4.3.1
   Requirements
   specification
   4.3.2
   Requests
   4.3.3
   Comparison
   5
   Realization
   5.1
   Order of components
   5.2
   Installation
   5.3
   Test phase
   5.4
   Optimization
   6
   Closing
   6.1
   Lessons learned
   6.2
   Final report
   • Automatic formatted
   WBS chart
   • Choose your own
   style
   • Create native
   Microsoft Office
   shapes
   • Use all Office effects
   • And all only from a
   simple list
   

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4. 4
   Get it in 5 steps
   1. Download the Excel macro Automatic_WBS
   2. Create your work breakdown structure list
   3. Add additional information
   4. Define the WBS design via sheet Setup
   5. Click button Create – Finished!
   

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5. 5
   1. Download the Excel macro
   Automatic_WBS
   https://github.com/tangielsky/automaticWBS
   • Open github.com
   • Press „clone or
   download“ button and
   start downloading the
   macro to your computer
   • Open
   Automatic_WBS.xlsm in
   Microsoft Excel
   

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6. 6
   1. Download the Excel macro
   Automatic_WBS
   • You may need to adjust the security settings because the macro uses VBA code
   • But you get the code without any restrictions or passwords
   • Open VBA editor (Alt+F11) and look at the code if you like
   

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7. 7
   2. Create your work breakdown
   structure list
   • Open sheet Start
   • Enter minimum Code and Name or
   import them from Microsoft Project
   or other software
   • Structure your items
   • Start with 1 as top item and
   continue one level deeper
   • Or sort by completion
   Sort
   

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8. 8
   3. Add additional information
   Add e. g. your special WBS code
   You got 10 user columns F1..F10
   

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9. 9
   3. Add additional information
   A good way is to use
   VLOOKUP to make
   connections to other data
   sources
   

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10. 10
    4. Define the WBS design via sheet
    Setup
    Define fonts
    Choose color
    Define scale factors
    Format
    connection
    line
    Format shapes (e. g.
    shadow)
    Insert caption
    (use user fields
    with $F1 - $F10)
    

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11. 11
    5. Click button Create – Finished!
    

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12. 12
    Use WBS chart for showing current
    project progress
    Add $PROGRESS
    • Open sheet Setup
    • Enter $PROGRESS as
    text into one or more
    items you want a
    progress information
    

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13. 13
    Use WBS chart for showing current
    project progress
    • Enter data for
    progress in sheet
    Start
    • Type “J” in cell Use
    progress for color
    • Define text format
    and color for not
    started, in progress
    and completed
    

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14. 14
    Use WBS chart for showing current
    project progress
    • Re-create the WBS
    chart
    • See at one glance
    what you are
    working on, what is
    finished and what is
    not started
    

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15. 15
    Transferring to other Microsoft
    applications is easy
    • It is best to select
    and group all
    elements
    beforehand
    • Click Copy (Ctrl+C)
    • Paste to your
    favorite app (e. g.
    Powerpoint)
    

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16. 16
    ▪ https://techpluscode.de/work-breakdown-structure-with-automatic-
    progress-visualization/
    ▪ https://techpluscode.de/work-breakdown-structure-wbs-in-3-minutes/
    Would like more?
    More information can be found at
    ▪ https://github.com/tangielsky/automaticWBS
    Current version for download at
    ▪ https://techpluscode.de/blog-abonnieren/
    Subscribe to stay informed
    

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