Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS)
DE: Organisationsstrukturplan (OBS)
A hierarchical representation of the project organization linking work to teams.
Detailed Explanation
The OBS is a hierarchical representation of the project organization that relates work packages to the organizational units responsible for performing the work. It mirrors the organizational hierarchy and shows which department, team, or individual owns each piece of the project.
When the OBS is overlaid with the WBS, the intersection creates control accounts — the points where scope, cost, and schedule are integrated for performance measurement. This intersection provides clear accountability for every piece of work.
The OBS is particularly useful in large, matrix organizations where project resources come from multiple functional departments. It clarifies reporting relationships, resource allocation, and escalation paths.
Key Points
- Maps organizational units to project work
- Intersection with WBS creates control accounts
- Clarifies accountability and reporting relationships
- Essential for matrix organizations with shared resources
- Supports resource allocation and escalation path decisions
- Provides clear ownership for every work component
Practical Example
A large IT transformation project's OBS shows: CTO (top) -> Infrastructure Team, Application Team, Data Team, PMO. Each team owns specific WBS elements. The intersection of 'Application Team' and 'CRM Module' in the WBS creates a control account managed by the Application Team Lead with EUR 200K budget.
Tips for Learning and Applying
Align the OBS with your actual organizational reporting structure
Use the WBS-OBS intersection to create meaningful control accounts
Update the OBS when organizational changes affect the project
Use the OBS to identify resource conflicts across projects
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