—Project planning practices employ various methods
at various stages, with work breakdown structure (WBS) being
a prominent starting point. Using WBS, the components and
associated enabling products are often not explicitly expressed.
We first introduce the notions of generic project construct and
system build. Using a running example of a simplified unmanned
aerial vehicle, we review the WBS method and discuss problems
stemming from the lack of explicit and direct representation
of the product facet in the project plan. A comprehensive
project–product life cycle management model is the exclusive
authoritative source for deriving project management tools, including
WBS, augmented with product-related information.