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A value breakdown structure is a project management technique introduced by Stephen Devaux as part of the total project control approach to project and program value analysis.
A work breakdown structure in project management and systems engineering is a deliverable-oriented decomposition of a project into smaller components into a tree structure that represents how the work of the project will create the components of the final product. Resources and cost are typically inserted into the activities in a WBS, and summed to create a budget both for summary levels and for the whole project or program. Similarly, the expected value-added of each activity and/or component of the project are inserted into the VBS.
In most projects , there are some components and activities that are mandatory and others that are optional. Mandatory activities are required, and have the full value of the project investment, as the project cannot be completed without them. In contrast, optional activities have only the value that they are adding to the project, i.e., their value is equal to the delta between the project/program value if they are included and the value if they are omitted.
For example, in creating an automobile, an engine, a driveshaft and wheels may all be considered mandatory, whereas cupholders are optional. If any of the mandatory activities are excluded, the project's value approaches zero. But the value of the cupholders is only the difference between the value of the car with and without cupholders.