DECIPHERING FRAMEWORKS FOR WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN COMPLEX CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

The increasing scale and multidisciplinary nature of complex projects such as data centres or hospitals have amplified the need for structured, encompassing, and effective Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) to ensure successful project delivery. The aim of this research is to conduct a systematic literature review to identify existing WBS development frameworks. Specifically, the study seeks to 1) categorise available guidance, and 2) explore the frameworks for cohesion and applicability. The research method investigates findings from initially fifty-three publications and narrows to thirty-three using online databases, that focus on WBS development and implementation on construction projects. The investigation concludes the available literature falls into three main categories: international standards, project specific, and project management guidance. The findings reveal that standards lack depth for complex projects, while tools like artificial neural networks are narrow in scope and complex to implement. Project management guidance emphasizes scope clarity, however, fail to outline methods in which to develop a WBS for construction and iterative tasks, highlighting fragmented literature and gaps in WBS frameworks, emphasising the need for robust methodologies adaptable to complex projects.