| Course | MT246 Project Planning and Project Execution |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 2 |
| Paper type | Work breakdown structure |
| Length | About 900 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MT246 Unit 2
Twenty-Five Packages, One Owner Each: A Unit 2 Work Breakdown Structure for a Barbecue Restaurant's Food Truck
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
MT246: Project Planning and Project Execution
Unit 2 Work Breakdown Structure
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Harlan Street Barbecue, its staff, vendors and agencies are composite and illustrative; the sources cited are real.
Purpose and the Test
Harlan Street Barbecue, a composite family restaurant, plans to launch a food truck in time for the city's Riverfest on the Fourth of July. This work breakdown structure divides the project into the deliverables that must exist before the truck can sell its first plate. It describes what will be produced, not when; dates and durations come in later documents. The PMBOK Guide treats this kind of decomposition as the base on which estimates, schedules and costs are built (PMI, 2021), so a weak structure weakens every later document.
Each lowest-level box, a work package, must pass one test with two parts: one person can be named as responsible for it, and someone else could tell, from evidence, when it is finished. The Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures describes the work package as the level at which work can be assigned, estimated and controlled (Project Management Institute [PMI], 2019), and the test is a plain-language version of that idea.
Level One
The project has six branches.
1 Project Management 2 Truck and Kitchen 3 Permits and Approvals 4 Menu and Supply 5 Brand and Sales 6 Crew and Launch
The Outline With Owners and Evidence
Every line gives a code, the single role answerable for the package and the proof that will close it.
1.1 Project Plan Approved: owner, catering manager; evidence, plan signed by the owner
1.2 Status Reporting: catering manager; weekly reports filed
1.3 Change Log: catering manager; log current at each report
2.1 Step Van Bought and Inspected: owner; title transferred and mechanic's inspection report on file
2.2 Kitchen Upfit: upfitter; upfitter's completion sign-off and owner walk-through
2.3 Generator and Electrical: electrician; load test results
2.4 Fire Suppression System: suppression contractor; signed installation certificate
2.5 Smoker Mount and Exhaust: upfitter; mount inspected by the fire marshal
3.1 Health Department Plan Review: catering manager; plan approval letter
3.2 Health Inspection and Mobile Food Permit: catering manager; permit number issued
3.3 Fire Marshal Inspection: catering manager; inspection sticker on the truck
3.4 Commissary Agreement: owner; signed letter from the commissary kitchen
3.5 City Mobile Vending License: owner; license number from the city clerk
3.6 Commercial Auto and Liability Insurance: owner; binder from the insurer
4.1 Truck Menu: pitmaster; final menu approved by the owner
4.2 Recipe Scaling and Testing: pitmaster; tested recipes with yields recorded
4.3 Supplier Accounts: sous chef; delivery schedule confirmed in writing
4.4 Smallwares and Packaging: sous chef; items received and counted
5.1 Truck Wrap Design and Install: front-of-house manager; wrap installed and photographed
5.2 Point of Sale Setup: front-of-house manager; test transaction completed
5.3 Launch Marketing: front-of-house manager; posts and flyers published
6.1 Hiring Two Cooks: owner; offer letters signed
6.2 Crew Training: pitmaster; training checklist signed by each cook
6.3 First Smoke and Soft Launch: pitmaster; three soft launch services completed
6.4 Public Launch: owner; Riverfest service completed
Why Insurance Sits in the Permits Branch
Insurance is not a government permit, but it behaves like one in this project. The city will not issue a vending license without proof of commercial auto and liability coverage, and the commissary requires it before signing. Placing the insurer's binder beside the approvals it unlocks keeps the dependencies visible.
Revision Note: Two Boxes That Failed
The first draft had two boxes that failed the test.
Permits. One box called Permits covered everything from plan review to the city license. No single person could own it, because four different issuers were involved: the county health department, the fire marshal, the city clerk and the insurer. Nobody could say when it was finished, because each piece finished separately. The box was split into six packages, 3.1 to 3.6, each with one issuer and one piece of evidence.
Truck Ready. A second box called Truck Ready covered the upfit, the electrical work and the fire suppression system, which three different contractors perform. It was split into 2.2 to 2.5, so that each contractor's work has its own owner and its own sign-off.
A box that needs four signatures is four boxes.
WBS Dictionary, Five Entries
The dictionary gives fuller descriptions for the five packages most likely to cause disagreement. Larson and Gray (2021) recommend a dictionary for packages whose boundaries are not obvious from the name alone.
2.2 Kitchen Upfit. Includes cabinetry, stainless surfaces, three-compartment sink, handwash sink, water tanks, refrigeration and the serving window. Excludes the generator, the suppression system and the smoker mount.
3.1 Health Department Plan Review. Includes preparing and submitting the drawings and equipment list and answering reviewer questions. Ends with the approval letter.
3.2 Health Inspection and Mobile Food Permit. Includes scheduling the inspection, the inspection itself and any corrections. Ends with the permit number.
4.2 Recipe Scaling and Testing. Includes scaling the restaurant's recipes to truck volumes and testing each on the truck's equipment. Excludes the restaurant menu.
6.3 First Smoke and Soft Launch. Includes a full test cook on the truck and three soft launch services for invited guests. Ends when three services are completed with sales recorded.
References
Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2021). Project management: The managerial process (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Project Management Institute. (2019). Practice standard for work breakdown structures (3rd ed.). Project Management Institute.
Project Management Institute. (2021). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (7th ed.). Project Management Institute.
The Purdue Global MT246 Unit 2 instructions
Unit 2 asks students to break their term project into deliverables, down to work packages small enough to assign and check. The prompt usually expects a box chart of the first level, an indented outline with numbered codes, an owner for each package and a way to tell when each is finished. Dates and durations do not belong here; they come in the estimating and scheduling units. A revision note showing boxes that were split, and why, demonstrates that a test was applied. A short dictionary for the packages whose boundaries are unclear prevents later disputes. Four pages is a usual length, citing the course text and the work breakdown structure practice standard in APA 7.
How the MT 246 Unit 2 example is put together
The breakdown begins by stating its purpose and the two-part test, linked to the practice standard's view of the work package and the PMBOK Guide's point that later documents rest on this one. Six branches are listed, then twenty-five packages with owners and evidence, from a mechanic's report to a Riverfest service, and a margin note explains why evidence beats a feeling of completion. A section explains why insurance sits with permits: the city and the commissary require the binder. The revision note shows how the Permits and Truck Ready boxes were split by issuer and contractor, with the highlighted line on a box needing four signatures. Five dictionary entries close it, citing Larson and Gray on boundaries.
MT246 Unit 2 rubric: what earns full points
Breakdowns earn marks for complete coverage, a sensible hierarchy, packages that pass an ownership and completion test, and clear boundaries. Every deliverable needed for the project's end should appear somewhere, including management work such as reporting. Graders reward one owner per package and a finish stated as evidence, since those make later control possible. A revision note showing boxes split by a stated rule shows the test was applied rather than claimed. Keeping durations out shows understanding of what a breakdown is for. Dictionary entries for ambiguous packages and accurate citations complete the rubric. A clean numbering scheme that later estimates and schedules can reuse also earns credit. Instructors also notice when every branch reaches the same depth only where the work needs it, rather than being split evenly for appearance.
Common MT246 Unit 2 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Students often build a breakdown from phases or dates, such as March work and April work, instead of deliverables. Another frequent problem is packages with two or three owners, which leaves nobody accountable. Some breakdowns stop at the first level, too broad to estimate. Others go so deep that individual tasks appear, which belongs in a schedule. Leaving out project management or approvals hides real work. Approvals from outside offices are the packages most often forgotten, and each usually needs its own box. If you send the project's goal and the people involved, a writer can draft the branches, packages and evidence column with the ownership test applied to each box.
Get an MT246 Unit 2 example written to your instructions
Every package in the returned breakdown carries one owner and a finish a second person could check, built from the project in your own assignment. For that, send the scenario or charter the course uses, the Unit 2 instructions, the rubric and the preferred format, chart, outline or table. The first one is free and arrives inside 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
More MT246 papers and BS in Business Administration samples
- MT246 Unit 1: Discussion Board Post
- MT246 Unit 3: Estimating Exercise
- MT246 Unit 4: Network and Critical Path
- MT246 Unit 5: Project Schedule
- MT246 Unit 6: Seminar Reflection
- MT246 Unit 7: Cost Baseline
- MT246 Unit 8: Resource Assignment Plan
- MT246 Unit 9: Status Report
- MT246 Unit 10: Change Request Package
- MT245 Unit 2: Project Classification Exercise
- MT243 Unit 2: Asset Inventory
- MT242 Unit 2: Program Structure Analysis
- MT241 Unit 2: Metric Definition Exercise
MT246 Unit 2 questions, answered
How do I know when a package is small enough?
A common test asks whether one person could take it on and whether someone else could confirm it finished without asking. The example puts both questions to every line. A package that needs two owners, or whose finish only its owner could judge, usually needs another level. Your prompt may also set a minimum depth, which the sample meets while keeping branches roughly even.
Why does insurance sit in the permits branch?
Because the city will not issue a vending license without a certificate of insurance naming it, so the certificate is a deliverable the launch depends on rather than a background expense. Placing it beside the permits keeps that dependency visible when the network is drawn later. Some structures file it under project management instead; either placement holds up when the reason is given.
Do dates or durations belong in the breakdown?
Not usually. The breakdown says what must exist; the network and schedule in later units say when. The example leaves both out and keeps its finish column to evidence of completion. Some sections want an effort field in the dictionary, left blank until estimating begins, and the sample adds one when your instructions call for it.
Where can I find a free MT246 Unit 2 sample paper?
You can read the complete MT246 Unit 2 work breakdown structure on this page. It divides a food truck launch into six branches and twenty-five packages, each with one owner and evidence of completion, plus a revision note and a dictionary.
Which draft boxes failed the test in the MT246 Unit 2 sample?
A Permits box needing signatures from the health department, fire marshal, city clerk and insurer, split into six packages, and a Truck Ready box covering three contractors, split into four.