This video shows how to build a work breakdown structure and classification system inside the Scope module. The written guide below explains how to organize folders, groups, elements, and items into a structured hierarchy, import classification systems from CSV, and assign tasks across milestones.

Organize project requirements with a flexible scope hierarchy

Defining a work breakdown structure is one of the first things teams need to do when setting up BIM scope for a project. The challenge with spreadsheets is that flat rows and columns don’t naturally represent hierarchical relationships between disciplines, work packages, and individual deliverables. The Scope module in Plannerly solves this with a flexible tree structure that supports unlimited nesting of folders, groups, elements, and items.

The scope tree can be built in three ways: manually, from templates, or by importing a CSV file. CSV import is particularly useful when your organisation already has a classification system defined externally. You drag and drop the file into the Scope module, hit import, and the full hierarchy appears with folders, groups, elements, and items already in place. If your classification system uses codes (like Uniformat or Uniclass), these cascade through the hierarchy automatically. You can toggle classification codes on or off in the view preferences, and control whether codes are concatenated through the project settings.

Understanding the difference between elements and items matters when you start assigning tasks. Elements represent things with geometry, so when you assign tasks in the task grid, each milestone can show progression across multiple stages of development. Items represent single deliverables without geometric progression. You can switch between the two at any time by editing the entry. This distinction becomes important later when you connect scope to models in the Verify module, where elements link to model geometry for automated checking.

Once your hierarchy is defined, assigning tasks is as simple as clicking cells in the milestone grid. If you need stair flights and landings coordinated in 3D at one milestone, and drawing packages for cost estimates at a later one, each click places that requirement exactly where it belongs. The entire structure is reusable across projects through drag and drop, so the work you invest in defining a good scope structure once pays off on every future project. Classification systems from around the globe are available in the template library, including Uniformat, Uniclass, and many others, giving you a head start regardless of which standard your project follows.

How to build a work breakdown structure in the Scope module

1. Choose your method – Decide whether to build your structure manually, start from a template, or import from a CSV file containing your classification system.
2. Import your structure – If using CSV, download the example file for reference, then drag and drop your file into the Scope module and click import.
3. Review the hierarchy – Check that your folders, groups, elements, and items have imported correctly with the right nesting levels.
4. Toggle classification codes – Turn codes on in view preferences to see the cascading classification structure, and choose whether to concatenate codes in project settings.
5. Set element types – For each entry, decide whether it should be an element (with geometry and visual progression) or an item (single deliverable without geometric stages).
6. Assign tasks to milestones – Click cells in the grid to define which milestones require each task, placing requirements exactly where they are needed in the delivery timeline.
7. Reuse across projects – Drag and drop scope content from one project into another to carry your classification structure forward without rebuilding it.

What you’ll learn

• Scope tree hierarchy – How folders, groups, elements, and items work together to create a structured breakdown of project requirements.
• CSV import – How to bring an existing classification system into the Scope module from a spreadsheet file in seconds.
• Classification codes – How cascading codes automatically concatenate through the hierarchy and how to control that behaviour in project settings.
• Elements vs items – How elements handle geometry with progression stages while items represent single deliverables, and when to use each.
• Cross-project reuse – How to drag scope content between projects so your classification structure only needs to be defined once.

Common questions

Explore further

• Creating work breakdown structures in the Scope module – Detailed guide to building and managing WBS hierarchies in Plannerly.
• bSDD classifications when naming elements – Troubleshooting guide for connecting buildingSMART Data Dictionary classifications to your scope.
• Scope module help collection – Full documentation covering all aspects of structured information requirements and digital agreements.
• BIM Boot Camp – Free course covering BIM management fundamentals and ISO 19650 workflows.
• Risk management, quality assurance and WBS support – Overview of how Plannerly features support structured project delivery.