strukturplan

Strukturplan, in German project management and system engineering, refers to a hierarchical representation of a complex system or project decomposed into its constituent parts. The structure plan maps how the system is built from subsystems, assemblies and components, and it often shows the relationships and interfaces between elements. Its primary purpose is to make the scope, responsibilities, and dependencies of a project or product clear, supporting planning, budgeting, procurement, and maintenance.

A Strukturplan is typically created in a top-down process: starting from the overall system or project deliverable, it is broken down into major subsystems or work packages, which are further subdivided into assemblies, components and parts. The result is commonly depicted as a tree or a numbering scheme that aligns with downstream documents such as a bill of materials or a work breakdown structure. The plan emphasizes the physical structure of a product or the organizational structure of a project, depending on its focus.

Two common variants are the Produktstrukturplan, which concentrates on the physical decomposition of a product into its parts, and the Projektstrukturplan, which organizes project work into deliverables and tasks. In practice, the Strukturplan is often used together with a Funktionstruktur (functional structure) to illustrate how functions are realized by physical elements. It supports cost estimation, scheduling, supplier selection, and interface management.

Example: for a car, the Strukturplan may place the vehicle at the top level, with main branches for powertrain, chassis, body, electronics, and interior; each branch is then broken down into engines, transmissions, brakes, wiring harnesses, control units, seats, and so on.

Benefits include improved clarity and modular thinking, while drawbacks can include complexity and the need for regular updates to remain accurate.