What Is a Work Plan? How to Make a Work Plan In 7 Steps

Reference: https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/make-work-plan

To accomplish your project goals:
– need to plan how to reach them

A work plan
– creates a clear path project teams can follow to reach their desired goals and objectives.
– Along that path will be resources, constraints and other work management elements that need to be described in your work plan.

A Work Plan
– an action plan that helps project teams achieve their goals.
– factor in key project planning elements:
> tasks,
> milestones,
> deliverables,
> resources,
> budgetary requirements and
> a timeline to weave it all together.

– should be submitted to board members and stakeholders for approval
– once approved, you can continue building out the rest of your work plan.

Why Do You Need a Work Plan?
– as your roadmap for the entire project execution
– will keep you and your team organized
– will ensure that you get buy-in from key stakeholders, related departments, relevant accountability/risk leaders and more.
– helps manage expectations on both the stakeholder level as well as on the managerial and team member level—
> everyone that starts off on the right foot has a better chance of landing on the right foot, too.

Work Plan vs. Project Plan
Work plans
– are not as comprehensive as project plans
– have a wider scope
– involve more components
– main difference:
> project plans (PP) are created from a high-level view
> PP address every aspect of project management

WP
– focus on helping project teams achieve smaller objectives.

project management software
-iterate on your plan
– make improvements over time

Robust project planning tools
– Gantt charts,
– kanban boards,
– project dashboards

How to Make a Work Plan in 7 Steps
1. Set Goals & Objectives
– write down the goals and objectives that’ll be achieved through your work plan
– describe the purpose of your plan
– use SMART goals:
> specific,
> measurable,
> achievable,
> relevant and
> time-related

goals
– sound like purpose
– but are more specific
– more long-term oriented
> launching a bug fix
> how to respond more directly to customer or market feedback.

project objectives
– should be measurable
– e.g., to create an increase of xx% of active monthly subscribers
– e.g., to generate a certain dollar amount in revenue

2. Define the Scope of Your Work Plan
After: identified work plan goals
Then: use a work breakdown structure (WBS)
– to identify all the tasks that must be executed to achieve them, which is your project scope.

WBS:
– breaking down your project scope

Then:
– assembly a team,
– estimate costs,
– create a budget and
– draft a project schedule

3. Estimate What Resources Are Needed
When WBS:
– break down project scope

Then:
– can better estimate what resources are needed for each task in your work plan
– include different types of project resources,
> human resources,
> raw materials,
> machinery,
> subcontractors
> others: anything else that you might need for the execution of your work plan

4. Assign Roles & Responsibilities
– assemble a project team
– clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each member
– Communicate with them
– make sure they understand what their job is and how they can collaborate with each other.

5. Estimate Costs & Create a Budget
After:
– have a clear idea of what resources are needed

Then:
– estimate their costs and create a budget

How:
– establish a measurement unit for
> your labor,
> materials and
> other resources
– assign a price to them

6. Create a Project Schedule
Different tools and techniques to use
– to create a project schedule
> Gantt charts,
> project calendars,
> kanban boards

7. List Any Risks, Constraints and Assumptions
– work plan: will guide your project
– the more details you have about constraints and potential risks, the better your team will perform their tasks
> to produce deliverables and
> to achieve the goals and objectives

– team members take a few sick days
– unexpected tasks have to be executed
– some of your tools crash that requires more money pulled from the budget

Whatever your project constraints may be,
– factor in any potential risk
> that can lead to a full-blown constraint
> which may affect the completion of deliverables
> which even may affect the goals and objectives of your project

—
– Document the steps
– Constantly monitor
– Constantly update as changes occur in the planning process

Dynamic project planning tools
– Gantt charts.

A work plan template
– help you organize your thoughts
– to create your action plan and execute it
> need dynamic project management software
> help you throughout the planning, execution and monitoring phases

Work Plan Example
– to illustrate how a work plan works
– define one primary goal
+ define some smaller, more specific objectives needed for the completion of that goal

– define: Main Work Plan Goal
e.g. Increase production output by 25 percent.
– define: Work Plan Objectives
e.g.,
> Improve the company’s production capacity by acquiring new machinery
> Fill skill gaps in the production planning team
> Make sure machinery is well-maintained

define: Scope of the Work Plan
– list individual activities that must be completed in order to achieve your goal and objectives.
– example breakdown of activities.
> Inspect the production line
> Perform preventive maintenance
> Optimize plant layout
> Acquire new machinery
> Assess the current team
> Hire new personnel

Resources/Roles & Responsibilities
PIC:
– production manager,
– HR manager and
– maintenance team.
> responsible for: executing the tasks listed above

Work Plan Budget
– cover both the labor costs + the cost of the new equipment
– Labor costs: salaries of the
> production manager,
> HR manager and
> maintenance team.
– estimate project costs accurately before creating a budget

Work Plan Schedule
– Define a timeframe for the analysis of
> production line,
> the procurement of new machinery,
> preventive maintenance and
> hiring.

Risk, Assumptions & Constraints
Think about any element that might affect your work plan:
– risks,
– assumptions or
– constraints

triple constraint:
time,
budget and
resources

Create a Work Plan With Project Management Software
– project management tools
> Gantt charts,
> kanban boards and
> project dashboards
— help you make the perfect work plan
— improve your planning, execution and reporting
— make work plan with confidence.

Getting every detail of a work plan sorted
– no easy task
– from managing your team
– to managing your stakeholders
– requires a delicate balance of
> understanding project timeline,
> the tasks that make up the project scope,
> potential risks,
> balancing a budget and
> allocating resources
+ while keeping the customers’ ultimate needs
+ keeping the project goals and objectives in mind.

online Gantt chart
– schedule entire project timeline,
– assign tasks,
– create dependencies and
– oversee tracking
+ team collaboration features
> staff and managers to comment on tasks
> attach necessary files, and
> interact with each other

Team management features
– resource management tools
> let you balance the hours worked across your team
> helps ensure that your time, tools and resources are balanced no matter what.

Deliver your projects on time and under budget