The majority of work packages contain the following items, although the structure and content vary depending on the hierarchy and type of work package: a brief statement of the activity description, activity resources of skill and expertise, activity estimates of effort and duration, activity schedule, activity risks, and activity budget. Work Packages are assigned a Work Authorization or Control Account.
What is a Work Package? Project Management in Under 5
Why is a work package important?
Project managers have a great deal of control over how they or their team completes projects thanks to work packages. Some other benefits of using this project planning method include:
What is a work package?
Using a work package, project managers can break down a big project into smaller, related tasks. Its the smallest unit of a work breakdown structure (WBS). Project managers can estimate the time and cost of each task within a larger project by using a WBS, an organizational technique used in project management for breaking larger projects into more manageable components.
How to create a work package
The steps for developing a work package within a WBS are as follows:
1. Identify the final goal of the project
The initial step is to have a clearly defined project outcome. To decide how to accomplish your project goals, start by determining the project’s outcome. It’s critical to comprehend the project’s scope and anticipated outcomes in order to provide structure and direction.
2. Determine the major tasks of the project
Next, outline the major tasks that make up the project. You can decide what steps to take to complete each task by breaking the project up into its various components. When building a house, for instance, you might identify important tasks like laying the foundation, building the exterior, and designing the interior.
3. Define subtasks as needed
Include any subtasks contained within the main components you identified for the project. Only large projects with numerous stages or components may require subtasks. You might specify smaller tasks within larger tasks, such as developing a neighborhood with 100 houses as opposed to just building one house, in your project. Here is an illustration of how the WBS for a neighborhood development project might appear:
*Project goal: Develop a neighborhood with 100 houses*
*Task 1: Housing design*
*Task 2: Street layout*
*Task 3: Recreational facilities*
4. Create work packages for each task or subtask
You can now create work packages for each of the project’s tasks and subtasks after outlining them. The work package is small enough at this level of the WBS to have a defined budget and timeline, and the project manager can designate an individual or team to complete the work unit.
For instance, if your task is to design the interior of a house that you are building, two work units for this task could be plumbing and wiring. These work units include plumbing and wiring because you can set a budget and schedule for each component and hire a group of plumbers and electricians to handle the specified project component.
5. Establish activities for each unit of work
The specific steps or actions that members of the project team take to complete each task are referred to as activities and make up each work unit. For instance, an electrician hired to wire a house might decide what equipment to use, where to start the wiring, and the order in which to complete each step of the wiring process. Activities determine the actions that go into fulfilling a project component, while work packages determine its scope.
Example of a WBS
An example of a finished WBS with work packages and activities is given below:
*Project goal: Remodel kitchen*
*Task 1: Layout*
*Work package 1: Interior design*
*Task 2: Materials*
*Work package 2.1: Flooring*
*Work package 2.2: Cabinets*
*Work package 2.3: Appliances*
FAQ
What is an example of a work package?
What is a Work Package?: A Workpackage Example. Teams of workers are needed, including carpenters, roofers, architects, and painters. The project can be divided into smaller tasks (complete the kitchen in a month, paint the deck by tomorrow, etc.). ); and it has an overall manager. Voila! Those are your workpackages.
What do you mean by work package?
A work package is a collection of connected tasks that make up a project. They are frequently viewed as smaller projects within a larger project because they have the appearance of projects themselves. The smallest unit of work that a project can be divided into when developing your Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a work package.
What is a work package and why is it so important?
A work package must have a clear work order with the start date, end date, planned effort, and, if necessary, a budget and anticipated costs. It must also include a description of the task and the expected outcome. The efforts made are documented by time recording.
