A project work plan is a roadmap for your project. It contains steps that you should take to set objectives, achieve goals, and establish deliverables. It guides you throughout the lifecycle of the project and allows you to achieve the objectives through team collaboration.
When do you use a Project Work Plan?
You can use a work plan at the start of your strategic planning to scope the project and update the plan as the project progress. Set meetings cadence so you can check your plan and ensure that you are on track and make necessary adjustments. Work plans are helpful when you juggle multiple complex projects, work with cross-functional teams, and manage stakeholders.
Components of a Project Work Plan
A proper work plan consists of the following components:
Goals
The goals are the objectives of your project including what your team will accomplish. This is a broader and specific aim.
Strategy
A strategy is an implementation approach that you should implement to achieve your objectives. This includes what are your constraints, your resources, and the way you make use of your strengths.
Tactics
Tactics are the decisions, action steps, and decisions that you will employ to achieve your strategy. This includes identifying your resources, defining tasks, and giving instructions on completing the tasks.
Deliverables
Deliverables are the time-bound and specific results you want to achieve from tasks as defined by your strategy. They help you stay on track to achieve your goals.
Project Work Plan vs Action Plan
A project work plan details the way the partners and team will start to implement actions. In comparison, the action plan specifies the tasks required to make progress and advance towards a strategic action.
Project Work Plan Online Tools
ClickUp
The ClickUp project work plan template acts as an action plan and helps you to see the due dates, the bigger picture, and the dependencies to reach your project goals.
Source: https://clickup.com/blog/work-plan-templates/
Miro
Use the Miro template to help define project milestones and create a plan to achieve your goals.
Source: https://miro.com/templates/work-plan/
Creately
Organize, visualize, and manage your project tasks, teams, goals, and workflows using the Creately template.
Source: https://creately.com/usage/work-plan-template/
Figma
Explore your project ideas and keep your work accessible and organized with FigJam’s template for the project work plan.
Source: https://www.figma.com/templates/work-plan-template/
Lucidspark
The Lucidpark work plan template can help you establish an outline for small and large projects and track planning meetings and dates.
Source: https://lucidspark.com/templates/work-plan
Wrike
Use Wrike’s project work plan template to kick start your project and bring them from start to finish.
Source: https://www.wrike.com/templates/work-plan/
Work Plan Template Best Practices
Meet with stakeholders
The most important part of a project work plan is that you must not miss information and ensure that you have input from stakeholders. Bring in all the stakeholders, team members, and sponsors, and do the brainstorming to figure out the project timeline and identify project constraints.
Identify goals, tactics, deliverables, and strategy
After you have discussed the processes with the project stakeholders, it’s time to identify strategies, goals, deliverables, and tactics of your plan. This is an important work and you must put time into this.
Create a map
A work map is an outline of your plan with due dates and a timeline for project goals. Things will change throughout the project lifecycle and your plan cannot be all-encompassing. List as many strategies, goals, tactics, and objectives as you can and add task dates, but don’t worry about later adjustments. Project management software can help track tasks, dates, and assignments.
Project Work Plan FAQs
What is the purpose of a project work plan?
A project work plan provides necessary information for the project execution phase such as project objectives, goals, milestones, scope of work, resources, and risks. This information then helps project managers to monitor and control the project’s progress.
How is a work plan created?
It’s important to write down the objectives and goals that you plan to achieve through the project work plan. They describe the purpose of your work plan.
What is the difference between a work plan and a project schedule?
A plan focuses on the entire process and deliverables. On the other hand, the project schedule focuses on project finish and start dates, dependencies, and project activities. A project schedule provides the project team with information about potential delays and critical paths.
What’s another word for work plan?
Other words for a project work plan are scenario, blueprint, strategy, scheme, design, and approach.