{"id":49742,"date":"2023-02-28T12:50:37","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T18:50:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.projectmanager.com\/?p=49742"},"modified":"2026-07-17T14:51:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T19:51:50","slug":"make-work-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.projectmanager.com\/blog\/make-work-plan","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Work Plan? How to Make a Work Plan In 7 Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before you can accomplish your project goals, you 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.<\/p>\n

What Is a Work Plan?<\/h2>\n

As its name suggests, a work plan is an action plan that helps project teams achieve their goals. Work plans factor in key project planning elements such as tasks, milestones, deliverables, resources, budgetary requirements and a timeline<\/a> to weave it all together.<\/p>\n

The work plan won\u2019t be written and initiated by a single person and it should be submitted to board members and stakeholders for approval. Once approved, you can continue building out the rest of your work plan.<\/p>\n

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Get your free<\/p>\n

Work Plan Template<\/h3>\n

\n\tUse this free Work Plan Template to manage your projects better.<\/p>\n\tGet the template<\/a>\n<\/div> \n\n

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Why Do You Need a Work Plan?<\/h2>\n

As we mentioned, your work plan acts as your roadmap<\/a> for the entire project execution. Not only will it keep you and your team organized, but it’ll ensure that you get buy-in from key stakeholders, related departments, relevant accountability\/risk leaders and more.<\/p>\n

Additionally, it helps manage expectations<\/a> on both the stakeholder level as well as on the managerial and team member level\u2014everyone that starts off on the right foot has a better chance of landing on the right foot, too.<\/p>\n

Work plans guide project teams in a similar way project plans do. However, there\u2019s a big difference between these two important project management documents<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Work Plan vs. Project Plan<\/h2>\n

Work plans are not as comprehensive as project plans<\/a>, which have a wider scope and involve more components. The main difference between them is that project plans are created from a high-level view and address every aspect of project management. On the other hand, work plans focus on helping project teams achieve smaller objectives.<\/p>\n

If you build your work plan in project management software like ProjectManager<\/a>, then it\u2019s easy to continue to iterate on your plan and make improvements over time. You can use robust project planning tools such as Gantt charts, kanban boards, project dashboards and much more. Get started today for free.<\/p>\n

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Build a work plan in minutes with ProjectManager’s planning tools. Learn more<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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How to Make a Work Plan in 7 Steps<\/h2>\n

While work plans might take many forms, here are some simple work planning steps you can follow to make one.<\/p>\n

1. Set Goals & Objectives<\/h3>\n

Before anything, it\u2019s important to write down the goals and objectives that’ll be achieved through your work plan. These will describe the purpose of your plan. It\u2019s important to use SMART goals<\/a>: create goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-related. This should help you start your plan off on the right foot.<\/p>\n

Your goals might sound like your purpose, but they\u2019re more specific in that they\u2019re more long-term oriented \u2014 i.e., your team learned more about the process of launching a bug fix or how to respond more directly to customer or market feedback.<\/p>\n

Similarly, your project objectives<\/a> should be measurable. For example, the objective of this project after launch is to create an increase of xx% of active monthly subscribers, or a certain dollar amount in revenue generated.<\/p>\n

2. Define the Scope of Your Work Plan<\/h3>\n

Once you\u2019ve identified your work plan goals, you should use a work breakdown structure (WBS)<\/a> to identify all the tasks that must be executed to achieve them, which is your project scope. By breaking down your project scope, you can start assembling a team, estimating costs, creating a budget and drafting a project schedule.<\/p>\n

\"Free<\/a>
Free WBS template Download now<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3. Estimate What Resources Are Needed<\/h3>\n

When you break down your project scope<\/a> using a WBS, you can better estimate what resources are needed for each task in your work plan. Make sure to include different types of project resources, such as human resources, raw materials, machinery, subcontractors or anything else that you might need for the execution of your work plan.<\/p>\n

4. Assign Roles & Responsibilities<\/h3>\n

Now, assemble a project team<\/a> and clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each member. Communicate with them and make sure they understand what their job is and how they can collaborate with each other.<\/p>\n

\"RACI<\/a>
Free RACI chart template Download now<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

5. Estimate Costs & Create a Budget<\/h3>\n

Once you have a clear idea of what resources are needed for your work plan, it\u2019s time to estimate their costs and create a budget<\/a>. To do so, simply establish a measurement unit for your labor, materials and other resources to then assign a price to them.<\/p>\n

\"Free<\/a>
Free project budget template Download now<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

6. Create a Project Schedule<\/h3>\n

There are different tools and techniques you can use to create a project schedule<\/a> for your work plan. In fact, most project managers use Gantt charts, project calendars, kanban boards.<\/p>\n

\"Gantt<\/a>
Free Gantt chart template Download now<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

7. List Any Risks, Constraints and Assumptions<\/h3>\n

Remember that your work plan is the action plan<\/a> that’ll guide your project, so the more details you have about constraints and potential risks, the better your team will perform their tasks to produce deliverables and achieve the goals and objectives.<\/p>\n

Maybe some of your team members take a few sick days during this period of time; maybe unexpected tasks have to be executed; maybe some of your tools crash that requires more money pulled from the budget. Whatever your project constraints<\/a> may be, factor in anything that might feel like a risk that can lead to a full-blown constraint, which may affect the completion of deliverables or even the goals and objectives of your project.<\/p>\n

Free Work Plan Template<\/h2>\n

Our work plan template<\/a> can help you document the steps explained above. Be sure to constantly monitor your template and update it as changes occur in your planning process. Or, if you\u2019re looking for more dynamic project planning tools, you can use Gantt charts.<\/p>\n

\"Free<\/a>
Free Work Plan template. Download now<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A work plan template can help you organize your thoughts, but in order to create your action plan and execute it, you\u2019ll need dynamic project management software to help you throughout the planning, execution and monitoring<\/a> phases.<\/p>\n

Work Plan Example<\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s a basic example to better illustrate how a work plan works. Let\u2019s imagine you\u2019re a business owner who wants to increase your production output by 25 percent by acquiring new machinery and hiring more production employees. While this project doesn’t involve producing tangible deliverables<\/a>, you\u2019ll still need a work plan.<\/p>\n

Goals & Objectives<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s important to define one primary goal and then some smaller, more specific objectives needed for the completion of that goal.<\/p>\n

Main Work Plan Goal<\/strong>
\nIncrease production output by 25 percent.<\/p>\n

Work Plan Objectives<\/strong><\/p>\n