How to Create a Work Plan for a Project [Ultimate Guide]

When it comes to starting a new project, one of the most essential goals is to be sure that all team members understand what they are doing and how they should do it. That’s where a robust work plan comes to the rescue.

How to create a work plan for a project that will definitely lead your business to success?

In this post, you’ll find some reliable tips on how to build a project workplan better than your rivals do. So, let’s read on to get more!

Work plan definition

What is a project workplan?

A work plan (also called a project management plan) is a document that outlines the steps to take over the course of a project, breaking them down into details and assigning certain activities to different people or departments.

This plan contains all of the deliverables, tasks, milestones, funding, resources, and any other necessary information.

The picture below shows what elements a typical work plan includes.

One of the best solutions that visualizes all of these elements is an online Gantt chart.

This type of project management charts reflects all nuances of any plan. It can be applied in different spheres from software development to sales and marketing issues.

What are the benefits of creating a work plan for a project?

Before exploring the secrets of creating a project workplan, let’s first clarify where it suits in a project management strategy.

• Team success. A work plan serves as a tool that helps everyone in a team to have a clear vision of what they’re all gunning for and what they should do to get closer to the goals.
• Stakeholders involvement. Executives, a product owner, project managers, and many other stakeholders are affected by the work you’re doing on the project. A work plan will help you to visualize your ideas and change what needs to be changed.
• Strategy improvement. A project workplan will let you visualize your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Therefore you’ll get a clear picture of what you can expect in the course of executing your project.

Now it’s time to move on to the basics of creating a stunning work plan for a project.

How to create a project workplan without headache

Preparing a work plan requires an online software. A tool based on a Gantt chart is a reliable option, that is why GanttPRO will serve you as a good helper.

The online Gantt chart maker will assist in creating and managing a project workplan from listing tasks to tracking the progress of each timeline activity.

Here’s the list of the key steps you may follow having the goal to build a stunning work plan for a project with GanttPRO.

Gather your goals and objectives

The first step you should do while thinking about how to create a work plan for a project is to list all the goals and objectives related to the project. Remember that they should be prepared in accordance with the SMART goal concept (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and trackable).

Define a project scope

Determine and discuss the plan basics (product description, acceptance criteria, justification, exclusions, constraints, assumptions, etc.).

Visualize tasks with their hierarchy

Large projects may require many activities and tasks. Having a professional planning tool you’ll be able to break tasks down, grouping them into smaller subtasks.

Use GanttPRO settings to organize your activities with ease.

Add roles

Now it’s time to include the right people into your work plan timeline.

Involve your team members to drive the project initiatives and assign the tasks out so that every person is working in the area where they can perform best.

Set deadlines

Every single task should have a certain deadline.

In case your team members don’t have set deadlines it becomes harder to hold anyone to get their tasks completed.

Write down the deadlines that everyone needs to stick to.

Add dependencies and milestones

The tasks in your work plan can be logically dependent. To link them, you can add dependencies using the handy drag and drop feature. It’s also possible to set project milestones in GanttPRO.

It will help you to define how your project development is moving forward.

Share your plan

In many cases, you’ll need to share the plan with everyone involved in the project.

The export feature in GanttPRO will help you to share the document and demonstrate any particular state of the timeline keeping your stakeholders engaged.

You can export the plan by choosing different formats, such as PDF, PNG, XML, or Excel.

Explore the example: a website development project plan template https://ganttpro.com/web-design-project-plan-template/.

Final thoughts

A well-written work plan articulates the required steps to achieve stated goals by setting objectives and deliverables that can be transformed into specific actions.

It may serve as a great tool, enabling the realization of an outcome through efficient team collaboration.

Follow all the steps mentioned above and use GanttPRO to create a project workplan that will be effective and competitive.

In this article, we have shared only the most essential steps for building a work plan. If you want to know more detailed steps, follow the full version of the article How to Create a Work Plan for a Project [Guide + Visual Examples] https://blog.ganttpro.com/en/how-to-create-work-plan-for-project/.