In the workplace, work plans help your supervisor know what projects you will be working on over the next several months. These often come right after an annual performance review or as teams undertake large projects. Work plans can also be the result of strategic planning sessions your organization holds at the beginning of a new calendar or fiscal year. In the academic world, work plans can help students create a schedule for a large project. They can also help teachers plan their course material for the semester. For a personal project, work plans will help you delineate what you intend to do, how you intend to do it, and by what date you intend to have it done. Personal work plans, while not strictly necessary, will help the individual keep track of his/her goals and progress.
The introduction should be short and engaging. Remind your superiors why you are creating this work plan. Introduce the specific project(s) you will be working on during this time period. The background should highlight the reasons you are creating this work plan. For example, recite details or statistics from recent reports, identify problems that need to be addressed, or build off of recommendations or feedback you received during previous work projects.
Goals should focus on the big picture of your project. List the desired ultimate outcome of your work plan. Keep it broad; for example, make your goal be to complete a research paper or to learn more about writing. Objectives should be specific and tangible. In other words, you should be able to check these off your list when you accomplish them. For example, finding people to interview for your research paper would make a good objective. Many work plans break down objectives into short-, middle-, and long-term objectives if they vary significantly. For example, a company’s short-term goal to increase viewership 30% in three months may vary significantly from its long-term goal to strengthen brand visibility in social media outlets over the next year. [5] X Research source Objectives are generally written in the active voice and use action verbs with specific meanings (e. g. “plan,” “write,” “increase,” and “measure”) instead of verbs with vaguer meanings (e. g. “examine,” “understand,” “know,” etc. ). [6] X Research source
Specific. What exactly are we going to do for whom? Lay out what population you are going to serve and any specific actions you will use to help that population. Measurable. Is it quantifiable and can we measure it? Can you count the results? Did you structure the work plan so that “health in South Africa would increase in 2020?” or did you structure it so that “cases of HIV/AIDS in newborn South African babies would decrease 20% by 2020?” Remember that a baseline number needs to be established to quantify change. If you don’t know the incidence rate of HIV/AIDS among South African newborns, it’s going to be impossible to reliably say that you decreased incidence rates by 20%. Achievable. Can we get it done in the time allotted with the resources we have available? The objective needs to be realistic given the constraints. Increasing sales by 500% is reasonable only if you’re a small company. Increasing sales by 500% if you dominate the market is near impossible. In some cases, an expert or authority may need to be consulted to figure out if your work plan objectives are achievable. Relevant. Will this objective have an effect on the desired goal or strategy? Although it’s probably important for overall health, does measuring the height and weight of high-schoolers directly lead to change in mental health procedures? Make sure your objectives and methods have a clear, intuitive relationship. Time bound. When will this objective be accomplished, and/or when will we know we are done? Specify a hard end date for the project. Stipulate which, if any, outcomes would cause your project to come to a premature end, with all outcomes having been achieved.
Remember that a baseline number needs to be established to quantify change. If you don’t know the incidence rate of HIV/AIDS among South African newborns, it’s going to be impossible to reliably say that you decreased incidence rates by 20%.
In some cases, an expert or authority may need to be consulted to figure out if your work plan objectives are achievable.
At the workplace, resources can include things like financial budget, personnel, consultants, buildings or rooms, and books. A detailed budget may appear in an appendix if your work plan is more formal. In the academic arena, resources may include access to different libraries; research materials like books, newspapers, and journals; computer and Internet access; and professors or other individuals who can help you if you have questions.
List specific action steps. Identify what needs to happen each day or week for you to complete your objectives. [10] X Trustworthy Source Kansas University Center for Community Health and Development Community-based research center focused on supporting public health development and education Go to source Also, list steps other people on your team will need to take. Consider using project management software or a personal calendar to keep this information organized. Create a schedule. Though you can create a tentative work schedule, realize that unexpected things happen and you need to build space into your schedule to prevent falling behind.
