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Work packages: what are they and what relation do they have with wbs?
Want to find out how to structure projects using “work packages,” a versatile tool that forms the basis of project management? We discuss it here.
Work packages are a key concept in project management and represent the lowest level of a WBS (Work Breakdown Structure). Understanding what they are, how they are created and how they relate to the WBS is essential for planning complex projects in a clear and manageable way.
Read this article to the end, where you will find:
The definition of work packages and their characteristics
Why they are important in project planning
How to measure their performance
Guidelines for preparing them correctly – with practical examples and tips for use in Twproject.
What are project Work Packages
A work package is a set of inter-related activities within a project.
These activities are grouped to create a sort of mini-project within a project.
Work packages, in short, are the smallest unit of work into which a project can be split during the work breakdown structure creation, the so-called WBS.
Main features of Work Packages
A work package is generally established as a result of the following characteristics that activities may share:
Type of work involved (i.e. Marketing, finance, etc.).
Task Results
Geographical location where said activities take place
Time when the activities will be completed
Technology or materials that will be used
Team leaders in charge
Specific stakeholders
By bringing related activities together, a work package becomes an element that is easier for the project team to understand.
Team members are thus able to see the connection between different work streams and focus on those that apply to them.
As part of a work breakdown program – work breakdown structure WBS -, using work packages delivers a greater sense of understanding because each block of related activities can be easily visualized.
To tell the difference between what is a work package and a true stand-alone project, you need to examine the outcomes.
Each work package is always just one element of something bigger, so its outcomes will be directly related to promoting the goals of the overall project.
Let’s use the following example: If you add a new feature to a technology product, such as project management software, there may be several work packages related to its development, including:
Design
Development
Test
Integration
Roll out
With Twproject, you can create the WBS easily, from the highest level down to individual work packages.
Twproject has made it possible to implement a fully-fledged project hierarchy, with levels, phases and sub-phases that can be monitored individually, without any restrictions.
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Using Work Packages
Within each of these packages there will be a variety of different activities. However, by keeping related activities organized, it will become easier to communicate with lead teams and set milestones and deadlines to better manage the entire project’s critical path.
The use of work packages also provides a reference point for describing and managing the various metrics related to a project, such as:
Budget: knowing how much is allocated to each area and how well this is being met.
Deadlines: how well they are being met and whether some areas are causing more delays than others.
Risks: what needs to be monitored to know where and how likely problems are to occur.
Priorities: significance of different areas and what you need to focus on first.
Stakeholders: knowing who needs to be kept up-to-date on different aspects of the business.
Why are work packages important?
By segmenting a project into work packages, the Work Breakdown Structures development becomes easier and project managers will have a greater level of control over the various tasks.
Other benefits include:
Work packages enable simultaneous work by multiple teams on different components of a project. Each team follows tasks defined for that work package and completes them within the given deadline.
When teams have completed their individual work packages, the entire project reunites seamlessly. The completion of a work package is often overseen by a specific person who may be the project manager himself or a specifically assigned supervisor.
Even though costs are estimated at the activity level, these estimations are aggregated at the work package level, where they are measured, managed, and controlled.
For each work package, direct labor costs, direct costs for material, equipment, travel, contractual services, and other non-personal resources, and associated indirect costs can be determined. Then, the individual costs of all work packages are aggregated to reach the authorized cost baseline or authorized budget for the project.
This integrates project scope, costs, and schedule measures to help the team assess and measure project performance and progress.
It involves preparing a baseline against which the performance of work packages can be measured for the duration of the project.
Earned value management develops and monitors three key dimensions for each work package:
Planned value (PV): the planned value is the authorized budget assigned to the work to be performed for the work package.
Earned value (EV): the earned value is the value of the work performed expressed in terms of the approved budget allocated to the work package.
Actual cost (AC): Actual cost is the total cost actually sustained and recorded for the performance of the work performed for a work package.
Work package preparation guidelines
When breaking down a WBS to the work package level, WBS nodes may be split to extreme levels, wasting time and making the project difficult to understand, manage, and adjust.
There are many factors to consider when deciding how far to decompose the WBS, however the most important are:
Work packages should be small enough to estimate time and cost.
The project manager and project team should be positive that the current level of detail provides sufficient information to proceed with the following tasks.
Work packages should be small enough to be assigned to a single person or group that can be held accountable for results.
Although this might differ from project to project, most project managers agree that the 8/80 rule can be applied to measure a work package. This rule says that no work package should be under 8 hours and over 80 hours.
Work packages may reside at different levels in the WBS hierarchy. Project managers should not artificially force WBS into a structure where all work packages are at the same hierarchical level. This could lead to problems arising as the project progresses, such as forced details or lack of control where it is really needed.
Work Package vs Task: how do you tell the difference?
One of the most common mistakes in project planning is confusing work packages with individual operational tasks. Although they are closely related, they represent two different levels of work management.
A work package is the lowest level of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and represents a set of tasks that can be planned, assigned and monitored as a single unit of work.
A task, on the other hand, is a single activity required to complete that work package.
Let’s take an example. In a project to develop a new product, the ‘Mechanical Design’ work package might include several tasks:
requirements gathering;
preliminary design;
CAD modelling;
technical review;
final approval.
The project manager uses work packages to organise the project at a strategic level and assign clear responsibilities, whilst tasks are used to plan and carry out day-to-day work.
In other words, a work package answers the question “Which part of the project needs to be completed?”, whilst a task answers the question “What activities need to be carried out to complete it?”.
Understanding this distinction is essential for creating an effective WBS and maintaining the right level of detail in the planning.
Work Package vs Deliverable: what’s the difference?
The terms ‘work package’ and ‘deliverable’ are also often used interchangeably, but they refer to different aspects of project management.
A deliverable is a tangible or verifiable result produced by the project. It may be a document, a prototype, software, an installed system, or any other output required by the client or stakeholders.
A work package, on the other hand, represents the work required to produce that result.
For example, in a software implementation project, the deliverable might be a new, ready-to-use operating platform. To achieve that result, it will be necessary to complete several work packages, such as:
requirements analysis;
architecture design;
feature development;
testing and validation;
user training.
The deliverable is therefore the final result that can be handed over and verified, whilst the work package is the unit of work used to plan, assign responsibilities, estimate costs and monitor the project’s progress.
Distinguishing correctly between these two concepts helps to improve project control and ensure greater clarity in defining objectives, responsibilities and expected outcomes.
Element
Definition
Example
Work Package
A set of activities managed as a single unit
‘Mechanical design’
Task
A specific operational activity
‘Creation of a CAD model’
Deliverable
An output produced by the project
‘Approved technical design’
When this distinction makes a difference
Understanding the difference between work packages, activities and deliverables is not just a theoretical exercise: it has a direct impact on project management.
For example, budget allocation takes place at the work package level, because that is where the necessary economic resources are estimated and controlled.
Progress monitoring follows the same logic: tasks provide detailed operational data, but reporting to management is done using work packages as reference units.
Finally, during the project acceptance phase, it is the approved deliverables that officially certify that a work package, or even an entire project phase, has been successfully completed.
Get started right away: create and manage WBS and Work Packages with TWPROJECT
Do you see how effective use of work packages is essential for project managers? In short, it allows you to easily differentiate and delegate the tasks necessary to deliver a project.
For this reason, having a project management software helping you is essential.
A software like Twproject could help you designing the WBS easily, deviding the project in work packages for enhancing delegation.
The most important benefit, however, is that work packages allow a major project to be segmented into more manageable parts so that neither the project manager nor the team is overwhelmed by the size of the project undertaken.
In Twproject, each work package is independent in terms of progress, costs, resources, and project roles. At the same time, however, the aggregation of this data provides an overview of the project’s performance.
Only Twproject offers this variety of perspectives, which is why more and more project managers are choosing it for their daily work.
If you want to try it too, take advantage of the free trial, with guided initial setup included!
