The Work Plan — How the Project is Organized

All too often project workplans live in a desk drawer, get dusted off and updated every so often, then go back into the drawer. AID-Project puts your workplan online where all project staff and selected counterparts can see and use it — no matter where they are.

AID-Project uses an outlining model for workplan creation. You may already be familiar with this approach, since it is common in most project management software.

An online workplan keeps everyone on the same page, and provides a framework in which your budgeting and task planning can be carried out.

• The top-most levels in the outline are called Components.
• Components can be divided into Sub-components by adding Levels below the Component level.
• In the same fashion, you can subdivide the Sub-Components, and keeping subdividing outline-fashion, as deeply as you wish.

The more complex your project, the more complex will be its workplan, and the more you will need to follow that work plan. All too often workplans end up in a desk drawer, only to be dusted off and updated every quarter or so, then put back into the drawer. AID-Project puts your workplan right online where all project staff — no matter where they are — can see it and use it. This allows all project staff to stay on the same page, a valuable best practice no matter what size project you manage.

Project Actions — What the Project is Doing

The work plan outline shows how the project is organized, but it doesn't show what the project is doing. To show what the project is doing, add Project Actions to the work plan.

Budgets, Documents, Results

Think of Project Action as a specific activity that

• Requires budget resources
• Produces some type of output
• Contributes to project results

AID-Project supports these Action types:

• Consultancy (Short-Term Labor)
• Staff Assignment (Long-Term Labor)
• Procurement (Commodity)
• Procurement (Service)
• Grant
• Training
• Non-Training Event