Planning

What is Planning?

"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail". Benjamin Franklin

Your plan for a job sets out what you believe you need to do to get the job done.  The plan is a series of Tasks that will be completed by one or more people.  Once all tasks are completed the job brief should have been delivered in full.

Tasks

A Task is any step, process or action that describes what has to happen, e.g." Concept development for review with client" or "Write strategy document".  A task may take a long time or be completed relatively quickly - the time-frame is  not important, the tasks define what has to be done to get the job done.

Most tasks will have a Budget that is based on the value of the effort required to complete the task.  If the work is performed internally the value will likely be based on the Charge Rate for the Kind of work performed.

Some tasks won't have a Budget as they are milestones like "awaiting client approval".

Learn about Tasks here, or learn how to manage large tasks that go on forever with sub-Tasks.

Learn about Using task status in your workflow for more information on how to use and create your own statuses.

Phases

Some jobs are complex and are best planned and managed by splitting the job into Job Phases. Phases allow you to split large jobs into smaller chunks that are easier to manage. A Phase groups together all the tasks that relate to that phase.  

Phases are useful for defining:

• Aspects of a large or complex job
• Deliverables that can run concurrently within a job but need their own timeline and/or budget.

You can also create a Sub-job instead of a phase.  Sub-jobs are great for more complex projects.  If you are going to have hundreds of tasks then using sub-jobs is probably the right approach. Talk to us, we are always happy to help.

Kinds

Simply put, Kinds are Cost centres for cost-generating activities in your organisation. 

There are many Kinds of activities that are performed in your organisation.  As there is a similar meaning between a Task and an Activity we use the term Kind to make clear we are referring to the "thing" that determines the rate or value of an activity.  

Most Kinds are charged according to the value of the work being performed and that is generally reflected in the salary of the person performing the work.  Some Kinds refer to roles and we don't want any confusion about what we are referring to.

Where a Kind is being performed internally the value of the work is based on the hours required multiple by the charge rate for the Kind.  If the charge rate for the Kind is $100 per hour and the task will take 5 hours, the budgeted value of the work is $100 x 5 = $500.

A Kind therefore defines the value of effort required to complete a task.  This applies where a task is completed by people you employ or freelancers brought in just for the task.

To learn more about Kinds refer to Kinds Overview.

Job Templates

Templates hold a pre-defined set of Phases and/or Tasks that can be loaded onto Jobs. 

For example, Jobs of a Marketing type can always be created with a Marketing Job Template, with phases like Finding Brief and Creative work. The template phases and tasks can then be adjusted and edited to suit the work done. 

Adjusting how work is tracked in your organisation can have a huge impact on how focused and effective your team can be. When you (and your organisation!) are able to track projects effectively and in the same way across teams and departments, everyone is able to spend more time being productive. 

Learn about Job Templates here.

Recommended Workflow: Create an Estimate from a Plan

• Create a default plan in File > Configuration > Job Types > Planning Templates.  Refer to Job Templates.
• Select and load a Template or add tasks and phases to the Job.
• Refine the hours in each task.
• Add milestone tasks like "Waiting for client approval".
• Create an Estimate based on planned tasks.
• Optional - create a timeline using the plan.
• Once the client accepts your estimate, mark the estimate as Accepted.
• Update the starting date for the next task, the subsequent tasks should be left as suggested dates.
• Let the suggested dates update automatically on all subsequent tasks until you are ready to lock the start date in for the next task, allocate resources, determine who is available, determine if you have enough resources; review forward planning.