Project Management guide · Planning and scope
What Is a Work Package in Project Management?
A work package is the lowest level of the work breakdown structure: a piece of work small enough to estimate reliably, assign to one owner and track to completion.
Key takeaways
- A work package is the lowest WBS level.
- Use the 8/80 rule as a guide to size.
- Each has one owner, acceptance criteria and estimates.
Characteristics of a good work package
- One clear owner.
- A defined deliverable and acceptance criteria.
- Reliable estimates of effort, duration and cost.
- Clear start and finish.
- Fits within a reporting period where possible.
The 8/80 rule
A common guideline is that a work package should take between 8 and 80 hours of effort. Smaller packages add administrative overhead; larger ones are hard to estimate and track.
Work package description
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| ID and name | 1.3.2 Payment integration |
| Description | Integrate the payment provider into checkout |
| Owner | Lead developer |
| Acceptance criteria | Card payments succeed in test and production |
| Estimate | 40 hours; 2 weeks |
| Dependencies | Checkout page complete |
| Resources | 1 developer, test account |
From work packages to the schedule
Each work package is broken into activities, which are sequenced with dependencies and scheduled. See project scheduling and tasks and activities.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a work package?
The lowest level of the WBS, which can be estimated, owned and tracked.
What is the 8/80 rule for work packages?
A guideline that work packages should take 8 to 80 hours of effort.
Who owns a work package?
One named person, though several people may work on it.
Is a work package the same as a task?
No. Work packages are deliverable-based; tasks or activities are the steps to produce them.
How does a control account relate to a work package?
A management point above work packages where scope, budget and schedule are integrated for earned value.
How are work packages estimated?
Using analogous, parametric or bottom-up estimation; see cost estimation.
What is the difference between a planning package and a work package?
A planning package is a WBS element with known scope but not yet detailed into work packages.
In PRINCE2, what is a work package?
An authorisation given to a team manager to deliver specific products.
How many work packages should a project have?
As many as needed to cover the scope at a manageable level of detail.
Do work packages need acceptance criteria?
Yes, so everyone knows when the work is done.