Logical Framework Approach
Annex 6: Developing a Work-Plan
A Work-plan is an essential Activity planning document that provides a clear, often graphically presented, representation of the Activity’s main activities/tasks, their sequence, timing and who will have management responsibility for them. A number of software programmes are available to assist in the development of work-plans.
The following steps are usually involved when developing a work-plan:
Choose appropriate time periods for specifying when activities will take place (weeks, months, quarters).
List the main activities identified during the development of the LFM in the left hand column.
Break each activity down into manageable tasks, i.e. a task that can be managed by an individual and is easy to visualise in terms of resources required and the time it will take to complete. But be careful, a common mistake is to break the activities into too many small components.
Clarify the sequence and relationships between tasks (Does another task have to be completed before this task can be started? Can two tasks be carried out at the same time?).
It is important to think about the scheduling of human resources. There are limits to how many things a single manager or extension worker can be expected to work on at the same time.
Estimate the start time and duration of each task. This may be represented as a line or bar on a chart. Be careful to:
- Include all essential activities and tasks
- Bear in mind work loads on individuals (peaks and troughs of work) and identify where additional assistance may be needed
- Be realistic about how long a task will take.
Identify key events (milestones) to help monitor progress. These are often dates by which a task will be completed (e.g. new curriculum drafted by September 20XX).
Agree responsibilities for tasks with the various members of the implementation team.
The work-plan and the resource schedule should be clearly linked to the Activity outputs to ensure a results-based focus. Keeping strictly to a consistent numbering system will help to ensure this and will make it easier for the documents to be read by others. There should be clear and direct links between the LFM, the Indicative work-plan and the resource schedule.