Work Package Template

Work authorisation to a team manager: scope, products with quality criteria, standards, effort and cost, tolerances, checkpoint reporting, escalation, handover

项目管理标准Structure aligned with PRINCE2 7 (PeopleCert, 2023)work package更新于 2026年10月29日

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使用方法: Use it when the project manager hands a defined piece of work to a team or supplier. Fill the products, quality criteria and tolerances first, and set tolerances inside the stage tolerances. The main pitfall is listing tasks instead of products, with no agreed handover and approval.

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Work Package: [WP-NN] [Work package name]

A work package is the agreement between the project manager and a team manager (in-house or supplier) that authorises a defined piece of work: the products to deliver, their quality criteria, the effort and cost, the tolerances the team may work within, and how progress and problems will be reported. It lets the project manager delegate without micromanaging. The structure is aligned with the work package management product of PRINCE2 7 (PeopleCert, 2023) and fits any project that hands work to separate teams. Replace every [bracketed] value and every row marked Example.

Document control

Field	Value
Document ID	[WP-PROJ-NN]
Project	[Project name] ([project code])
Stage	[Stage number and name]
Authorised by	[@project-manager]
Team manager	[@team-manager] ([organisation])
Contract or agreement	[Contract ID, call-off, internal agreement]
Version	[1.0]
Status	[Draft / Authorised / In progress / Completed / Withdrawn]
Date authorised	YYYY-MM-DD
Classification	[Internal]

Approvals

Role	Name	Action	Date
Project manager	[@project-manager]	Authorise	YYYY-MM-DD
Team manager	[@team-manager]	Accept	YYYY-MM-DD
Project assurance	[@assurance]	Review (optional)	YYYY-MM-DD

Revision history

Version	Date	Author	Change
1.0	YYYY-MM-DD	[@author]	Authorised
1.1 (Example)	2027-04-23	[@project-manager]	Scope reduced after exception option B

The worked example is work package WP-07, Legacy data migration, in stage 3 of the fictional Brackwell Vale Housing Trust Tenant Services Portal project, delivered by a fictional supplier, Halvern Data Partners.

1. Description and scope

Item	Value
Purpose	[Why this work is needed]
In scope	[Work included]
Out of scope	[Work excluded, and where it is done]
Interfaces	[Other work packages, systems, teams]

Example: Profile, cleanse and migrate tenancy and repairs data from the legacy housing system to the new portal. Excludes portal configuration (WP-06) and rollout support (stage 4). Interfaces with the legacy vendor's export service and the portal supplier's import tool.

2. Products

Product ID	Product	Quality criteria	Quality method	Approver
[PRD-NN]	[Product]	[Measurable criteria]	[Review, test, reconciliation]	[@approver]
PRD-35 (Example)	Data profiling report	Covers 100% of in-scope tables, error rates by field	Review by data owner	[@data-owner]
PRD-36 (Example)	Cleansed tenancy records	100% of current tenancies reconcile to the legacy system, 0 duplicate tenants	Automated reconciliation	[@data-owner]
PRD-37 (Example)	Migration runbook	Dress rehearsal completed within the cutover window	Rehearsal	[@project-manager]

3. Techniques, processes and standards

[Standard or method]
Example: Process personal data only in the approved test environment under the project's data protection impact assessment.
Example: Use the project's configuration management for scripts and mapping rules.

4. Effort, cost and dates

Item	Value
Start	YYYY-MM-DD
End	YYYY-MM-DD
Effort	[Person-days]
Cost	[Amount]
Example: Dates	2027-03-08 to 2027-04-16 (6 weeks)
Example: Cost	96,000 EUR

5. Tolerances

Area	Target	Tolerance	In money or time
Time	[End date]	[+/- days or weeks]	[Range]
Cost	[Amount]	[+/- %]	[Range]
Scope	[Products]	[What may flex]	[n/a]
Quality	[Criteria]	[Allowed range]	[n/a]
Risk	[Limit]	[Score limit]	[n/a]
Example: Time	2027-04-16	+/- 1 week	2027-04-09 to 2027-04-23
Example: Cost	96,000 EUR	+/- 5%	91,200 to 100,800 EUR
Example: Risk	No risk above score 12 unreported	Score 12	n/a

6. Reporting and escalation

Item	Value
Checkpoint frequency	[Weekly / fortnightly]
Checkpoint content	[Products done, next period, issues, risks, forecast vs tolerance]
Escalation route	[Raise an issue to the project manager immediately when a tolerance is forecast to be exceeded]
Example: Checkpoint	Weekly on Thursday, with a cleansing burn-down chart

7. Handover and approval

Item	Value
Handover method	[Release, delivery note, repository]
Approval record	[Quality register entry, sign-off]
Completion	[All products approved; team manager notifies project manager]

8. Constraints, assumptions and joint agreements

[Constraint or assumption]
Example: The legacy vendor provides two full exports, on 2027-03-08 and 2027-04-12.

9. Related templates

Highlight report, which summarises checkpoint reports
Exception report, if the stage tolerance is forecast to break
Work breakdown structure
Statement of work for the contract side
Data migration reconciliation

Glossary

Team manager: the person who leads the team that builds the products of a work package.
Checkpoint report: the team manager's regular progress report to the project manager.
Tolerance: the permitted deviation before the team manager must refer back.
Quality register: the record of planned and completed quality checks.

Standard and licence note

Structure aligned with the work package management product and the managing product delivery process of PRINCE2 7 (Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2, 7th edition, PeopleCert, 2023). PRINCE2 is cited by name only: no text, tables or figures from the publication are reproduced, and the headings, wording and the fictional Brackwell Vale and Halvern example are original. Official text: PeopleCert, purchase or licensed access: https://www.peoplecert.org/prince2. PRINCE2 is a registered trademark of PeopleCert. Where work is contracted, the contract governs. Template licence: MIT.