The 4 steps of task planning

Proper planning and task assignment can make the difference between project success and failure. Generally speaking, we need to set profitable and realistic goals. Next, we need to take the following steps for effective planning:

1. Divide the project into tasks and prioritize them.
2. Analyze available resources.
3. Assign tasks based on these resources. 
4. Monitor and control their execution.

The use of a task management and project management tool facilitates and optimizes task planning but also, more generally, project management and the management of associated resources for better profitability.

Define project objectives

Defining the objectives of a project is essential because it conditions the rest of the stages of management and task allocation. There are different types of objectives :

• Temporal.
• Economical. 
• Related to personnel management.
• Performance.
• Techniques. 

The objectives are fundamental because they determine the tasks, resources and people in charge of the project. Let's see this using an example.

Let's imagine that a development company plans to deliver an application for which it has estimated 950 hours of programming. It has three programmers who will develop the code for five hours a day, devoting 100% of that time to this project:

• 950 hours / 3 programmers = 316.6 hours, which each of them will have to complete.
• Taking into account that they will dedicate five hours per day, they will need 63 working days to execute the project (316.6 hours to be carried out by each programmer / 5 hours per day they can dedicate = 63.3 days working days). 

Setting goals is essential, because if we want to deliver the app in less than two months, we will have no choice but to bring in more staff. These are questions that affect subsequent management and the distribution of tasks, so this is the first thing to clarify.

What are the steps in task assignment?
After setting the goals, it's time to take the four key steps to properly manage and assign tasks.

Step 1: Divide the project into tasks and prioritize them

Keeping the goals in mind, we need to divide the project into tasks and prioritize them. There are different tools that will help us carry out this planning.

Eisenhower Matrix

This is a system for dividing tasks into urgent tasks and important tasks. The Eisenhower matrix has four spaces:

• Important and urgent tasks : in this box are tasks that must be accomplished immediately and which generally arise from unforeseen events in daily life. To return to the previous example, the absence of one of the programmers and the need to carry out the work assigned to him before this eventuality.
• Important but non-urgent tasks : These are long-term tasks that can be postponed.
• Tasks that are not important but urgent : these are questions that can be delegated to other team members or that must be automated.
• Tasks that are neither important nor urgent : therefore, they could be eliminated, because they waste our time.

PERT

The PERT chart is another tool for effectively dividing a project into tasks.

It consists of sets of actions linked to each other . It is particularly useful in projects where tasks depend on different departments or large teams. It makes it possible to unify criteria and strengthen relationships in order to guarantee correct and smooth execution of tasks, in the planned order and giving priority to delivery dates.

Its representation is reminiscent of a relay race, where worker “B” cannot start running until worker “A” has completed the task assigned to him.

ICE rating

The ICE ( Impact, Confidence, Easy ) scoring model is another methodology that evaluates tasks based on three parameters, which helps prioritize the most important tasks. The following aspects are rated from 1 to 10:

• Impact : what is the objective of the task. 1 being low impact and 10 being high impact (crucial task).
• Confidence : the certainty that the expected impact of the task will be achieved. A value of 1 corresponds to a task that we have little confidence in, and a value of 10 corresponds to proven tasks that we know will produce the expected impact.
• Ease : the degree of ease of the task, taking into account constraints of time, resources, costs, etc. The easier the task, the higher the score.

The ICE score for each task will be the result of multiplying the values given for “impact”, “confidence” and “ease”. The highest product will designate the order of priority of the tasks.

Step 2: analyze available human resources

The second step consists of carefully planning the available human resources, taking into account three aspects:

• Check skills.
• Their availability.
• Willingness.

Check skills

At this point we need to ask ourselves whether staff have the skills necessary to execute a given project.

It's important to keep in mind that these aren't just technical questions. Depending on the project, social skills may be just as relevant. 

For example, in projects involving several departments, it will be necessary to verify that participants have negotiation, empathy or communication skills. These skills will be necessary to successfully complete the project. 

Check availability and monitor load

An often overlooked point is checking the availability of resources , especially in companies that have several projects in progress and profiles involved in several of them.

It is essential to ensure that you have the right developer to execute a given development. And that it will actually be available when we need it.

This involves checking any paternity or maternity leave, vacations, planned absences, etc. This involves reorganizing tasks or finding a replacement when the person initially assigned will not be available.

To correctly manage personnel resources and make the best decisions, you must rely on resource planning management software like Stafiz . Thanks to this type of tool, we can:

• Quickly and easily visualize workloads.
• Analyze at a glance whether the various tasks are completed on time.
• See who is responsible for each task.
• The progress of each task.
• Accelerate decision-making and reorient the project if the objectives need to be modified.
• Set realistic goals for each task and for the project as a whole.
• Control through alert systems if we are out of time, in case the project continues to develop as it has done so far.
• Real-time update of work in progress. 
• Reassign profiles and employees with agility, if necessary. With a project manager, it is possible to quickly find profiles with the skills we need.

Assess motivation

This point concerns personnel management : is the team motivated and are the conditions in place for the project participants to invest 100% in it?

How to improve employee motivation?

To improve employee motivation and maximize their involvement , you must first ensure that they have the necessary skills to carry out the tasks. When a professional feels confident, their involvement in projects is greater.

If they do not have them, it is interesting to train these workers within the company. In this way, they will perceive that the organization cares about them and provides them with the necessary resources so that they can carry out their work, which enriches them professionally. 

Second, we must incorporate the preferences of professionals in the distribution of tasks.

The third step to maintaining high levels of willingness and involvement is to share workloads equitably . In this regard, it is essential to anticipate possible needs through analyzes that allow predicting which teams will be more or less loaded, redistributing employees if necessary.

Step 3: assign tasks

Once we have divided the project into tasks and know the human and technical resources available, we move on to the third step: task assignment . To do this, we must provide each of the tasks that make up the project with the following information:

• Who will be responsible ?
• How long will it take and when will the task he is responsible for need to be ready?
• With what tools will it be carried out?

Task allocation can be carried out and represented in GANTT charts and staffing tables.

Gantt chart

It is a system of bars occupying a certain temporal space. In a GANTT chart, you will see at a glance:

• The name of the task.
• The estimated time for its execution.
• The person responsible for the task. 
• Interdependence with other tasks.

Staffing table

The staffing table also allows you to quickly visualize the professionals involved in a project, the tasks assigned to them and the estimated time to complete them. 

Both in the GANTT chart and in the staffing tables, the workloads of the available profiles are displayed. Sometimes, depending on the evolution of the project, it may be necessary to rebalance these workloads for correct development of the project. 

Balancing workloads

THE utilization rate is the indicator that makes it possible to measure and balance workloads in an equitable manner, without calling into question the objectives and deadlines set for the execution of a project.

The utilization rate is equal to the time spent on billable projects divided by the time available. If an employee works 5 hours per day on billable projects out of a total of 7 hours in their workday, their utilization rate for that day will be: 5 / 7 * 100 = 71.42% .

By knowing the utilization rate of all members of a project, we can make better decisions about the organization of tasks, schedules, etc. It also allows costs to be organized based on the actual time spent by each person. It also makes it possible to optimize the time planned for each task, thus ensuring the continuity of the project. 

With resource planning software, we have up-to-date data on the entire team. Taking into account staff holidays, days of absence or illness , whether they work full-time or part-time , etc.

Thanks to all this, resources will be better distributed, which will help avoid overloads or detect possible mismatches before they even occur. This will have a positive effect on the overall development of a project.

Step 4: monitoring and control

Once all resources have been allocated according to the objectives, it is time to track the tasks themselves. As we have seen, planning is essential. But sometimes unforeseen events arise that require changes or modifications to the initial planning.

Detecting unforeseen events in time, or even anticipating them, is the main purpose of this phase. Using a project monitoring tool is very useful because:

• It allows you to automate alerts when certain tasks are not completed on time and in accordance with form.
• It allows us to act quickly if it is necessary to implement changes in the event of unforeseen events .
• It promotes correct coordination of resources to achieve objectives. In a visual, agile and simple way.
• Detects bottlenecks in certain tasks that delay the development of other necessary actions.
• Allows workloads to be readjusted in real time . This promotes worker motivation, increases productivity and ensures that the project is executed within planned parameters.
• It also makes it possible to detect discrepancies in the budget , control subcontracting costs or non-billable costs, among other financial indicators for project management . Key questions to anticipate and make decisions that promote maximum profitability of the project and, therefore, of the company.
• Streamlines communication between all team members.

Frequently asked questions

What are project tasks?

Project tasks are the individual actions necessary to execute the project as a whole in accordance with the stated objectives. One project could be the development of an application for mobile devices.

It will include tasks that, taken together, constitute the project. For example, creating a mock-up of the main screen of the application. 

What are the function and benefits of task assignment in a project?

Allocating tasks based on available resources is essential because it allows for efficiency . Efficiency in a project is synonymous with obtaining the best possible performance with the appropriate use of available resources.

What is the best methodology for assigning tasks?

To assign tasks , you must first determine the objectives to be achieved when developing a project. From there, four phases follow one another:

1. Plan the individual tasks necessary to complete the project, based on the objectives (time, costs, etc.) previously defined.
2. Analyze the personnel resources necessary to carry out the tasks planned in the previous point.
3. Assign tasks based on staff availability and training.
4. Monitor the completion of these tasks and, if necessary, reassign managers or workloads.

What is a task sheet and how does it work?

A task breakdown sheet is a visual, intuitive and agile way to represent who is responsible for a given task. Using tools such as GANTT charts, we can:

• View who has been assigned a task.
• See when it started and when it will end. 
• If the planned schedule is respected. 
• Know which other tasks depend on the completion of a previous task.