Guidelines for work packages

From TeamFrednetWiki

The work package (WP) format were adopted from the Communications Group and is intended as a general procedure for more elaborate work efforts to be completed in a short time (few months) by a working group.

WP's are generally only created by working group leaders and require review by upper management and reporting back to the working group during the course of work.

Since the deliverables produced by a WP effort are integrated directly into the mission, it is not recommended that other groups initiate work in parallel to the recruited WP team unless the WP statement of work explicitly states so.

Whether to use the WP format or the task format for a given piece of work is decided at the discretion of the instigator of the job, but generally tasks are driven more exclusively by an outside goal, while WP's are driven by requirements and limitations posed by the existing mission architecture as well.

Generic WP Life Cycle

This process should be considered as a guideline and deviations can occur:

1. The group leader writes a draft Statement of Work (SOW). The SOW includes:
   • Background, purpose, and scope
   • Objectives
   • Work to be done
   • Skills needed
   • Proposed milestones, schedule, etc
   • Expected output and deliverables
   • Applicable standards and documents
2. WP Review
   • The WP is reviewed by the upper management to ensure that it is in line with the overall project goals and ideas
   • After approval by the upper management, the WP and corresponding SOW is announced on the Team FREDNET Forum and on the Organization portal and optionally on a working group portal.
   • The SOW and proposed changes are discussed on the forum
   • A dedicated team for carrying out the work is recruited
3. WP Kick-off
   • The SOW is finalized
   • A work plan is agreed
   • The role of each team member is defined
   • Other organizational, managerial, and financial terms and conditions are agreed
4. WP Execution
   • The work is carried out according to the work plan
   • Progress reports are delivered to the group leader as agreed during kick-off
   • Contributions to official Team FREDNET newsletter, blogs, etc are provided the the group leader as agreed during kick-off
   • The team maintains a wiki page for the WP and updates it to provide an up to date snapshot of the current status
   • The group leader is responsible for properly communicating the progress to the rest of the world
   • Reviews are held as agreed during kick-off
   • If possible, the time and effort spent on the WP is recorded
5. WP Acceptance
   • When the work is completed the results and deliverables are evaluated vis-a-vis the WP objectives
   • It is decided whether any follow up activities should be carried out
   • The contributors who have fulfilled their roles as defined during kick-off receive official acknowledgment for their contribution (TBD what it should be; free mission patch? certificate? something else?)
   • After acceptance, it is the responsibility of the group leader to ensure that the results and achievements are properly integrated into the project and communicated to the rest of the world (newsletter, forum, wiki, blog)
   • The WP is closed