Scoped work packages

A work package is the unit of scoped change. It records the subject, summary, project, organization, owner, due date and budget hours. Its status moves from Draft through Planned, Active and Review to Accepted when the decision supports acceptance; it may also be Cancelled. The revision matters because an approval of one scope should not silently apply to a later edit.

The Project Manager owns the package during preparation. The Delivery Lead can compare packages across projects and ask for a clearer scope when the summary does not explain the effort. The package has task counts and effort totals that help the team see whether the plan and work still fit the original budget. These totals are operational evidence for a discussion, not a substitute for a reviewer decision.

• Scope and owner. A subject and summary explain the request while the owner gives it a named person.
• Budget and timing. Due date and budget hours make the commitment explicit before tasks begin.
• Revision and status. The current revision identifies the material presented for review; status shows where the package sits in the process.

Agree a record numbering convention and who may create, revise, cancel and accept a package. Define what a useful summary needs to include: the affected project work, the requested outcome and any boundary that changes effort. Decide when the package moves from Draft to Planned, and what evidence the Project Manager checks before Review. Make the owner and independent reviewer distinct in the operating procedure.

The package can carry a baseline revision and an acceptance date. During setup, agree when each is recorded and how a corrected scope gets a new revision. The team should be able to point to the exact version reviewed, the tasks used for the estimate and the decision that followed. A status label without those links is a weak handoff.

A customer asks to add an approval screen to a project already underway. The Project Manager creates a Draft package with a clear subject, a due date and a budget of effort hours. The Business Analyst adds an impact assessment and the Project Manager plans the work as tasks. When the scope is agreed for delivery, the package becomes Planned. After contributors complete the work and attach supporting evidence, the Project Manager sends the current revision to Review.

The Independent Reviewer returns the package because the evidence does not show how the revised screen handles a declined request. The Project Manager keeps the package out of Accepted, updates the scope and evidence, and presents the new revision for another review. The earlier decision remains a record of what was reviewed at the time.

• Packages by status — The current scope, owner, due date and revision across active change work.
• Packages awaiting review — Packages whose status is Review and need a recorded decision.
• Package workboard — The same packages grouped by their current status.

Scope to review follows the full package path. Revision and decision concentrates on a changed scope and its next review.