8/80 Rule For Projects: The Facts You Should Know (+Examples)

The 8/80 Rule for projects refers to a general guideline regarding work packages; they require more than eight and fewer than eighty hours of effort to be completed.

 

 

The 8/80 Rule help project managers create the work package list by identifying which work components should be considered work packages.

Any work component that can be completed in fewer than eight hours does not rise to the level of a work package.

 

Also, any work component requiring more than 80hours of work is too monumental to be categorised that way.

While the 8/80 Rule may be a useful guide in small projects, it will be impractical to apply it to large projects, which will necessitate tracking millions of work packages.

Activities

An activity is an element of project work packages that requires action to produce a deliverable. Activities lay the foundation for estimating, scheduling, executing, and monitoring and controlling the project work. The characteristics of the activity are:

• It has an expected duration
• It consumes budget and human resources.

 

Example:

Some of the activities are:

• Revising a user manual
• Making a sales presentation
• Reserve ng a conference room

Each of these items requires action to produce a deliverable. Each has an expected duration and will consume budget and human resources.

Activity lists …

An activity list is a definitive list of activities that must be completed to produce the desired project deliverables.

 

It includes an activity identifier and a description of the scope of work for each activity so that each team member understands the work required for completion.

 

The activities in an activity list are listed in sequential order and are used to estimate project duration and create the project schedule.

An activity list for conducting a Training program…

• Determine training budget
• Schedule training date
• Set training requirements
• Identify trainers
• Confirm attendees
• Reserve conference room
• Set up audio-visual materials
• Acquire training software
• Train attendees
• Collect feedback.

Activity components …

Activity can be broken down into smaller components. For example, the activity, Reserve conference room, could be broken down in the following way:

• Determine size requirement
• Determine date needed
• Identify possible room alternatives
• Select room
• Call to reserve room
• File confirmation when received

Activity attributes

Activity attributes obtain additional information about all activities in an activity list.

 

The attribute describes the activities by listing the different components associated with the activities, which include responsible team members and the level of effort required.

 

Activity attributes are used to develop project schedules and select, order, and sort planned activities.

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