Before we get to the 4 Rules for Project Tasks, let’s be sure we understand what a task is.
A task is:
- A small piece of work
- Involves one or a few people
- Generally, lasts no longer than a few person hours in duration
- Must be completed in a defined period or time or by a deadline
- Meant to accomplish a simple goal
- May be a component of a much larger work effort
Task Definition
Here are a few points on defining a task:
- Describe the task in a sentence
- Be sure to understand dependencies. What does this task depend on? What depends on this task?
- It is okay to break larger tasks into individual sub-tasks
Here are the 4 rules for project tasks:
80 Hour Rule
The #1 Rule for Tasks states that a task should be no shorter than 8 hours and no longer than 80 hours. This is also called the 80-hour rule. There are variations of this rule, such as nothing takes less than two days or more than two weeks. You can determine which recommendation applies to your project.
The 7 Hour Rule
The 7-hour rule is a scheduling rule. Project managers should always create work plans and timelines based on the 7-hour rule, meaning scheduled work for a single day should not exceed 7 hours. Some project managers may schedule work based on a 6-hour day to accommodate meetings or other interruptions.
Single Reporting Period
Tasks should not exceed a single reporting period. If you have a 2-week reporting period, for example, the 80-hour rule applies, however, if you report weekly, your task duration’s should be limited to 40 hours.
Task Completion Criteria
Be sure to define what the completed task looks like. The task may never be completed if you cannot define what “done” means.