Programming NC IV

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Planning and Organizing Work

Planning and Organizing Work

This module discusses the knowledge, skills and attitude required to plan
and organize work in a company.
Upon completion of this module, the students will be able to:
1. identify work objectives;
2. plan and schedule work activities using different tools;
3. conduct and monitor plans/activities; and
4. evaluate work plans and activities.

Set Work Objectives

This section discusses the planning and communication process needed to
set work objectives, organizational aims, and effective workload distribution
as well as using the SWOT Analysis technique.

Organizational Policies and Procedures

Organizational policies and procedures are the outline of rules and guidelines
of decision-making to deal with problems. These policies and procedures
make employees understand the organization’s goals and values on specific
issues, and are implemented across the organization.

Policies are guidelines and statements of principle on how an organization

should go about its dealings and operations, while procedures are detailed
instructions on how employees should carry out the company policies. It’s a
way to link the company’s plans, strategies and daily operations. Procedures
can be mandatory or not.

The following are some situational examples that cover policies and
procedures:
1. workplace behavior standard
2. code of conduct
3. health and safety (including first aid)
4. harassment
5. equal opportunity for employment
6. infection control
7. procedures for filing grievance
8. procedures for emergency
9. client service delivery
10. criteria of eligibility
11. confidentiality and privacy
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Planning Process
The planning process includes steps in developing budgets as a company’s
guide for future activities. Documents in planning process may include:
1. Long-range strategic plans
2. Short-term tactical plans to accomplish goals mentioned in the strategic
plan
3. Operating plans designed for certain departments to implement
4. Project plans such as new product launching or constructing a new plant
Steps and actions will obviously differ from one company to another
depending on the plan they are developing. But there are general steps for
planning process accepted by many that will ensure good and acceptable
results, namely:
1. Identify objectives.
2. Determine tasks to meet the objectives.
3. List down resources needed for task implementation.
4. Develop a timeline.
5. Create a tracking and evaluation method.
6. Finalize the plan.
7. Disseminate the information to the involved staff / department.

Communication Process
Communication process in planning and organizing work is critical. To ensure
that the scope, budget, schedule and quality are regularly monitored and the
plan is followed, communication must be taken into consideration.
The following is an example of a communication plan:
Communication Purpose Instrument Frequency
Weekly project Keep the responsible Printed Weekly
progress report person informed on Progress
the status Report
Announcements Inform concerned Email Twice a week
staff on the changes SMS
or progress of the
plan
Gantt Chart Keep everyone Email Weekly
aware of the Gantt chart
schedule for proper
time management
Survey Get feedback from Printed Survey Once per
target users or Questionnaire respondent
customers
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Organizational Aims
The aims of the organization is different from its mission statement.
Organization aims are the results desired by the organization.
The aims are specifically identified and follow a set of requirements, which
are:
1. Hierarchy. There must be order of priority or importance of the
organizational aims. This allows establishing interdependencies and
sharing the efforts required to achieve them.
2. Consistency. The organizational aims should be aligned so that the effort
required to accomplish one will not produce conflicts with the others.
3. Measurability. This refers to the ability to identify whether the aims are
accomplished or not and if they are quantified and valued or not.
4. Timing. There should be a timeframe or deadline for the accomplishment
of the organizational aims.
5. Realistic and Challenging. The organizational aims specified should be
feasible to accomplish, but should be ambitious, to motivate the
employees.

Prioritizing and Managing Workloads

One tool in prioritizing and distributing workloads is the RACI chart. A RACI
Chart is a powerful tool to define roles and responsibilities in a team. In
general, roles and responsibilities are matched with the processes or
activities. RACI stands for the following:
R–Responsible – The buck stops here. Whoever is responsible needs to
make sure that the process works as planned. The R owns the
process/problem or project.
A–Accountable – This is the person liable for the task of completing the
Activity. They act as a support to the person who owns the R.
C–Consult – This person usually have in-depth knowledge of the process in
question. All major decisions need to be signed off by this individual.
I–Inform – The people who need to be informed of the activity may also be
asked for advice, but not necessarily consulted.

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The table below shows an example of a RACI chart.
Tasks Person A Person B
Planning – determine enhancement to be done and C A
identify the goals of the project.
Prepare Gantt Chart, Scope Statement, Budget R A
Proposal and Schedule Plan.
Make modifications to the user interface. R I
Integrate additional modules to the new version. A A
Add modifications to the system components. R A
Conduct Unit and Integration Testing. A/I R
Eliminate bugs and errors detected. I I
Prepare final documentation. R/A R/A
Create user’s manual. R A/I

SWOT Analysis
SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat) Analysis is a technique
in identifying the company’s strength and weaknesses, as well as the possible
opportunities and threats it may face. This technique is important in
developing plans and decision-making since it provides awareness regarding
such situations.
Before, SWOT analysis is used by businesses and industries alone, but it has
proven to be applicable as well in community health and development,
educational purposes, and even for personal and professional growth.
Consider the situation below:
You are designing a Japanese tutorial platform and you need to know
its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
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Figure 1. SWOT Analysis Sample

Plan and Schedule Work Activities

GANTT Chart
Gantt chart is one of the most famous ways in showing the schedule of
activities. It is commonly used in project management. Using Gantt charts, it
is easier to visualize the timeline through the cascading horizontal bar charts
which represent start date, duration and end date of each task.
Through this chart, you will be able to see:
1. The different tasks and activities;
2. The start and end date of each activity;
3. The duration of each task;
4. The overlapping tasks; and
5. The start and end date of a project
The figure below is an example of a Gantt Chart for a Japanese tutorial
platform project.

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Planning
Determine the
enhancements to be done
[quality]
Identify the scope and
goals of the project
Plan for risks,
communication, and
procurement.

Prepare the Gantt Chart.

List activities and

responsibilities of the
team members.
Analysis
Classify the functions
features to be maintained
and eliminated
Decide which version of
Joomla! will be used
Review the new version
to be used
Development
Upgrade the system from
Joomla! 1.5
Make modifications to
the user interface.
Integrate the additional
module to the system.
Add necessary
modifications to the
system
Testing
Conduct unit and
integration testing
Eliminate bugs and fix
errors detected
Documentation

Project Charter

Documentation

User Manual

Figure 2. Gantt Chart Sample

Consultation and Negotiation with Stakeholders

What and who are these stakeholders? Stakeholders refer to an individual, a
group or organization that could affect or be affected by a company’s action,
decision or policies and objectives.
Considering the sample situation mentioned before, about creating a
Japanese tutorial platform, the following are considered internal and external
stakeholders and their impact:
Internal Stakeholders
1. Project Adviser
2. Project Leader
3. Programmers and Other Staff
Impact: Collaboration, cooperation and communication between the
project team will greatly affect the end results of the project.
External Stakeholders
1. Consultants
2. Target Users
3. Customers
4. Immediate family members of the Project Leader
5. Immediate family members of the Programmers
Impact:
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1. Comments and suggestions of the consultants for product

modification are considered.
2. Target users will decide whether to accept or reject the product of the
project through the User Acceptance Sign-Off Form.
3. Personal matters with the family of the project team leader and
members might delay meetings affecting the whole project schedule.

Implement and Monitor Plans and Activities

Work Plans
In carrying out the work plans, it is always important to review the scope of
the project.
Considering the given situation above, if you are to develop a Japanese
tutorial platform, then your deliverables will be:
1. Japanese Tutorial Version 1.0 Installer – XAMPP installer and software
Version 1.0 installer are saved in a DVD to be given to the target user
2. Japanese Tutorial Version 1.0 User Manual – a comprehensive user
manual discussing installation, parts of the screen, exploring the tutorial
and possible error messages to be encountered
3. Japanese Tutorial Version 1.0 Documentation – documentation in a
journal format discussing the methodology, results and findings of the
study
4. Proofread Statement – to certify that the system contents were proofread
by a Japanese native speaker
5. User Acceptance – a proof that the project has been accepted by the target
user
For a more detailed scope of the lessons to be covered, the following could be
considered as lessons included in your Japanese tutorial project:
1. Basic Japanese Expressions
2. Japanese Writing System
a. Hiragana
b. Katakana
c. Selected Kanji Characters
3. Situational Conversation
a. Introducing Oneself and Meeting an Old Friend
b. Asking Questions
c. Being Thankful and Sorry
d. At the Bank, Restaurant, Pharmacy
4. Vocabulary Words
a. Family, Occupations, Places and Demonstratives
b. Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs of Time and Counting
c. Colors, Shapes, and Common Objects
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 d. Fruits, Vegetables and Traditional Japanese Dishes
e. Parts of the Face and the Body
5. Grammar Explanation
a. Sentence Patterns and Demonstratives
b. Verbs and Adjectives
c. Location and Time
6. Exercises
a. Reading Exercises
b. Writing Exercises
c. Listening Exercises

It is imperative that the scope of the project is well-defined and followed.

Else, there is a great chance that the resources required to carry out the plan
– time, money and manpower – will increase.
If a plan is rushed during the implementation, its quality will suffer as well –
leading to unsatisfied customers.
So keep in mind to identify the scope of the plan.
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Implementing and Monitoring

During the implementation of plans and activities, monitoring its progress is
needed to know the status of the project. You’ll also have an idea of your
backlogs.

The following is an example of a progress report:

Activity Aug Sept Oct Nov
Planning
Determine the enhancement to
25% 100%
be done
Identify the goals of the project 10% 50% 100%
Plan for risks, communication,
70% 100%
and procurement.

Prepare the Gantt Chart 30% 100%

List activities and
responsibilities of the team 100%
members.
Analysis
Classify the functions features
to be maintained and -- -- 30%
eliminated
Decide which version of
-- -- 10%
software will be used
Review the new version to be
-- -- -- --
used

Companies could also use online resources to track the progress and status of
their project – it all lies on their preference and protocols.
Some online resources for monitoring progress are:
1. Debugle
2. Smartsheet
3. Project Bubble
4. Zoho Projects
5. Wrike
6. Solo
7. ViewPath

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If you find time, try and explore those online platforms in project
management, you might like and apply it on your present and future school,
work and even personal projects.

Reporting Performance
In reporting the progress and status of the project, you have to collect and
disseminate performance information, including progress measurement,
status report and forecasts.
The following is an illustration by PMBoK on the input and output of
performance report:

Figure 3. Input and Output for Performance Report

Setting Schedules
Aside from creating and using Gantt Charts, another useful tool in setting
schedules for plan implementation is the use of milestones.
A milestone refers to an important event during the implementation of the
plan and is used to check the progress of the project.
Here is an example of a real-life milestone list by Confucius:
At 15 I set my heart upon learning.
At 30 I established myself.
At 40 I am no longer confused.
At 50 I knew the commandments of Heaven.
At 60 I was at ease with anything I heard.
At 70 I could follow my heart's desire without breaking the
boundaries of right.
Usually, a project event marked with milestones are:
1. A project phase is completed.
2. A deliverable is approved.
3. A scheduled interview is completed.
4. An activity is accomplished.
5. An activity is commenced.
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The following is an example of a milestone list for a minor software project.

Milestone Milestone Goal
Document completed The document with all the requirements is prepared.
Compile completed The program is compiled and there are no errors.
Software module A program function has been developed.
completed
Software product build The software product along with its components has
completed been built.
Test case completed A test case has been implemented.
Bugs fixed All bugs are found and fixed.

Contingency Approach
According to the NIST 800-34 Rev. 1, the following lists down the seven steps
for an IT contingency plan:
1. Contingency Planning Policy Statement. Creating a formal policy which
provides authority and guidance to develop an effective contingency plan
comes first.
2. Business Impact Analysis (BIA). Next is conducting a BIA to determine and
prioritize information systems (IS) and its components which are vital in
supporting a company’s mission.
3. Preventive Control. These refer to the actions taken to lessen the effects of
possible system disruptions to increase availability and decrease
contingency life cycle costs.
4. Contingency Strategies. A well-defined recovery strategy must be
developed to ensure that the system can be recovered quickly without
disruption.
5. Information System Contingency Plan. This plan should be created along
with detailed guide and procedure in restoring a damaged system.
6. Plan Testing, Training and Exercise. Testing is needed to validate recovery
abilities while training equips the recovery staff in implementing the
plan.
7. Plan Maintenance. Maintenance should be conducted and the plan should
be implemented and updated for system enhancements and
organizational changes.

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 Motivation and Team Building
Ever wonder what makes ants successful even in the rainy season?
Teamwork.
Usually, a plan is carried out by a team – and not by an individual alone.
Teamwork, as we all know it, is a vital factor for the success of the plan
implementation. Project managers or supervisors should provide an
environment where teamwork is encouraged.
This is possible by providing opportunities and team challenges, giving
timely feedback, communicating effectively, and recognizing and rewarding
those who performed well.
The following are few ways to motivate and develop your team:
1. Enhance the team members’ knowledge and skills which contributes to
the completion of the project, quality improvement and hitting the
deadlines.
2. Improve trust and agreement among the members of the team to raise
their morale and teamwork and avoid possible conflicts.
3. Promote a cohesive and dynamic team culture to enhance their
productivity as a team and as an individual. Encourage team spirit and
cooperation and cross-training for them to share their knowledge with
each other.

Review and Evaluate Work Plans and Activities

Report Writing
A report is written in a well-structured and organized document which
provides a specific and relevant information to a particular issue or problem.
The information is presented in a structured format to provide guidelines
that is easy to trace and follow.

The following are the sample guidelines of a structured report:

1. Title Page. This section describes the purpose of the report. Other details
could include the name, date and for whom the report is written.
2. Terms of Reference. This section includes a brief explanation of who will
read the report (audience), why it was written (purpose), and how it was
written (methods).
3. Summary. This section is the first thing that is read. It should provide the
reader with a helpful overview and briefly describe the content of the
report.
4. Table of Contents. The table of contents should list the different chapters
together with the page numbers.
5. Introduction. The introduction is the main body of the report. The
purpose and objectives of the report should be explained in detail.
6. Methods. This section may include: a list of materials used; explanations
of methods followed; reference to any problems met and successive
changes in the procedure.
7. Results. This section should include a summary of the results of the
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research or experiment together with the collected data that support the
results.
8. Discussion. This section is where you discuss the facts and proofs you
have collected which must be analyzed and discussed with specific
reference to the problem or issue.
9. Conclusion. This section should indicate the overall significance of what
has been covered.
10. Appendices. This section should include all the supporting information
you have used. This includes tables, graphs, questionnaires, surveys or
transcripts.
11. Bibliography. This section should list in alphabetical order by
author/writer, all published sources referred to in the report.
12. Acknowledgments. This section is where you may wish to acknowledge
the assistance of particular individual who provided information, advice
or help.
13. Glossary of Technical Terms. This section should provide an alphabetical
list of technical terms with a brief and clear description of each term.

Collecting Information
As discussed in previous modules, there are different ways to collect
information – interviews, survey, observation and reviews of literature. In
this section, we’re talking about getting information to evaluate and assess
the plans and activities.
Mainly, information gathered refers to feedback. We need our customers’
comments and suggestions on how well a plan or activity is performing.
Below are some ways on how to gather this information:
1. Email and contact forms for customer
2. Surveys for customer feedback
3. Usability tests
4. Exploratory customer interviews
5. Social listening through social media
6. On-site activity using analytics
7. Comment boxes

Feedback
In an organizational perspective, feedback is the information sent to an
individual or a group about its conduct or performance so that the person
may change its current and future conduct to achieve the desired outcome.
For example, how do you know a mobile game is good if you only know its
name and watched some trailer? You read reviews and you check the
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 feedback.
Take a look at the screenshot below, there are 89 people who rated this game
and the average is close to perfect. Aside from this, there are also written
reviews where customers justify why they gave that score.
Give it a read.
If you’re fond of this type of game, will you install it?

Figure 4. Sample Feedback

Performance Appraisal
Performance Appraisal is a systematic evaluation or assessment of an
individual or employee with regard to the performance on the job and
possible development.

Performance appraisals may be used on:

1. Employees Promotion
2. Confirmations or Verifications
3. Employees Training and Development
4. Compensation
5. Competency
6. Communication
7. HR Programs Evaluation
8. Feedback & Complaints

References
Business Dictionary. (2016). Retrieved from
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/feedback.html
Chand, Smriti. (2016). 7 Major Elements of Communication Process.
Retrieved from http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/business-
communication/7-major-elements-of-communication-
process/25815/
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Community Dorr. (2013). Defining policy and procedures. Retrieved from

http://etraining.communitydoor.org.au/mod/page/view.php?id=62
Community Tool Box. (2016). SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats. Retrieved from
http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/assessment/assessing-
community-needs-and-resources/swot-analysis/main
Esposito, Emily. (2013). How to Create a Gantt Chart in Excel. Retrieved from
https://www.smartsheet.com/blog/gantt-chart-excel
Gantt.com. (2016). What is a Gantt chart? Retrieved from
http://www.gantt.com
Human Resources Management, (n.d.). Performance Appraisal Methods
Retrieved from https://corehr.wordpress.com/performance-
management/performance-appraisal-methods/
OmniSecu.com. (2008). Organizational Policies, Procedures, Standards and
Guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.omnisecu.com/ccna-
security/organizational-policies-procedures-standards-and-
guidelines.php
Plan and Manage your own Workload. Retrieved from
http://www.contentextra.com/publicrelations/files/topicguides/PR_
TopicGuide_11_1.pdf
Project Management Institute. (2008). A Guide to the Project Management
Body of Knowledge, 4th Edition. Pennsylvania: Project Management
Institute
University of Leicester, (n.d.). Writing Reports. Retrieved from
http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/writing/writing-
resources/reports
Woods, Carol. (2003). What Is the Planning Process? - Steps & Concept
http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-the-planning-process-
steps-lesson-quiz.html

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