What are Work Types and How do I Use Them?

This article explains what Work Types are and how to use them.

Your OnePlan group may have different work types configured per your business process. You may not have any extra work types configured.

Video Length - 00:36

What are Work Types?

A work type is a category of the way work is done, such as with different scheduling methods, processes, etc.. Work Types help in organizing and categorizing work in a project, making it easier to manage and track. Out of the box, OnePlan comes with Tasks, Issues, Risks, Backlogs, Changes, Lessons Learned, and Key Decisions. But, Work Types are configurable to align with your business needs, which is done by the Admin.

Note

When the Backlog List App is added to your OnePlan group, a new work type called Backlog gets created. The fields and views are also added.

Switch Between Work Type Logs

Work Types are found in the Work Planner, which is found within a plan. So, Work Types allow you to further organize and categorize the work in your plan to best align with your processes. Each configured Work Type in OnePlan has its own Work Plan log within the Work Plan module. For example, your organization may have a Risk Work Type with a corresponding Risk log within the Work Planner.

Regardless of if you are viewing the Work Plan List or Board, you can use the Work Type menu to switch between the Work Types.

Create a New Work Item in a Work Type Log

Creating new Work Type items is exactly the same as creating a new Task in the main Schedule of the Work Plan. You can either use the Quick Entry field at the bottom of the screen, or the Add Item button in the Work Plan toolbar.

Manage Work Items

The really cool thing about OnePlan Work Types is that you can manage the work items within these Work Type logs exactly as you would a Task in the main Work Plan Schedule.

Assign Resources to Different Work Type Items

With all OnePlan Work Types, you can assign work items to resources in your project team. The work items will be added to the resource’s My Work list and Timesheet, to ensure that someone is working on the item, and nothing gets left behind.

Push Work Items from a Work Type Log into the Main Work Plan Schedule

You can also push work items from the work type logs into the schedule so you can see how the item affects the plan schedule. To push a work item from a Work Type log into the main Schedule:

In the Work Type log (I will use Issues for this example), locate the item you would like to move.
Click the contextual menu for the work item, then select Add To Schedule.

After clicking Add To Schedule, you wiill notice two things:

You will be prompted to save your Work Plan.
There is a new icon next to the work item. If you hover over the icon, a tooltip will show stating that the "Item Is Scheduled."

Navigate to the Schedule via the Work Type menu, and you will find the work item included in the Schedule.

Different Work Type Items in Reports

Finally, your administrator can add these different work type logs to status reports, so you can update stakeholders on issues, decisions, etc. that occur during the project.

Save Views per Work Type Log

There is a default view per Work Type. You may save views as needed per Work Type. To save a view for a Work Type log:

Navigate to the desired Work Type log. In this example, I will use the Issue log.
Update the view as desired by adding, removing, or rearranging columns, adding filters, adding groupings, etc..
Once you are happy with the view configuration, click into the View menu, and select Save View.