Ben conducted a historical review of the team’s previous work plans it was expected to follow.  He analyzed what had worked well and what had not.  He also analyzed requests the team received from other program areas to assess how staff time was being spent.  Additionally, he worked with the program area to identify key aspects of their current work.  These factors included their internal and external stakeholders, as well as what the stakeholders value and expect from the team; what tasks were most important and most meaningful; who was responsible for each task and work process; and the amount of time required for each.

Using this information, Ben created a new work plan for the team to follow.  The work plan included each major project the program area focused on, descriptions of each project’s deliverables, and the importance of each project.  In addition to developing the work plan, Ben also taught the program area how to use it to prioritize their work and align their work with the organization’s strategic map.