Workplan
Factual definition
A workplan is a project plan that identifies tasks, owners, dependencies and deadlines so a team can coordinate delivery. It is used across many kinds of projects, not only advisory work.
A one-page diligence workplan
Hypothetical six-week buy-side process. A buyer has signed a letter of intent for the target and is running diligence before investment committee.
| Week | Workstream | Owner | Depends on | Output |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kickoff and data request | Project manager | Data room access from the target | Request list and tracker |
| 2 | Customer revenue analysis | Analyst | Customer revenue export from the target | Reconciled revenue by customer |
| 2–3 | Customer interviews | Commercial lead | Customer contact list from the target | Interview notes |
| 3 | Plant walkthrough | Operations lead | Site visit scheduled with the target | Walkthrough notes |
| 3–5 | Quality of earnings | Finance lead | Monthly financials; reconciled revenue | Adjusted earnings view |
| 4 | Findings review | Commercial lead | Customer interviews; revenue analysis | Commercial findings |
| 5 | Operating-risk assessment | Operations lead | Plant walkthrough | Operating-risk list |
| 5 | Key contract review | Legal counsel | Contracts posted to data room | Contract issues list |
| 6 | Investment committee memo | Deal lead | All week 4 and 5 outputs | Recommendation to committee |
The project manager tracks dependencies and updates the plan as work progresses.
Read the dependency column first
The dependency column is what makes this a workplan rather than a task list.
The commercial lead owns customer interviews, due before the findings review. The operations lead owns the plant walkthrough, due before the operating-risk assessment.
Follow the column backward from week 6. The memo depends on every week 4 and 5 output. Those depend on weeks 1 through 3. A late item early in the chain moves everything behind it.
Find the critical path and the slack
Hypothetical, continuing the table above. Count five working days per week, so the process runs from day 1 to day 30. The memo takes days 26 to 30, so every input must be done by day 25.
The critical path is the longest chain of dependent tasks. Any slip on it moves the memo date.
Here it is:
Kickoff (days 1–5) → Customer revenue analysis (days 6–10) → Quality of earnings (days 11–25) → Investment committee memo (days 26–30)
Each task starts the day after the one before it ends. None has room to slip.
Slack is how far a task can slip before the memo moves. It is the latest finish minus the earliest finish.
| Workstream | Working days | Earliest finish | Latest finish | Slack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kickoff and data request | 1–5 | Day 5 | Day 5 | 0 days |
| Customer revenue analysis | 6–10 | Day 10 | Day 10 | 0 days |
| Quality of earnings | 11–25 | Day 25 | Day 25 | 0 days |
| Customer interviews | 6–15 | Day 15 | Day 20 | 5 days |
| Findings review | 16–20 | Day 20 | Day 25 | 5 days |
| Plant walkthrough | 11–15 | Day 15 | Day 20 | 5 days |
| Operating-risk assessment | 16–20 at earliest | Day 20 | Day 25 | 5 days |
| Key contract review | 6–10 at earliest | Day 10 | Day 25 | 15 days |
| Investment committee memo | 26–30 | Day 30 | Day 30 | 0 days |
Interviews and the findings review share the same 5 days. So do the walkthrough and the operating-risk assessment. A slip used up early in a chain is gone for the task after it.
How far customer interviews can slip
The findings review takes 5 days and must end by day 25.
Latest findings review start = 25 − 5 + 1
Latest findings review start = Day 21
Latest interview finish = 21 − 1
Latest interview finish = Day 20
Planned interview finish = Day 15
Slack = 20 − 15
Slack = 5 working days
Now suppose the interviews slip 7 working days.
New interview finish = 15 + 7
New interview finish = Day 22
New findings review = Days 23–27
New memo start = Day 28
Planned memo start = Day 26
Memo delay = 28 − 26
Memo delay = 2 working days
Check: memo delay = slip − slack = 7 − 5 = 2 working days.
A 5-day slip in interviews is absorbed. A 1-day slip in the quality of earnings moves the memo.
Show what a delay prevents
Hypothetical workplan.
A customer-revenue analysis needs an export before the analyst can reconcile totals. Reconciliation must finish before the reviewer can approve the chart. A list containing all three tasks is less useful if it does not show that sequence.
Assume the export is due Monday, reconciliation Tuesday and review Wednesday. The export then moves to Wednesday.
Export slip = Wednesday − Monday
Export slip = 2 days
New reconciliation date = Tuesday + 2 days
New reconciliation date = Thursday
New review date = Wednesday + 2 days
New review date = Friday
The analyst should flag the downstream dates rather than leave the review marked on time.
Some preparatory work may still proceed. The chart cannot be treated as checked before its inputs arrive.
Keep each row complete
For each task, record the output, owner, input it depends on and date it is needed.
When a dependency changes, decide what can be resequenced and what must move.
Keep unresolved assumptions visible so the plan describes the work the team can actually perform.
Where Workplan fits
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