A Book of Work is a list of an organization's current and planned projects. It can help with budget allocation, prioritization, and management of projects.
There is also a book titled "Work: A History of How we spend our Time" by James Suzman that explores the history and meaning of work from an anthropological perspective. A workbook is a file containing one or more worksheets to help you organize data in Excel.
What are some benefits of using a Project Book of Work?
Some benefits of using a Project Book of Work are:
It allows you to have a clear and comprehensive overview of all the current and planned projects for your organization
It helps you to prioritize projects based on their importance, urgency, and alignment with the overall strategy
It enables you to allocate budget and resources more effectively and efficiently
It supports decision-making and communication with stakeholders by providing relevant and updated information
It improves team collaboration and coordination by organizing work into manageable blocks and tracking progress
It enhances project quality and delivery by identifying gaps, overlaps, dependencies, and risks
It facilitates project documentation and reporting by capturing all the details, files, and feedback in one place
How to build a project book of work?
Building a project book of work involves the following steps:
Define the scope and objectives of the Book of Work (BoW)
Identify all the current and planned projects for the organization
Collect relevant information for each project, such as Project Name, Budget, Benefits, Priority, Status, etc.
Create a spreadsheet or a database to store and update the information
Consolidate and analyze the information to identify gaps, overlaps, dependencies, and risks
Use the information to support decision-making on budget allocation, prioritization, and management of projects
Review and update the BoW regularly to reflect changes in project demand and delivery
Some templates and tools are available online to help you create a Project Book of Work. For example, one source provides a free Excel template that includes various tabs for different aspects of project management. Another source shows how to make a Project Book using paper and glue. You can choose whichever method suits your needs best.