Section 3.2: Work Packages & Milestones

A project is organized into work packages: the phases of the job, such as pre-production, the shoot and the edit. Each package holds its own deliverables, milestones and crew bookings, so you can see what each phase covers and what it costs.

You work with both in Plan, on the Tasks and Timeline tabs.

1. Work packages

Create a work package

1. Open the project and go to Plan, then Tasks.
2. Click Work package. The New work package panel opens on the right.
3. Fill in the fields below and click Create package.

Fields

• Name: what you call the phase.
• Type: one of twelve: Discovery, Strategy, Design, Pre-production, Production, Post-production, Development, Content, Review, Delivery, Coordination or Other.
• Location: Remote, On site or Hybrid. On site and hybrid packages add City and Address.
• Start and End.
• Billing: Per project or Monthly. Monthly packages add a Monthly rate.
• Allocated budget: the share of the project budget this package gets.
• Estimated hours: shown once the package exists, and read-only. ABRAM adds it up from the work inside the package.
• A description of what the package covers.

Statuses

A new package starts at Planning. Once it exists, open it to set its Status:

• Planning: the package is being scoped.
• Matching: you are finding crew for it.
• Staffed: the crew is booked.
• In progress: the work is under way.
• Blocked: something is stopping the work.
• Completed: the work is done.
• Cancelled: the work has stopped.

The list offers only the moves that make sense. A package moves forward through Planning, Matching, Staffed, In progress and Completed. Matching, Staffed and In progress can each step back one status. In progress can become Blocked, and a Blocked package returns to In progress or Staffed. Any status can be set to Cancelled, and Cancelled is final.

Edit a work package

On Tasks, hover a package name and click Edit work package, or click the package bar on the Timeline. The package opens in a panel on the right. Below the fields you see what the package holds: its Deliverables, Milestones and Crew, each with a count. Anything scheduled outside the package dates is flagged.

Change what you need and click Save changes.

To remove a package, click the delete icon at the bottom of the panel. Keep items detaches its deliverables, milestones and work orders and deletes only the package. Delete all removes them with it.

Change a package's dates

When you change a package's Start, ABRAM shows a checkbox, ticked to begin with: Move linked items by the same number of days when you save. Leave it ticked to shift the package's deliverables, milestones, work orders and resources with it. Saving also moves the crew bookings on the package to the new dates.

You can also drag a package bar on the Timeline. ABRAM opens a Move dialog with the same checkbox. Click Move dates to confirm.

2. Milestones

A milestone is a checkpoint in the project, such as script lock, rough cut approval or final handover.

Create a milestone

On Tasks, hover a work package and click its add button (Add to this work package), then choose Milestone. The New milestone panel opens on the right with these fields:

• Title.
• Status: Not started, Planning, In progress, In review, Completed, Delayed, Blocked or On hold.
• Target date.
• Work package: the package it belongs to, or Project level for the whole project.
• Payment %: the share of the project budget tied to this milestone.
• Estimated hours.
• Notes.
• Owners: one or more people responsible for it.

Payment percentages

Payment percentages across all of a project's milestones can add up to 100 at most. If a new figure would push the total over 100, ABRAM stops the save and tells you what the other milestones already account for.

Show a milestone to your client

When the project has a linked portal client, an existing milestone has a Client portal section with a Visible to client switch. Turn it on to show that milestone in your client's portal. See Section 6.4: Client Portal.

3. Deliverables

A deliverable is a piece of work you hand over, such as a cut, a set of stills or a document. Deliverables sit inside a work package and can be tied to a milestone.

Deliverables move through five statuses: Not started, In progress, In review, Approved and Completed. For the full page, versions and client review, see Section 3.13: Deliverable and Work Order Pages and Section 3.8: Deliverables Review and Approval.