What is a Work Assignment?

Work Assignment as Work Instruction or Service Directive

The term “work assignment” is not standardized and is therefore used differently in different situations. In the simplest case, a work order leads to an activity. Since the term “work assignment” is composed of “work” and “assignment”, it can be deduced that this activity, i.e. the task or work, is ordered separately. The assignment can take place both in projects and in line activities. Synonyms are “service instructions”, “service regulations” or “service directive” in public administrations and “work instructions” in the private sector.

The German V-Modell XT as a guideline for the planning and implementation of system development projects knows the work assignment as a tool of the project manager for the control of the project employees. With the work assignment he communicates essential information such as

• task description,
• completion date,
• expected results and
• responsibilities.

The work assignment in V-Modell XT is recorded in writing.

The Form of Work Assignments

In principle, the form of work assignments can vary:

• verbal or written,
• situational or standardised,
• offline or online.

Documented work orders offer the essential advantage that

• contents,
• dates,
• priorities,
• stage of completion etc.

can be understood more easily.

In addition to the instruction or order of an activity, a work assignment can also be the trigger for a project; however, many organisations tend to use project applications and business cases for this purpose.

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