Breaking a project into tasks

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which is a better task for a project to make a class website?

A Write the text for the About page

B Do the website

2. Your team is making a short video. Which order makes sense?

A Write the script, then film the scenes

B Film the scenes, then write the script

3. True or false: a task list should be written in the order the tasks must be done.

A True

B False

4. Which task has a clear outcome?

A Work on the app

B Draw a wireframe of the home screen

5. A task list table has columns for the task, who does it, and how long it will take. Why add an estimated time?

A To make the list look longer

B To help plan how long the whole project will take

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Task 2 \| Write quiz questions \| Needs: Task 1		AThe tasks are in the wrong order. You can't present before you build, so Build should come first.
2Task 4 \| Test the game \| 30 min		BTask 1 \| Draw the game board on paper \| Done: board sketch
3A task with a clear outcome says exactly what will be finished		CThe task is too big and has no clear outcome. Break it into smaller steps like 'Sketch the home page' or 'Write the About text'.
4A task list puts small tasks in the order they must be done		DA task row with a time estimate: it says how long the task should take
5Task 1 \| Make the whole website		EA task row with a dependency: Task 2 can only start after Task 1 is finished
6Task 1 \| Present the project Task 2 \| Build the project		F1. Plan 2. Build 3. Test 4. Share

Definitions

task list

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

Task 1: Research the topic | 30 min Task _: Write the slides | 45 min Task 3: Practise the talk | 20 min

Task 1: Collect photos | 20 min Task 2: Build the slideshow | 40 min Task 3: Present to class | needs Task _

Task 1: Plan the quiz | 30 min Task 2: Make the quiz | 45 min Total: 30 + 45 = __ min

Task 1: Plan the video | 20 min Task 2: Film the video | _____ Task 1 Task 3: Edit the video | needs Task 2

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A T1 Do podcast | 2h | none

B T2 Record voices | 1h | T1

C T3 Edit audio | 2h | T2

D T4 Publish episode | 1h | T3

Question 2

A T1 Research topic | 2h | none

B T2 Draft text | 1h | T1

C T3 Choose images | 1h | T1

D T4 Print poster | 1h | none

Question 3

A T1 Pick topic | 20min | none

B T2 Research facts | 2h | T1

C T3 Make 10 slides | 1min | T2

D T4 Practise talk | 1h | T3

Question 4

A T1 Sketch levels | 1h | T3

B T2 Code the game | 3h | T1

C T3 Test the game | 1h | T2

Question 5

A T1 Plan scenes | 1h | none

B T2 Film all scenes | T1

C T3 Edit clips | 2h | T2

Answer Key

Breaking a project into tasks

Section A: Quick Questions

A — Write the text for the About page

A — Write the script, then film the scenes

A — True

B — Draw a wireframe of the home screen

B — To help plan how long the whole project will take

Section B: Match the Pairs

Task 2 | Write quiz questions | Needs: Task 1 → A task row with a dependency: Task 2 can only start after Task 1 is finished

Task 4 | Test the game | 30 min → A task row with a time estimate: it says how long the task should take

A task with a clear outcome says exactly what will be finished → Task 1 | Draw the game board on paper | Done: board sketch

A task list puts small tasks in the order they must be done → 1. Plan 2. Build 3. Test 4. Share

Task 1 | Make the whole website → The task is too big and has no clear outcome. Break it into smaller steps like 'Sketch the home page' or 'Write the About text'.

Task 1 | Present the project Task 2 | Build the project → The tasks are in the wrong order. You can't present before you build, so Build should come first.

Section C: Definitions

task list — A list of small tasks, each with a clear outcome, written in the order they must be done. It breaks a big project into steps you can plan, time and tick off.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

Task 1: Research the topic | 30 min
Task 2: Write the slides | 45 min
Task 3: Practise the talk | 20 min

Task 1: Collect photos | 20 min
Task 2: Build the slideshow | 40 min
Task 3: Present to class | needs Task 2

Task | Outcome | Time
Sketch poster | Sketch finished | 15 min
Add colour | Poster coloured in | 30 min

Task 1: Plan the quiz | 30 min
Task 2: Make the quiz | 45 min
Total: 30 + 45 = 75 min

Task 1: Plan the video | 20 min
Task 2: Film the video | needs Task 1
Task 3: Edit the video | needs Task 2

Section E: Spot the Error

A — 'Do podcast' is too vague. A task needs a clear outcome you can tick off. It should be something like 'T1 Write script | 2h | none'.}

D — Printing can't start straight away. It depends on the text (T2) and the images (T3) being finished first. The dependency should be 'T2,T3', not 'none'.

C — Making 10 slides in 1 minute is not a realistic time estimate. A sensible estimate is about 2h, so the line should read 'T3 Make 10 slides | 2h | T2'.

A — The first task can't depend on a later task, because T3 can't happen until T1 is done. T1 has nothing before it, so it should say 'none'.

B — This task has no time estimate. Every task needs one so the plan can be timed. It should read 'T2 Film all scenes | 2h | T1'.