How work units are defined, the quarterly target, two worked examples, and how the projects currently in progress convert from hours to units.
| Part | Subject | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Units and the target | How a unit is defined, how each role converts, the quarterly target, how packages are structured |
| 2 | Worked example: a new sale | Program design, five courses, five videos, five interactives, from order form to packages |
| 3 | Worked example: a project in progress | MDC Phase 1, converted from its contract and its current allocations |
| 4 | Converting the work in progress | The whole portfolio in units, the conversion rules, and what the change requires of Beaker |
| 5 | Cutover, 26 September | The sequence to cutover, how existing bookings translate, and how units count toward Q4 |
Parts 2 and 3 use live figures. The new sale in Part 2 is illustrative and priced from the standard catalog. Part 3 and Part 4 are drawn from current contracts and the allocations recorded in Beaker.
The definition, the conversion rates, the quarterly target, and the structure of a package.
The figure is taken from the Product Catalog rate card, which already prices Lead ID at $65 an hour. Every other role converts at its own cost rate divided by 65.
Because the rate card is the same one used to scope and price the work, a package expressed in units carries the same value as the catalog line it was sold from. No separate rate table is introduced.
| Role | Cost rate | Units per hour |
|---|---|---|
| SME (high) | $100 | 1.54 |
| Lead ID, Lead PM | $65 | 1.00 |
| Video Producer | $55 | 0.85 |
| SME (med), Graphic Designer | $50 | 0.77 |
| Active ID, PM, Copyeditor | $45 | 0.69 |
| Course Builder | $35 | 0.54 |
Source. Product Catalog Cost & Price, rev 07-26, Lists tab. Applied in the Model Utilization workbook as 1.00 for lead and 0.69 for active.
The target is a band of 345 to 375 work units a quarter for a full-time designer, centred on 360. Delivering within the band meets the salaried commitment. Packages delivered above it are paid additionally.
The band scales with contracted capacity.
| Contracted capacity | Quarterly band |
|---|---|
| Full time | 345 to 375 |
| Three quarter time | 259 to 281 |
| Half time | 173 to 188 |
Source. Model Utilization, cell I56 = 30*4*12, with the per-designer figure derived as I56/4. The workbook compares quarterly demand against this capacity; for Q4 it shows 1,413 units of demand against 1,440 of capacity across four designers.
Each catalog service already carries a task list, a role, a duration and a cost rate. A package is one catalog line, divided by role, priced in units. Packages fall into three tiers according to how often they occur.
| Tier | Occurrence | Package | Role | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Once per engagement | Program Setup / Course Design Kit | Lead ID | 24.00 |
| 1 | Once per engagement | Course Standards & Template | Lead ID | 18.50 |
| 2 | Per course | Active ID: Design & Build | Active ID | 22.09 |
| 2 | Per course | Lead ID: Review & Oversight | Lead ID | 4.00 |
| 2 | Per course | LMS Build | Course Builder | 4.45 |
| 2 | Per course | Copyedit and Alt Text | Copyeditor | 3.12 |
| 3 | Per artifact or bundle | Standard Storyline ILO | Media | 9.94 |
| 3 | Per artifact or bundle | Curie Intro Video | Media | 2.60 |
Sizing. At a 360 unit quarter a designer completes about sixteen accelerated course packages and holds roughly eleven open at a time, between one and two new claims a week. Packages below about five units make the board behave as a task list; packages above about forty are difficult to reassign mid-course. Figures shown are for Accelerated scoping; Standard scoping is higher, at 37.38 units for Active ID and 8.11 for Lead ID.
Program design, five course developments, five Curie intro videos and five standard Storyline interactives, taken from order form to assigned packages.
| Catalog line | Qty | Cost each | Price each | Cost total | Price total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program Design Strategy | 1 | $1,875 | $5,481 | $1,875 | $5,481 |
| New Course Design & Build (Accelerated) | 5 | $2,680 | $7,851 | $13,400 | $39,255 |
| Curie Course Intro Video | 5 | $169 | $494 | $845 | $2,470 |
| Standard Storyline ILO | 5 | $646 | $1,889 | $3,230 | $9,445 |
| Total | 16 | $19,350 | $56,651 |
Sales copies the Product Catalog master, selects the services and sets quantities. This step is unchanged by the proposal.
| Role | Cost | Units | Composition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active ID | $7,180 | 110.46 | 22.09 × 5 courses |
| Media, Storyline interactives | $3,230 | 49.69 | 9.94 × 5 |
| Lead ID | $2,860 | 44.00 | 24.00 program setup + 4.00 × 5 course reviews |
| PM and Lead PM | $2,193 | 33.74 | 3.74 program + 6.00 × 5 courses |
| Course Builder | $1,445 | 22.23 | 4.45 × 5 |
| Copyeditor and Alt Text | $1,015 | 15.62 | 3.12 × 5 |
| Media, Curie videos | $845 | 13.00 | 2.60 × 5 |
| Contingency, held at project level | $587 | 9.03 | 4 per cent; not issued as a package |
| Total | $19,350 | 297.70 | $19,350 ÷ 65 |
Conversion applies the rate table in 1.1 to the role hours recorded on each catalog detail tab. No estimate or judgement is introduced at this step.
| Tier | Package | Role | Units each | Qty | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Program Setup / Course Design Kit | Lead ID | 24.00 | 1 | 24.00 |
| 2 | Active ID: Design & Build | Active ID | 22.09 | 5 | 110.45 |
| 2 | Lead ID: Review & Oversight | Lead ID | 4.00 | 5 | 20.00 |
| 2 | LMS Build | Course Builder | 4.45 | 5 | 22.25 |
| 2 | Copyedit and Alt Text | Copyeditor | 3.12 | 5 | 15.60 |
| 3 | Storyline ILO, bundle of five | Media | 49.70 | 1 | 49.70 |
| 3 | Curie Intro Video, bundle of five | Media | 13.00 | 1 | 13.00 |
| — | Course PM | Lead PM | 6.00 | 5 | 30.00 |
| — | Program PM | PM | 3.74 | 1 | 3.74 |
| Total | 29 | 288.74 |
Media is issued as a bundle rather than per artifact, since the catalog sells it by quantity and individual items fall below the sizing threshold in 1.3. The 9.03 units of contingency are retained at project level. A lead designer taking the program setup package and all five course reviews would carry 44.00 units from this sale, or roughly an eighth of a quarterly band.
MDC Phase 1. Fifteen teacher preparation courses and a Course Design Kit, currently running, converted from its contract and its existing allocations.
| Component | Qty | Price | Margin | Cost budget | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Course Design Kit | 1 | $11,600 | 77.59% | $2,600 | 40.00 |
| Course development | 15 | $6,300 | 69.05% | $1,950 | 30.00 |
| Programme | $106,100 | $31,850 | 490.00 |
Source. MDC2601 order form; Beaker project records for the parent and its sixteen child projects.
| Resource | Role | Allocation | Booked | Basis | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kara Kelley | Lead ID | Course Design Kit, May to June | 40 h | Role factor 1.00 | 40.00 |
| Kara Kelley | Lead ID | Course lead, 15 courses, May to December | 60 h | Role factor 1.00 | 60.00 |
| Katie Schmidt | Active ID | ESOL, five blocks of 28 hours | 140 h | Role factor 0.69 | 96.60 |
| Katie Schmidt | Lead ID | July to August | 10 h | Role factor 1.00 | 10.00 |
| Leah Louviere | Active ID | EEC 3213, contracted | $1,000 | Flat fee ÷ 65 | 15.38 |
| Melissa Sauer | Active ID | EEC 3412, contracted | $1,000 | Flat fee ÷ 65 | 15.38 |
| Shane Merritt | PM | May to December | 70 h | Role factor 0.69 | 48.30 |
| Total | 285.66 |
Source. Beaker allocations as at 21 August 2026. Staff allocations convert at hours times the role factor; contracted allocations carry a flat fee, which converts at the fee divided by 65. This follows Beaker's own cost model. Four allocations carrying zero hours are excluded as placeholders. Total booked stands against a programme budget of 490.00 units.
Seven allocations become nine packages. The project schedule, the client-facing dates and the ClickUp task structure are unaffected.
| Basis | Active ID | Lead ID | Units per course | Against 30.00 budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catalog, Accelerated scoping | 22.09 | 4.00 | 26.09 | 3.91 under |
| Katie Schmidt, ESOL, staff at 28 hours | 19.32 | 4.00 | 23.32 | 6.68 under |
| Leah Louviere and Melissa Sauer, contracted at $1,000 | 15.38 | 4.00 | 19.38 | 10.62 under |
Reading. All three routes deliver the same course inside the 30.00 unit budget. The contracted route is the cheapest at 19.38 units, 20 per cent below the staff equivalent: $1,000 against 28 staff hours, which cost $1,260 at the Active ID rate. Because staff time and contracted fees both resolve to units, the three are directly comparable, which they are not on the face of the allocations, where one reads as 28 hours and another as a flat fee.
The whole portfolio expressed in units, the rules used to convert it, and what the change requires of Beaker and the project plans.
| Project | Tier | Units | Principal roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSU Wine Program | A | 880 | Active ID, Video, PM, Lead ID, Builder |
| UAGC Course Development 2026 | A | 700 | Active ID, Lead ID, PM, CE |
| ID Curie Support | C | 673 | Lead ID |
| USM | A | 484 | Video, Active ID, PM |
| UWM | A | 460 | Builder, PM, Active ID |
| Shippensburg Certification Development Phase 2 | A | 278 | Active ID |
| Shippensburg Certification Development 2026 | A | 250 | Active ID, Builder, SME |
| CompTIA Content Maintenance 2026 | B | 235 | Active ID, PM |
| MDC Phase 1 | A | 228 | Active ID, PM, Lead ID |
| UMSL Course Development 2026 | A | 210 | Lead ID, Active ID, PM |
| Cengage, four titles | B | 399 | Active ID, PM, SME |
| CompTIA, three reviews | B | 41 | PM |
| Fourteen smaller projects | A / C | 211 | mixed |
| Total, 109 open allocations | 5,049 |
| Tier | Treatment | Units |
|---|---|---|
| A | Converts to packages | 3,647 |
| B | Content development, billed on actuals; remains hourly | 675 |
| C | Internal; no catalog line exists | 727 |
| — | Unassigned queue, 67 open rows | 810 |
| Total | 5,859 |
Basis. Open Beaker allocations as at 21 August 2026, converted at booked value. Of the 109 allocations, 93 are staff or hourly and convert at hours times the role factor, contributing 3,615 units; 16 carry a flat fee and convert at the fee divided by 65, contributing 1,434 units. Thirteen allocations carrying zero hours are excluded. Booked value is the whole allocation rather than the portion still outstanding.
| Rule | Condition | Treatment |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allocation carries zero hours | Not converted. Placeholder rows, thirteen in total. |
| 2 | Tier B: CompTIA and Cengage | Not converted. Billed on actuals, remains hourly. |
| 3 | Tier C: internal projects | Converted to an internal package type, which does not yet exist in the catalog. |
| 4 | Allocation spans several courses | Split into one package per course, sized from the catalog line rather than from the booked hours. |
| 5 | Allocation carries a flat fee | One package. Units = fee ÷ 65. The booked hours are a scheduling shape and do not set the value. |
| 6 | All other allocations | One package. Units = hours × the role factor from 1.1. |
Where the booked hours and the catalog hours disagree, the catalog sets the package value and the difference is recorded as a scoping variance. Part 3.4 shows the comparison on MDC: three routes to the same course, at 26.09, 23.32 and 19.38 units against a 30.00 unit budget.
A package records commercial scope and assignment. The ClickUp course schedule records sequence and progress. One package covers a range of tasks, and the existing task numbering already marks the boundaries.
| Tasks | Package |
|---|---|
| 100, 200 | Program and Lead Design |
| 300, 400 | Active ID: Design and Build |
| 320, 420, 520, 620 | Course Builder |
| 600 | Review and QA |
Beaker calculates percentage complete from weighted ClickUp task completion, and the client-facing schedule is a filtered view of the plan. Package status is derived from the task range rather than entered directly.
| Table | Change | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| package_types | New | Seeded from the Product Catalog |
| packages | New | The unit of assignment |
| unit_rates | New | Role factors held as configuration |
| resource_unit_targets | New | The band, per resource, per quarter |
| project_unassigned_work | Reuse | Becomes the available queue |
| clickup_list_map | Reuse | Package to task range join, 34 rows in use |
| allocations | Derived | Written on assignment, preserving all existing reporting |
| time_entries | Unchanged | Hours remain a measure of effort |
Downstream reporting reads from allocations. Deriving them from package assignment leaves revenue recognition, margin and budget reporting intact at the point of transition.
The conversion itself is mechanical once these are settled. It requires no re-scoping, no client conversation, and no change to any project schedule.
How the bookings already in the schedule become packages, and how units count toward the Q4 band.
| When | Step | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| w/c 31 Aug | Confirm contracted capacity per designer and record the band against each name | Shane, Lois |
| w/c 31 Aug | Agree an internal package type. 727 units of internal work has no catalog line today | Lois, Craig |
| w/c 31 Aug | Correct the UAGC role budget split | Shane, Craig |
| w/c 7 Sep | Seed package types from the Product Catalog; load the conversion rates | Shane |
| w/c 14 Sep | Convert the bookings. Lead work 1:1; other roles mapped to catalog package types | Shane |
| w/c 14 Sep | Each designer reviews their translated board and confirms scope and dates | Design team |
| w/c 21 Sep | Dry run. Boards live alongside existing schedules, no change to pay or assignment | All |
| Fri 25 Sep | Freeze allocations at close of business | Shane |
| Sat 26 Sep | Cutover. Packages become the assignment record; allocations are written from package assignment | Shane |
| Mon 28 Sep | Boards live. Remaining bookings appear as claimed packages carrying their remaining units | All |
| Thu 1 Oct | Q4 opens. Units delivered from this date count toward the band | All |
Project schedules, client-facing dates, the ClickUp task structure and time entry all continue unchanged. Hours remain a measure of effort, and hourly staff continue to be paid for every hour worked. 26 September falls on a Saturday, hence the Friday freeze and Monday start.
Every booking running past 26 September converts. Hours already logged stay as delivered work; the balance carries into a package.
| Work type | Becomes | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Lead ID | Lead package, one unit per hour | 1:1 |
| Active ID | Active ID: Design & Build | 22.09 |
| Media, ILO | Storyline ILO | 9.94 |
| Video | Media, video bundle | 13.00 |
| Course Builder | LMS Build | 4.45 |
| Copyeditor | Copyedit and Alt Text | 3.12 |
Lead work converts one to one because a unit is defined as an hour of lead time. Everything else is mapped onto a catalog package type, so the package count follows from the units rather than from the hours.
| Bookings running past 26 September | Count | Units |
|---|---|---|
| All open bookings | 74 | 3,446 |
| Of which design and delivery roles | 55 | 3,446 |
| Less units already delivered | 638 | |
| Carried into packages at cutover | 2,808 |
Units already delivered are derived from time entries logged against each booking. The migration table in the working file lists every booking with its total hours, hours spent, hours remaining, conversion basis, resulting package type and units.
| Designer | Capacity | Q4 band | Q4 goal | Q4 units assigned | Still to assign | Filled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kara Kelley | 40 | 345 to 375 | 360 | 304.3 | 55.7 | 85% |
| Nova Cobble | 40 | 345 to 375 | 360 | 132.8 | 227.2 | 37% |
| Nina Doan | 40 | 345 to 375 | 360 | 129.3 | 230.7 | 36% |
| Katie Schmidt | 40 | 345 to 375 | 360 | 84.4 | 275.6 | 23% |
| Emily Yee | 20 | 172 to 188 | 180 | 64.9 | 115.1 | 36% |
| Saundra Solum | 20 | 172 to 188 | 180 | 0.0 | 180.0 | 0% |
| Becky Tomlinson | 20 | 172 to 188 | 180 | 0.0 | 180.0 | 0% |
| Total | 1,980 | 715.7 | 1,264.3 | 36% |
Counting rule. Units count toward the quarter in which the work falls. A booking that straddles the cutover contributes only the share of its outstanding work dated 1 October or later, so September is not counted twice. The figures above are projected from hours remaining at 28 August and are recalculated at cutover once September actuals are known. Two sources close the 1,264 unit gap: the 810 units sitting unassigned in the Beaker queue, and roughly 440 units of Q4 design work currently held by contractors. Capacity is taken from Beaker and is the first item on the 5.1 sequence to confirm.
Basis of preparation. Figures are drawn from live Beaker allocations as at 21 August 2026, the Model Utilization workbook, the Product Catalog Cost & Price workbook at revision 07-26, and the MDC2601 order form. MDC packages are priced against Program Design Strategy and New Course Design & Build (Accelerated) as reference scopings, because the contract was written against Course Design Kit and Miscellaneous - Design, neither of which carries a costing tab. That mapping is an assumption and is not taken from the catalog.