Track

Introduction

This page has been created as a reference for terminology used by J&P when tracking all sorts of activities. It IS intended for potentially sharing with external partners including contractors and vendors.

Tags

I.e. different unique short words used for tagging information for enabling easy searching and highlighting [when viewing content].

Overview – Projects, Tasks, …

Category General Use
(Life:short/er,
only as long as
‘unfinished’)
Specific Use
(Life:long/er,
also once finished,
keep for years/decades)
Examples, Specific Use
Projects PR! PJyymmi (typically been using 7 char len for years) PJ15071 Email! Filtering Services
PJ16061 Router!-Gateway!
Tasks – (using TR! – see below) TA… (~8-15 char len) TA2405-7206-1 Removing tree limbs 7206
TA2405-7206-2 Repair patio 7206
Track anything TR! (- n/a) (- n/a)
Change Requests (n/a) CRyymmdd-i.. (one common format used by J(&P)) – WITHIN a project or product CR220115-1 Remove ending ‘/‘ for Finder-WRbJ files.
CR240617-C Enable Command-C to copy text from dialog

Some comments:

  1. PR! and TR! are only intended for shorter-time use, while still active project or task, for easy finding current ‘work in progress’ things.
  2. Recommendation: Do NOT use TR! or PR! in folder names.
    1. Especially MS Office apps ain’t working too nicely when change file system paths and docs are open…
      1. I.e., this is really a MS Office issue……….
  3. PJ… and TA… are intended for longer-time use, including external use with vendors and contractors to better uniquely define SCOPE, and discuss TIME and COSTS.

Projects v. Tasks

  • From Getting Things Done > 5: Projects and Tasks, just as one example:
      • Project = anything that takes more than one step to complete.”
      • Task = anything that can be done in a single step and usually in a single sitting.”
    • To us this is a bit too simplified.

To us it’s more a question of ‘in the eyes of the beholder’.

  • A Project is often required to accomplish some goal, like building or remodeling a house, creating some special means of transportation, et c, and:
    • Will consist of many specific Tasks, like building frame, put up walls, paint walls, and so on.
  • A Task can become – need – a Project to meet a final result.

I can be assigned the Task to travel to Mars and we need to do some serious planning and coordinations to make that happen, a major Project, with lots of Tasks within. I.e, to me it’s a Task but for many others it’s a (major) Project.

I.e., to us:

  • A Task has focus on the end goal, e.g. travel to Mars.
  • A Project is all activities required to fulfill this Task. (And the Project has lots of Tasks to accomplish parts.)
Task Project
“Travel to Mars” * Build a rocket/transport mechanism
* Schedule trip depending on weather etc
* Make trip
“Write a book” * Make outline
* Research
* Write drafts, do reviews with feedbacks, and ultimate have script for release
* Print books, Distribute, Sell, Collect money, handle finances, pay taxes, …
* Sail out in the sunset with the proceeds – ok that last bullet should probably be outside of a project for Write a book, and be a whole own Task, and related Project.
“Sail out in the sunset” If have the boat ready sitting down by the dock, just do it – a straightforward Task – otherwise, you have some fun Project ahead of ‘ya (researching and getting a boat, maybe learn to sail, learn the archipelago, …)

 

Area Tasks – for a Task: Projects – for every Project:
Scope Can be described in a one sentence. One of the pillar of a project is defining Scope, what to accomplish, and manage scope creep, change requests, …
Time Should be possible to summarize in a sentence, as required/applicable. Another pillar of a project is estimating time to execute project, and manage time within project.
Costs Should be possible to summarize in a sentence, as required/applicable. A third core pillar of a project is costs management.
Management, resources Every Task requires some RESOURCE to perform the task, providing a result.
Core responsibility is EXECUTION.
Every Project has a dedicated and named Project Manager.
Core responsibility is COORDINATION.