Today we cover the most important objects placed on the TargetNavigator board.
Basically, the board will contain cards symbolizing projects and tasks. Sometimes there will be some handy additional information and specific markers.
Terms such as task, project or information refer to some abstract, invisible objects. As very many people are visual by nature, the concept of reflecting tasks and projects graphically with tangible, visible artifacts was developed some time ago. As a result, users were able to more easily realize what actually needs to be done. And that is the primary role of the TargetNavigator dashboard.
Through a specific configuration of the board, the user has the possibility to present tasks to be performed in a specific time perspective. At this point it is not important to determine what kind of perspective it is - whether it is weeks, months or perhaps years. The TargetNavigator Basic dashboard is designed to focus on short- to medium-term projects and tasks, like a day, a week. In contrast, TargetNavigator Advanced, which we will present in the future, proposes a perspective of up to a year of time.
So let's systematize all the to-do's into some useful structure that will make it easier for us to organize further activities. So, at the outset, let's assume that a task is the most important basic piece of the workflow. A task has a specific purpose, a meaning. Tasks can consist of operations. There are quite a few different views and discussions on how tasks differ from operations. We will try to illustrate this for the purposes of our system in a moment. Tasks, on the other hand, are the basic component of projects. And projects then can be another component - this time of a larger undertaking, which in project management terminology is referred to as a program.
And so, for example, it's easy to agree that the exercise titled Hosting the Olympic Games is a huge program, involving many smaller programs and projects. They all have a common denominator: the goal of this program is to perform a series of sports events in specific locations and time periods, for spectators in the stands and in front of screens. We frankly admit - the TargetNavigator method has not yet been tested in organizing such an event :-)
For our purposes, let's take a more detailed look at another example that may be closer to us: the organization of a party, for example, a birthday party. Whether we qualify it as a program or a project with multiple tasks - the sense of the whole will remain the same. The whole undertaking can be decomposed into component stages, such as:
1. setting the date of the party ( action/operation)
2. determining the guest list, preparing and sending invitations ( a series of tasks)
3. selection, reservation and decoration of the party venue ( series of tasks, in addition, you need to take into account that the choice of venue may depend on the estimated number of guests)
4. choosing the menu, deciding how to prepare the food ( order or own preparation );
5. determine the program of the event and prepare / order attractions.
Depending on your needs and preferences, this list can be further developed and supplemented with more tasks.
Within tasks there will be activities. Thus, for example, the preparation of some dish for a party is a task involving a sequence of actions specified in the recipe. Typically, recipes do not specify how to come into possession of the indicated ingredients of the dish. We assume that the moment you start working on a dish, all the necessary ingredients are on hand. On the other hand, making all the necessary ingredients in the kitchen at the right moment - this can be the purpose of another, separate task.
In summary, we can accept the definition that a standard type task in TargetNavigator is a set of activities related to each other by the task objective plus additionally homogeneous in “some” aspect, e.g. place, time, complexity, etc.
We deliberately use the unprofessional word “some”, because task management is the art of balancing between the objective and the subjective, between logic and emotion.
An example ? Here you go:
Writing on the board the task “To go to the hairdresser” can have a colossally different meaning for a man before going on vacation (with colleagues) and for a bride before her wedding.
In the first case, you will usually have to allocate some time slot for the appointment and possibly call in advance to book a place. In the second - this task can be broken down into several more component tasks, including, for example, computer simulation, color selection, accessory selection, etc.
Standard tasks can be composed of complex tasks. Or vice versa: each complex task consists of two or more standard tasks. Projects can consist of very many standard and/or complex tasks. A feature of projects is the presence of tasks of a special nature, not always related to the substantive purpose of the project. These include, for example, resource planning, risk management, and sometimes reporting here and there on progress ( so-called communication). However, all of these are also tasks that will appear, like the substantive tasks, on the TargetNavigator board.
So let's summarize this task pyramid :
Program of projects - A program is a creation of the highest level of the pyramid and consists of projects linked by a common sense.
Project: a collection of smaller projects or sub-projects, composed tasks and/or primary tasks related to the project objective. Multiple projects of different sizes, not necessarily related to each other, may appear on the board.
Both programs and projects can, or rather should, be equal to certain important goals we will want to achieve.
Complex task: a collection of standard tasks, linked by the purpose of the complex task. At this point, we ignore the possibility that composite tasks exist from composite tasks.
Standard task: a set of activities related to each other by the goal of the task plus additionally homogeneous in “some” respect, e.g. place, time, complexity.
At TargetNavigator, we pay a lot of attention to tracking standard tasks, because on their progress essentially depends EVERYTHING: the progress of complex tasks and projects.
In addition, during systematic work with TargetNavigator, standard or complex tasks unrelated to either projects or other complex tasks will appear on the board. These can be, for example, various types of AD HOC requests coming from our environment, which we decide to carry out.
To complete the whole picture of tasks of various nature and complexity, 2 other types of tasks should be mentioned.
1. Recurring tasks - these are tasks usually of medium or low complexity ( i.e. standard tasks, for example) that repeat regularly every certain period of time. And in such cycles, they can appear on the board, for implementation.
2. Habits. To keep the board as readable as possible, in general, activities should not appear in TargetNavigator, except for one specific type. That type is habits.
Habit - in the terminology of psychology is an automated activity (a way of behaving, reacting), which is acquired through exercise (mainly through repetition).
An automated habit is a learned component of an individual's behavior formed by conscious learning, through the premeditated establishment and automation of an originally non-automated activity. Habits are a very important part of our actions because they can become our talents.
A talent, according to Gallup, is a naturally recurring pattern of thinking, feeling and reacting that can be used productively. A talent is different from a strength. A strength or forte is the ability to consistently perform a specific task close to perfection.
The Advanced TargetNavigator board has a special track for habit training. The topic will be explained in more detail when this version of the board is presented. In the case of TargetNavigator Basic, the process of habit training can be solved a little differently, with a little less impressive, but nevertheless effective.
For more clarity and comprehensibility of further text, we will refer to the entire collection of the above-mentioned types of projects, tasks and habits as Things To-Do. Graphically, we can illustrate them as in the figure below. Things to do are symbolized by geometric figures. The arrows represent the hierarchy and relationships between different elements.
Hierarchy of things to do
This whole pyramid and structure of varying complexity of projects and tasks takes on significance when we embark on implementation. In the case of projects, one of the first steps will be to break them down into elements from the lower rung of the pyramid. Then, the complex tasks thus extracted will be broken down into standard tasks, whose progress we will track on the TargetNavigator board.
A plan is nothing, planning is everything
( Eisenhower apparently)
At the planning stage, decomposing entire projects into details has the value of discovering how much there is to do, what resources are needed ( competencies, tools, funds) and where to start. An example decomposition of projects to the level of standard tasks is shown in the illustration below. The topmost card is a program card, but it can also be a project card. Then the component projects (or sub-projects, respectively) are arranged below. These components are then divided into tasks and so on - up to the standard task level.
Task cards (things to do)
As can be inferred from the illustrations shown above, it can be assumed that task and project cards should be in the shape of a circle, cyclic task cards - in the shape of a rectangle, and habit cards - in the shape of a sun, for example. This is, of course, only a suggestion. Google Slides offers a variety of shapes that can symbolize different elements of to-do items, and anyone can choose card shapes according to their own preferences.
In addition, the user can set himself a color code that will highlight certain tasks. For example, red-colored cards will signify tasks that are very “urgent and important at the same time,” while a light cream color can be reserved for tasks carried out in ordinary mode.
Another distinguishing feature of tasks can be their borders: bold lines in a certain color can denote some specific features.
The last of the popular card attributes that can be used is card size. A large card in a bright color will immediately attract the attention of people browsing the board. It will probably symbolize a particularly important, even strategic task.
However, it is important to keep it moderate and simple. Too much variation of the cards in shapes, colors and sizes can make what is important hardly visible in the flurry of visual impressions beating from the board.
What information can be on the card.
The card should contain important information, and only that. So, it will definitely be the name of the current task or project. In addition, you can also add the name of the parent task or project - to find the structure to which the task belongs, if necessary. For tasks that have a maximum completion date ( deadline ) - such a date can also be written on the card.
Everything on the whiteboard.
One of the fundamental principles of an effective way to manage tasks and projects is to write down all ideas, preferably in one place. Nothing is left to the head. We will devote at least one separate post to the topic of defining goals in writing in the future.
So, the first stage of the work is to empty your head of remembered to-do items and put them into writing. We will do this by writing out and putting on the board ALL the ideas, projects and tasks we accumulate in our head or possibly in notes in various places . We will repeat this activity systematically in the future. In fact, we should develop the habit of regularly jotting down in writing the commitments that arise. This will help us in our future work, especially in selecting priorities and planning the flow of tasks.
In fact, because of how Google Slides works, opening the app to jot down an idea can be cumbersome. That's why it can be useful to temporarily save an idea in another, more handy app, such as Google's ToDo List.
This app, thanks to a nifty widget, offers the ability to save right from the phone screen. Then, in due course, you can transfer the records from List ToDo to TargetNavigator.
In the next post, we will describe the basic operations on the TargetNavigator board.
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