Action n. activity, natural action, natural process, to-do
An action is something you need to do that takes both time and effort. Actions are stored in your ToDo list and the relevant task Action list. Their duration is usually less than a day. Some examples of actions include: call someone, attend a meeting, check progress, backup your computer.

 

Task n. job, assignment, duty
A task (measured in days and weeks) is a logical grouping of actions to achieve a goal. Tasks require the management of information, progress, resources and people. A Task is a unit of work that includes a number or related actions that need to be done. A parent task may have a number of children (sub-tasks) that breakdown the parent into more manageable tasks. Tasks can be any size and involve from one person to many people. Examples of tasks include: supervising a project, filing documents, organising a meeting, writing a report, routine administration, chairing a meeting, routine maintenance, etc.

 

Project n. visualise, undertaking, projection, plan, picture, design
A project is a number of related tasks that contribute to a common outcome. It has clearly defined start and end, and given people and resources. Success is measured in terms of time, cost performance and participant satisfaction.

 

Action Team
The members of the task team who are assigned to an action. All members of the action team can see the action on their ToDo lists.

 

Blowout
A blowout occurs when the dates of a sub-task are outside the parent task dates.

 

Change Notification
An important change made by another user that affects you. For example, another user has made a suggestion in a task that you are responsible for or a delegate to, or you have been added to a task or removed from a team.

 

Coordinate n. bring parts into proper relation
Coordinating processes are used to manage how a task is displayed and modified. Usually only one person is involved in the application of the process.

 

Directly Involved n. directly involving or involving directly
People who are required to contribute to or have a supervisory role MUST be made directly involved in the task. People who only require progress reporting should not be made directly involved.

 

Draft Task
A draft task is a task which is still in the preliminary planning stages. Only the person creating a draft task can see the task.

 

Focus
Allows focus on one task and all its sub-tasks. Only information from these tasks is displayed.

 

Involved n. involving or involving
People who need to see a task to gain a broad understanding and context of what is planned without too much detail.

 

Goal n. ambition, target, end, destination
The reason for undertaking the task or sub task. What you want the plan to achieve. A correct goal should produce a "Yes" answer to the following questions:

1. Will my goal secure a definite favourable result?
2. Does the wording express exactly what I want to bring about, and yet give no indication on how to achieve it?
3. Is it in accordance with my instructions and responsibilities?
4. Has it a reasonable chance of success?
5. Is it the utmost I can do?

A goal is achieved by completing appropriate tasks successfully.

 

Hyperarchy
Where people work together to achieve a common goal unconstrained by the prevailing organisational structure. Tasks and responsibilities are based on what needs to be done to do the work. A Hierarchical organisational structure is a sub-set of a Hyperarchy structure.

 

Leader n. guide, conductor, pilot, director, pioneer, shepherd
Person who influences and guides the direction, actions, opinions and attitudes of people. Leaders are concerned with doing the right thing. A leader is more concerned with being effective than being constrained by procedures. In addition to being good planners and decision makers, leaders are good communicators and satisfy the needs of groups and individuals.

 

Leadership n. direction, conduction, guidance
Leadership is the art of creating an environment and influencing people to willingly follow a chosen direction. It requires a clear vision and guides followers along a path that realises the vision. Leadership directly affects the opinions and attitudes of people, leading to changes in individual behaviour then group behaviour. Leadership helps individuals and groups accept uncertainty, because they have confidence that the leader will provide solutions to any problems that may arise.

 

Manager n. director, administrator, overseer, foreman, supervisor, controller
Person conducting a business, person controlling tasks. Managers are concerned with doing things correctly. They strive to perfect procedures which achieve efficiency. Managers are usually good planners and decision-makers, but their very strong task focus may cause them to overlook group and individual needs.

 

Management n. administration, control, supervision
The administration of a business concern or public undertaking. Management includes the actions of planning, organising, directing, coordinating, controlling and evaluating the use of people, money, materials and facilities to accomplish missions and tasks.

 

Milestones n. key event
A milestone is a key event that warrants highlighting. A milestone has the same start and finish date and by convention is shown as a triangle on the Progress chart.

 

Mission n. purpose, charge, role, commission
The reason why an organisation exists. The mission is achieved by a coordinated series of tasks.

 

Node
The level of a task on the Task Tree. in the Task List view (All Tasks) the node column shows numerically the order of tasks on the Task Tree.

 

Objectives n. measures of success ,concrete measure, end
The objectives for a task should provide a picture of what success looks like. They should be written in concrete terms and state how success will be measured. For example, "improved productivity" is unclear. A 0.0001% improvement will satisfy improved productivity. A better measure would be set a percentage over a given period.

 

Plan n. design, intent, project, proposal, strategy, layout, scheme, blueprint
A plan is a clear statement of how you intend to implement a task. It must provide sufficient detail for people required to do something to understand:

1. Their performance (what they are being asked to do)
2. The conditions applying (e.g. no additional resources, in their own time)
3. The standards required (e.g. complete by date, to the same standard as "...")

Alternative Plans (see Plan)
An Alternative Plan is a plan to implement a task in a different way. Alternative Plans are used to develop and test different options to successfully complete a task.

 

Draft Plan (see Plan)
A draft Plan is a preliminary stage of a plan. It is important to differentiate between draft Plans for comment, and Plans that have completed the consultation process and are ready for implementation. The draft status signals to everyone that the plan is providing enough information for informed comment, but it is not set in concrete. Ideas, comments and feelings should be encouraged to improve the plan, match it to the existing culture, develop ownership of the final plan, gain support and initiate the acceptance process (change management).

 

Project Schedule/Project Chart (Gantt Chart)
A Project Schedule has a project breakdown of all tasks that contribute to the project. It has a time scale in the form of time bars that show graphically the planned and actual start and end times as well as duration of each task/sub-task.

 

Reference Data
Data that is globally available throughout the program to all users, usually in drop down lists, e.g., Action types.

 

Responsibility (for a Task) n. liable to be called to account
The person responsible for a task has sole responsibility for the task and is automatically on the Task team (directly involved). Only the person responsible, or their delegate, can modify task details. mOther people directly involved in a task can make recommendations for modifying task details, but only the person responsible, or their delegate, can accept or reject those suggestions. The person responsible for a parent level task (or their delegate) dictates the order of the sub-tasks that belong to that parent task on the task tree.

 

Schedule (list of events, timetable, inventory)
A schedule is a task list that has a time scale added. Usually the time scale is in the form of time bars that graphically show the planned or doing duration of a task

 

A Schedule chart (sometimes called a Bar or Gantt Chart) is used to provide a graphical view of the task - time relationships. The task break down structure indicates the relationship of tasks, and horizontal bars across vertical time lines show when the task is planned to be done. The overall task horizontal bar shows the overall time limits of the task (i.e. It spans all task sub-tasks).

 

Share n. part one gets or contributes
Sharing processes are used to share tasks and task details between people.

 

Task Break down a. disaggregate task
The overall task (parent task) is always placed at the top. This task is then broken into smaller tasks (sub-tasks or child tasks). Sub-tasks are logical components of the overall task used to break up the overall task into manageable chunks or tasks that are done by other team members. The person responsible for a parent level task (or their delegate) dictates the order off the sub-tasks that belong to that parent task on the task tree. Other task team members (of the sub-tasks) cannot move the sub-tasks up or down, even if they have task editing rights to the sub-task. An example of a task break down is shown below.

 

Task Team
The people and teams who are involved in the task. All members of the task team can see the task. Only the person responsible or their delegate can edit task details.

 

Task Tree
A graphical representation of the task breakdown in a tree format, similar to the trees used in a file manager or the outline structure in a word processor.

 

Team n. close-knit crew, company, gang, squad, contingent, corps
People co-operating and combining their efforts to achieve a common goal.

 

Template n. guide, pattern
A template is a copy of a past task that provides a sound framework for planning a similar future task. Templates save time and facilitate continuous improvement when they are improved after each use.

 

ToDo Sheet/ToDo List n. action list
A ToDo Sheet is comprehensive list of all the actions you need to do. It sorts your actions by various criteria, such as time and priority, so you can decide how you can work most effectively. The ToDo sheet handles both input and output. In addition to the ability to jot down present and future actions so you don’t forget them, the ToDo Sheet automatically extracts all relevant actions from your plans and calendar (diary). Consequently, the ToDo Sheet provides a comprehensive listing (on the screen or in hard copy) of all the actions you need to do in a selected time period. The ToDo List can be filtered to different ranges so that only the required actions are visible.

 

UNC
An abbreviation for Unified Naming Convention, the method of identifying the location of files on a remote server. UNC path names begin with "\\". All Microsoft Office 95 and later applications support UNC.

 

Workgroup
People with a range of skills brought together to do tasks that contribute to the organisation's mission. A workgroup's potential will not be realised unless they work as a team.