Task management

Task management: Definition

It is one of the topics that is often not the focus of everyday business life. Yet good task management is the decisive factor for business success. Instead of leaving it up to each employee to choose their own task management method - most people use notes, Outlook, Excel or OneNote - there should be a centralized system for managing tasks.

Specialized software is often helpful, but usually falls short. You can find out why this is the case and what really matters here. Let's start with a brief definition. This is where misunderstandings often arise in practice.

What is a task?

Generally speaking, a task is something that a person completes in a reasonable amount of time. As a rule, this is a period of a few minutes, e.g. for a callback, up to a few hours, e.g. for creating a calculation.

Larger tasks are referred to as processes. They differ in that several participants usually work on a task over a long period of time. Most task management tools do not make a clear distinction here, which leads to considerable disadvantages in collaboration.

Tasks have very different characteristics. There are different types of tasks:

• Ad-hoc or one-off tasks: this is the most common type of task. They arise spontaneously and unplanned. Without the appropriate software, they are often noted down on Post-It notes.
• Tasks that need to be completed in the context of processes or procedures.
• Recurring to-dos must be completed regularly. This could be, for example, the monthly advance VAT return.

We do not share the view that there are coordinated tasks that are processed by several responsible parties. In our view, these are processes and are therefore not part of task management.

Good task management software supports the organization of all three task types and must provide a task context. Otherwise, only two of the three task types are supported in a meaningful way.

Which components belong to a task?

A task consists of several components:

• Name of the task
• Supplementary description, if applicable
• Processor or processor group
• Due date
• Personal planning date of the processor

These components are also frequently found in project management:

• Start date
• end date
• Task duration
• Degree of completion

In addition to the due date, i.e. the latest completion date, the personal planning date plays an important role. This is the date on which the processor has planned to complete the task. If this concept is missing in a tool, the organization is wasting valuable potential.

In addition, it is often forgotten that tasks also have a context. Tools that do not provide this context lead to high search efforts and do not exploit the potential of good organization.

What is task management?

Task management deals with the way in which the processing of tasks is organized and structured. It can take place as simple task management at the level of the individual employee, but can also take place company-wide or as part of project management.

Why task management?

The aim is to increase the efficiency and quality of task processing. This applies to individuals but especially to companies. Good task management supports the achievement of the company's goals, process reliability and ultimately the level of customer service that customers experience. In this respect, task management should be integrated into the fundamental strategic considerations of a company.

5 good reasons for efficient task management:

1. Increasing the productivity of employees
2. Supporting the achievement of objectives at company level
3. Improving service and process quality
4. Supporting cooperation
5. Avoidance of work overload and downtime

What is the difference between task management and project management?

Task management revolves around the organizaion of tasks, i.e. small work units with a manageable time frame.

Project management deals with the targeted organization of projects. It is often conceptually assumed that projects also consist of tasks. This is an inadmissible simplification.

Large projects have a complex structure. They consist of sub-projects, work packages, activities and tasks. These can be part of tasks or stand alone.

In this respect, task management can be helpful in project management. A tool that understands a project solely as a hierarchical collection of to-dos falls short conceptually and therefore only provides limited benefits.

Task management methods

There are many methods and philosophies for improving task management that claim to optimally support the organization of tasks. Ultimately, all of these methods have advantages and disadvantages. Regardless of the software used, the user should be able to map their preferred method.

Getting Things Done

Time and task management with the “Getting-Things-Done Method” originates from the field of self-management and is based on David Allen′s idea of recording professional and private matters in to-do lists. These are categorized according to where they are to be completed. For example, “in the office”, “in the boss&primes office” or “in the car”.

Waterfall model

The waterfall model is a relatively old concept, which is often used in the public sector to handle projects. It is based on strict linear processing. This results in great clarity but also low flexibility. Today, this method is often supplemented or replaced by agile approaches.

Eisenhower principle

Here, tasks are categorized according to the criteria of urgency and importance. There are important, urgent tasks that you should complete yourself immediately. Important, non-urgent to-dos are scheduled and completed by yourself.

Urgent, non-important tasks should be delegated to competent employees. Tasks that are neither urgent nor important are not dealt with at all.

RACI matrix

This method is intended to provide a clear overview of responsibilities and competencies in a project. This approach is not very helpful when organizing to-do lists as part of task management. It is more effective in the area of process management.

Don′t Break the Chain

This approach is also less helpful in the area of entrepreneurial task management.It is aimed more at individuals who want to develop certain habits or acquire skills, such as exercising regularly

Alpine method

This is a term used in time management.Tasks are first collected, then the length is estimated, buffer times are entered, then decisions are made and finally checked.

This approach seems somewhat unwieldy for corporate task management, but the basic ideas of this concept are helpful in the area of personal time management.

Scrum & Kanban, agile task management

Scrum is an agile method used in software development. Here, the completion of tasks is organized in sprints. The to-dos are visualized on Kanban boards and moved from one column to the next depending on their status.

Kanban-Boards are derived from the Toyota Production System and create excellent process transparency. They can be used well in task management.

Managing tasks correctly

A tool that is conceptually limited to the mapping of tasks may have limited benefits for an individual user. However, optimizing processes and improving productivity in a company requires additional elements, which are described below:

• Tasks: they form the context of a task:
• Documents: tasks contain the Documents, notes and emails required to process a task.
• Projects: Mapping option for projects, which in turn contain tasks, lists and tasks.
• Personal Kanban board: special view of the individual tasks of an agent. This view should also be available as a list.
• Kanban boards for tasks: they give the entire team an overview of the current status of the various topics.
• Status model: here the user recognizes directly whether the task is new or whether it has the status "waiting", for example.
• Mobile view: employees should also have an overview of their tasks and be able to create new ones while on the move, including via voice control.

Tools

Humbee has all the functions you need to process tasks. Task management with humbee is integrated into process management, DMS, contact management and project management. Integration with Microsoft programs and the telephone system is also available.

Manage your own tasks

There are two sources of tasks:

• Tasks that the employee sets themselves and that have no further context or process reference.
• Tasks that arise in the course of handling business processes - i.e. tasks that are related to a process.

Regardless of the source, all tasks are located on the employee's personal task board.

New incoming tasks are now roughly pre-prioritized. Every day, the tasks that need to be completed that day are transferred from the entire worklist to the daily schedule.

The employee is thus focused and works through the tasks in a prioritized manner. By clicking on the task, they receive all the information they need to complete it. Time-consuming searching, as with an isolated tool, is completely eliminated in the humbee system

Employees also have access to personal labels that allow them to map the various task management methods.

With humbee, companies therefore provide an integrated tool that allows employees to organize tasks according to processes and projects. On the other hand, this software leaves room for a personal way of planning and prioritizing tasks.

Delegating tasks

Of course, the employee can and must be able to delegate. To do this, they simply assign the task to another employee as the processor. The task then appears in the personal Kanban board for this person.

The user can quickly and clearly see which tasks have been delegated.

Working on tasks as a team

Task management unfolds its potential when it is carried out uniformly within the team. Here are some features that particularly contribute to increasing productivity:

• Use of a standardized system: if all employees use the same tool, the positive effect is greatest.
• Where possible, tasks are created in relation to processes. This means that every task participant is informed of the status at all times. Annoying queries as to whether a task has already been completed are a thing of the past.
• Each employee has a personal and prioritized list of their tasks, ideally in the form of a Kanban board. This contains due dates and options for jumping into the process, i.e. the task context.
• Each employee can assign a planning date to their tasks according to their workload, working hours and personality.
• Recurring tasks are supported by the system.
• Even after a task has been completed, all related information can be found quickly and easily by any authorized person.
• Tasks can be generated automatically with the help of workflows.
• The personal task list can be filtered according to various criteria, for example by projects, contact persons, labels, task types or specific keywords

The future of task management

The days of isolated approaches to task management that each employee chooses for themselves are over. A company-wide tool can offer real added value if it focuses on more than just task management.

′Efficient work requires the linking of business processes and procedures with task management.

Our customers use the "humbee concierge" to record tasks via mobile and voice control.

Task management on the go — right now!

Your task management always with you on your smartphone.

You often want to note down tasks, especially in the car, but don't have a free hand. This is where "humbee-concierge" can help you. Simply call your personal concierge and dictate the new tasks. You'll have your head free again and won't forget anything. Our concierge is AI-based and award-winning.

Presentation of the INNO-RKN innovation award with a demo of the “humbee concierge”:

Video 2:14 Min.

Terms from task management

• Task: smallest unit of work, assigned to a processor.
• Personal Kanban board: Tool for personal visualization and prioritization of one's own tasks.
• Label: Label defined by the user and used to categorize tasks.
• Task prioritization: an important tool for keeping track of large quantities of tasks and working efficiently.
• Due date: Date on which a task must be completed at the latest.
• Planning date: Date for which the processor has planned to complete the task.
• Task type: identifies a task depending on the work process, e.g. “Incoming mail” or “Invoice verification”.
• Case: Business process that provides the task context. This can be, for example, the contract file in which the contract is located and the annually recurring task of contract review.
• Recurring task: Task that must be completed regularly according to a defined schedule, e.g. every Friday.
• Agent group: Group of people to whom a task is addressed. The person who drags the task into their own processing becomes the processor. The task disappears for all other group members