Task Management and Task Scheduling for Teams

Tutorials and guides for the features of Octaved Flow

To create a task in a work package, go to My Tasks under My Workspace. Here you can see the work packages for which you are responsible for execution or which are marked with a favorite star.
You can switch between list and tile view using the toggle switch at the top.
The tile view displays work packages, while the list view also displays the tasks they contain.
To create a new task in a work package, click on New task in the list view and give the task a name.
Because a task always belongs to a work package, it is easy to keep track of it. In addition, the task is always in the right context.
Tasks in the workspace
To make adding new tasks fast, there is always an input field visible for a task. To "type down" multiple tasks especially fast, press Enter on the keyboard instead of clicking the Create button.
Create task

Good to know

Why does my workspace not have work packages?
The work packages for which you have a project role of type Executor are displayed under My tasks. Depending on whether the work package is planned or not, it is displayed under Unplanned. If the set time frame covers the planning period of the work package, it is displayed in the planned work packages.
This means for example, that a work package is not displayed if it is planned for the coming week but the time frame Planned for today is set.
In the test version of Octaved Flow, you may have created a project in which you yourself have the role of project manager. You will not see the work packages of this project in your workspace - after all, you are responsible for project management and not for implementing the work packages. Simply assign yourself the role of executor in a work package and it will immediately appear in your workspace.

Reorder tasks

When you hover the cursor over task, a dotted "handle" appears on the left that allows you to drag and drop tasks to re-sort them.
Reorder tasks

Indent tasks

Tasks can be indented using the arrow to the right of the input field. The indentation is for better overview, there is no functional dependency.
Task list with indented tasks
So when you have completed all indented tasks, decide for yourself if this should also complete the parent task, and then check it off.
In the settings under More on the General page, you can specify whether a parent task can only be checked off once all indented subtasks have been completed. This is useful if you create checklists where you need to ensure that all subtasks have been completed.

Schedule a time slot for a task

The Planning column gives you the possibility to define a time window in which you plan to complete the task:
Schedule time window for task
If 15 minutes is enough to complete a task, but you schedule 3 days, it does not mean that you will stretch the task to 3 days, but that you intend to complete the task on one of the 3 days. Octaved Flow assumes time windows, because in the normal workday something always comes up anyway and it is often difficult to set an exact time. Flexibility makes more sense here than having to constantly look at red warning lights of delayed tasks.

Assign a task to a person

If no person is assigned to a task, Octaved Flow assumes that the person assigned to the work package with a project role of type Performing is responsible for the implementation of the work package and thus also for the completion of the tasks.
This is the normal case for many Octaved Flow users, i.e. the most common procedure. The project, plan or order has been divided into work packages in such a way that there is exactly one executor for a work package. The executor creates their own tasks for the work package and works through it themselves.
If several people are responsible for the implementation of a work package, clarity can be created by assigning a task to one of these people. Indentations can also be useful in this case.
Assign person to a task
A task can also be assigned to people outside the performers of the work package, for example if they are briefly supporting.
Technically, it is possible to assign a task to more than one person. Organizationally, it probably does not make sense in most cases.

Specify effort for a task

Enter the estimated effort of a task in the Effort column. Choose from the following options:
Estimate effort for a task
Manual input is also possible, but the options have been chosen deliberately. The selectable times are precise enough to be able to easily determine the progress in the implementation of the work package, but at the same time they are broad enough to allow a quick estimation and to avoid that the estimation takes more time than it is useful in the end.

Good to know

Role of effort in measuring progress
For an example, let's assume that there are 10 tasks to be completed. If 8 of the 10 tasks are done, are we at 80% or not? What if the tasks have completely different efforts? Let's say the first 8 take 15 minutes each, so in total 2 hours. And the tasks number 9 and 10, which are not yet done, have an effort of one hour each. Then in this case, with 8 out of 10 tasks completed, you would be just at 50% completion.
So giving the tasks an effort gives a much more realistic picture of the actual progress. Smaller units lead to greater accuracy and more reliable statements.
If several or even all members of the team assign effort to the tasks, then it is possible to determine exactly where the team currently stands at any time. This is certainly not relevant for all teams, but if it is important for your team, then you now know how to do it.
In the detailed view of the work package under General, a progress bar shows how much has already been completed. Instead of the number of tasks, the progress bar shows the task time (completed task time as a percentage of the total task time) if an effort has been specified for all tasks.
bar with completed tasks
Commonly used time specifications for task efforts are:
  • 15 minutes
  • 1 hour
  • 2 hours
  • Half day
A project was divided into work packages and then the work package was further divided into tasks. Assuming that you have the best control over the project if a work package is sized in the range of 1-5 days of effort, then a single task should not exceed half a day. For example, if 40 hours comes out as the planned effort for a task, most likely something has gone wrong.

Good to know

There may be good reasons to dimension a work package significantly larger than 5 days of effort, for example for maintenance that extends over a whole quarter. If this has been agreed with the customer, then the work package can and should reflect this.
The 1-5 days are a first point of reference for users who deal with Octaved Flow for the first time and need a feeling for how it is basically intended.
As always, a distinction must be made here between effort and duration. A work package with an effort of 3 days can well be done in a time window of 2 weeks.

Copy tasks from another work package

Tasks can also be checklists to see if everything has been done. If there is a work package with very similar or even the same content, for example for another customer, then the complete list of tasks can be copied. This ensures that no task is forgotten. If work packages with the same content are implemented more frequently, the checklists become more reliable with experience and lead to lower error rates. In addition, copying a complete task list naturally saves time.
Copy tasks from another work package

Further links

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