Re: How do you manage complex project with Org-mode

[Jean Louis]

* Sébastien Gendre <seb@k-7.ch> [2022-03-02 23:44]:
> Well, what I want by "follow the progress" is to see:
> 
> * How many work I have done
> * How many work remains to be done
> * How many time left
> * How many time other project need

When speaking of multiple projects related to multiple entities such
as companies, organizations, people, businesses, one has to divide it
all by those groups. And then there is time involved. Any work done
has to be calculated maybe in total, but maybe for the project within
one group of people, and maybe for one period within the whole
time. Thus there are various considerations.

What really matter is the priority. Org mode can't know what it
is. You know it best. 

You will know what is priority as for such you don't have much time to
write it down, you just do it. Like waking up, brushing teeth, those
are actual priorities, we don't write the down.

- Units of work or tasks may be subproducts to the actual work, you
  may do 100 of them and not reach the point that other people may say
  it is valuable enough. Counting completed tasks is less useful and
  may be deceptive. Count the actual products you have produced. Not
  single tasks that one eventually cannot compare to each other.

  Instead of putting focus on counting the number of advertising
  pieces sent (which you should count), you should focus greatly on
  counting the actual sales. Convert this idea to your organizations
  schema.

- For how much work remains to be done, one shall not just count as
  robot what one has written in the computer, but rather look at the
  purpose of the work. You may write 100 tasks to reach the purpose,
  and when you reach the purpose you may have still 27 tasks
  pending. If you have reached the purpose, those tasks may be
  redundant. Think about it. Awarding oneself for some numbers in
  computer is meaningless.

- How much time is left for major actions will be always in your
  mind. For smaller actions and mass of tasks that is something you
  can track with computer.

- Estimating time for projects is difficult and never accurate,
  especially if you are given rather shorter periods of time for some
  reason. It is better focusing on purpose and getting purpose
  done. Many assignees may not understand the purpose of the task. I
  suggest special property PURPOSE to be clear what the task means and
  why it is done. As overdoing the task just because it is written
  misses the purpose easily.

  Let us say you wish to watch movie in cinema, and you first take
  list of 10 cinema's in the town with the purpose to call them all
  and find out which movies play. Then you start calling or visiting
  their websites, and at the 3rd cinema your friend in the room tells
  you should watch that great movie, and you make that decision, and
  it is just 30 minutes before the movie starts. Are you going to keep
  pushing to find out the remaining 7 cinemas' programs or you are
  moving now to watch the actual movie? Stress must be made that
  PURPOSE of the task is important and that people shall not dwell on
  something that is redundant.

> * Each project is a headline with the status "PROJECT"
> * Each project have the deadline defined by the school work deadline
> * Each project have a complete description with every info needed to work
> * Each project have one or many tasks (as sub headlines with a
> * status)

Sounds very good to me.

> * Each task have a importance, time and effort estimation

Each task has the important, but let's go back to purpose. You wish to
complete the project, tasks can't be illogically or out of the
order. Thus they have to be in the order. Importance is automatically
there if the logical order of tasks is part of the structure.

In order to paint a room you have to purchase paint brushes, paint in
the town and bring it to the school. You can't just go to school first
and paint without first bringing paint brushes. There is logical order
involved in everything what human do or shall do. Importance is useful
only when person misses to have the sense for logical order.

> * Each task have its own deadline, distributed along the remaining
> * time

And what do you do if you miss the deadline?


-- 
Jean

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