Last month, I shared some tips around breaking down the work into the right list of tasks.  This month, let’s go to the next logical step…managing the right set of details within the list, and managing the list in the right way.  Whether you have a full-blown project plan in a high-end project management software tool or a simple list of to-do’s on a spreadsheet, as project manager, you’re still accountable for making sure the work gets done.  What do you need to know about each task, to manage it successfully? 

I’ve found that there are really just a few pieces of information I consider to be the critical ones – the ones I really have to have to be successful.  Different projects have different needs, and I certainly pay attention to other details when the situation calls for it, but for project management essentials in the most concise form possible, I use these…

1. Task Name/ID – A simple way to refer to the task – short enough to use in conversation, but meaningful enough to be unambiguous to anyone connected to the project.  If you’ve got a long enough list of things to do, sometimes assigning a simple task ID helps streamline the update process, and you may wind up needing both, depending on the project complexity. 

2. Owner – Who is ultimately responsible for getting the work done on a given task?  The person who owns it is either doing the work or closely directing the work.  They’re aware of the details around the work itself; they’ve provided the estimates for how long it will take to complete the work; they’re aware of the risks and issues associated with the work; and ultimately, their tail is on the line for the task.  When you want updates on a task, go to the owner.  When you need to make sure the task is moving forward, nudge the owner.  When you want to change how the task is being done…well, in that case, you’d better hope you are the owner.  As a successful project leader, we should do our best to make sure the owners of each task have the tools, resources, support, and autonomy they need to complete the tasks to which they’ve been assigned.

3. Dates – Sometimes you need an end date; sometimes you need a start date; sometimes you need both.  Despite the intricate details some software packages provide around early start/early finish and late start/late finish, the vast majority of projects can be managed with a more simple subset.  Personally, I prefer to use a “target complete” date and a “current complete”  date. When I’m working through the initial planning efforts, I consult the task owner, as well as the owners of any dependent or predecessor tasks, to get their input on what we believe is the right complete date, which becomes our “target complete.”  We work together, consulting a calendar to ensure a reasonable and realistic time frame.  Once we plug the “target complete” date in, it doesn’t change without the right level of change management.  The second date, the “current complete” date is what I use to track how we’re coming along.  At the current rate of progress – and with the currently known issues, obstacles, and work completed – by what date do we expect to have completed this task?  At reasonable intervals prior to the target complete date, I check with the task owner to see how close our current complete date is to the target complete date.  If it looks like that task will be delayed, I work with project leads and other task owners to assess the impacts and how to get the task back on track.

4. Effort Estimates – as with the date fields, I use a “target estimate” (total effort hours at complete for that task, also known as planned hours) and a “current expected effort” (total effort hours at complete for that task).  During the estimating process, I take note of how many hours the task owner feels the task will or should take, and put that in the “target estimate” field. As the project moves forward, I check in with the task owner on a regular basis to find out what the currently expected effort estimate is.   At the current rate of progress – with the currently known issues, obstacles, and work completed – how many total hours do we expect to have spent on this task once the project is done?  While predicting the future isn't an exact science, one approach is to get the actual hours spent on the task to date, and combine that with what percent of the way through the work the task owner believes we are.  So if 20 hours have been spent so far, and the owner thinks they’re about 50% of the way complete, then I would put the “current expected effort” as 40 hours.

5. Constraints – I always make sure I have one place to record any known constraints about each task.  Is it dependent on another task to finish before it can start?  Must it happen on a particular date?  Is a later task directly dependent on the completion of this one?  Do we already know there’s a resource constraint associated with the task?  Do we know of an open issue associated with this task?  This free-form field can hold whatever you need it to, and I use it to keep the dependencies and constraints – the risks – associated with each given task in front of me when I need it.  For large, complex projects, where project management software tools are available, dependencies and constraints can be tracked and reported on in a more granular way, but for most small to medium projects, this technique puts the essentials at your fingertips.

From time to time, I've also found the following fields to be very useful, depending on the size or complexity of the project:

1. Team – Is anyone else working on that task besides the owner?  If so, I may want to call that out in the task list.  Either way, I’ll set expectations with the task owner to make sure the team members are all clear on the task, the description and details around the task, the estimated complete date and effort hours, and their own role in the success of the task. 

2. Variances – depending on how granular the project reporting efforts are, I sometimes use simple Excel functions to calculate variances in date and estimates – these call out any task where the current effort estimate is outside of the tolerance range, or where the current complete date is ahead of or behind schedule.

3. Learnings – I have been known to track and report on – right there in my task list – anything we’ve learned from working a given task that has a high likelihood of benefiting the entire project team.  For example, I might note that on a task that completed with significantly higher effort hours than estimated, that the business subject area was more complex than expected, or that more ramp-up time was needed than we had planned for, etc.  Or if I found a way to streamline a repeatable process to save time, I might call that out as well. 

I’ve found that whether I’m managing a task list, an action log, a work breakdown structure, a project plan, an activity list…whatever it winds up being called for the project at hand…having that simple list, with a few basic details about the work to be done, helps ensure we’re working doing the right work, in the right way, at the right time.

Related Links
Our Action Item List Formats provide a handy baseline for creating your own perfect task list. When recording task owners, make sure they're aware and agree. Our Team Roles and Responsibilities List can clarify task ownership within the team.