The Task Map

To the left of the Schedule window is the Task Map window. We cal it a “Task Map” rather than a “Task List” because Skoach is designed to help you organize tasks in relationship to one another. This is especially useful when planning more complicated tasks or projects.

Task Trees are created when planning a complex set of tasks that have multiple sub-tasks. The Task Tree is a bit like a family tree, with a “Parent Task” that can have multiple “Child Tasks” (sub-tasks of the parent task). “Child Tasks” can also have sub-tasks that are “Grandchildren” of the “”Parent Task.” (Click here for more information about Task Trees and how they are created.)

Below the dark blue Task Map bar, you’ll find a scroll down window that allows you to view specific tasks grouped according to category.

For instance, if “play golf” was in the category entertainment, then selecting “entertainment” in the scroll down window, would show “play golf” as a task.

Adjacent to the Category scroll down window you’ll find the Priority scroll down window which allows you to view tasks sorted according to their importance. For example, choice “A” represents the most important tasks marked with RED boxes, “B” next level of importance marked with YELLOW boxes and “C” least level of importance tasks marked with GREEN boxes. You can select “All” to see all tasks marked by level of importance, or you can filter tasks to view only “A level”, “B level,” or “C level” tasks.

{Notice: In the above example, the “B” level boxes shown in YELLOW are also seen when the “A” category of importance is selected because Skoach keeps tasks in position within their Task Tree so that you can see what these tasks are related to.}

Next to the Importance scroll down window is the Search window which allows you to look for a specific group of tasks that all have a specific word in their name.

For example, if you want to look up your “forecasting” tasks, you can start to type it into the “search” window, and Skoach starts to eliminate those tasks that do not have the word “forecast” in it with the exception of “relatives” in the task trees.. All the tasks with the word “forecast” are in bold. (See below for an example of what you might see if you searched for “forecasting.”)

The “clear” and “print” vfeatures to the right of the search window allow you to clear the entry in the search window and to print the tasks in the Tree View area.

Below the first level of scroll down windows, are three filtering tabs:

All three can either show or omit completed tasks, scheduled tasks, and appointments. For example, if you want to see the completed tasks, then click on “Show completed.” Your tabs would then look like this:

The boxes represent the “completed tasks”.

When you click the “omit completed” tab, the Tree view omits all the tasks that have been completed.

In the filter selections below, all tasks (completed, scheduled, and appointments) on the task map will be viewed:

TREE VIEW AND LIST VIEW

There are two various styles to view your tasks, either the “Tree view” or the “List view:

.

The “Tree view” has an outline style format showing main and sub-categories so that tasks are displayed in relation to related tasks:

The “List view” has a straight forward, one column format which lists the “task name”, “date” task was or will be completed, and the “duration” of the task:

The check mark means that a task has already been completed. This view shows the date that the task was/is due, as well as the duration of time it took to complete it (if it is a completed task) or the amount of time allotted to it if it is a not yet completed task.

MORE ABOUT TREE VIEW

The “Tree view” allows you to create tasks that you can drag and drop onto the schedule panel. In order to create a new task, right click on the tree view window and select “Add top level task.”

{Notice: This window can also be used to either expand or collapse all the tasks shown in the tree window. When you “expand” all tasks, you will see a Task Map view of all top level tasks as well as the related sub-tasks.}

A top level task is also called a “parent task”. This is another name for a task, under which various subtasks can be grouped. Once you’ve selected “Add top level task” above, you should write the name of the new task in the bar that comes up underneath:

Sub-tasks that are categorized within a “parent task” are called “child tasks.” “Parent tasks” that have a parallel relationship to another task and are not its sub-tasks are called “sibling tasks.” To create a sibling or a child task, right-click on one of the existing tasks and select from the choices in the following window:

You can create as many child tasks as necessary. Each additional child task is a grandchild to the original parent task:

For example, in the Tree view above, the task is the “Parent” to , a child task. Moreover, is a “sibling” category to . It itself is a “parent,” however, to and to . is a grandchild to task.

PLANNING A NEW TASK

You can plan an existing task by clicking on it which will automatically open the task properties window at the bottom left of the task map panel (see below). This window will also automatically open when you create a new task.

This is the task properties window that allows you to enter (or change) important details about a particular task. The task properties window opens automatically whenever a particular task is selected. It can be minimized by clicking the green arrow button on the upper right-hand corner. To view the properties window once again, just click on the task and it will re-open.

For example, (see below) if you selected the Treasurer Transition task from the tree view above, then the following basic task information would appear in the task properties window under the “Basic” tab.

When the “Basic” tab is selected in the task properties window, the name of the task (Treasurer Transition), it’s level of importance (A, B or C) and its state of completion (unchecked or checked) can be viewed. This view also provides a notes window for any notes that you would like to include pertaining to the task.

TIME RELATED TAB

The “Time Related” tab to the right of the “Basic” tab shows all time-related information associated with this task: date created, date due, date scheduled, planned task duration, actual task duration, whether the task is a fixed appointment, and whether it is recurring. The due date can also be altered either by manually, by entering a new due date, or by clicking on the calendar window to the right:

You can also use the calendar window to indicate not only the day, but also the exact time that the task is due by using the hour and minute arrows at the bottom right corner of the calendar. Clicking the X button on the top right of the window allows you to exit the Due Date Calendar.

When creating a new task, the task window gives you the option to indicate the date the task is scheduled for, the duration of the task, and whether it is fixed or not.

The scheduled date is the date that you intend to do this task. The due date is the date on which you must complete this task. Both of these dates are optional. If you want or need to do a particular task on a particular day, then specify this. If not, the scheduler (click here for information about the scheduler) will select a day and time for you based on its importance and on other tasks you’ve also scheduled. Tasks scheduled to be performed after their due dates are flagged on the schedule.

Clicking on the “Fixed” box indicates that the task has a fixed (inflexible) start and stop time. If you indicate that a task is “fixed” you will also have the option to indicate that the task is recurring task. This option is convenient for scheduling regularly occurring events such as staff meetings, weekly sales meetings, etc.:

By default, recurrence is turned off. To enable recurrence, click “Edit” which opens the window you see above. In this window, click “Enabled” to enable the recurrence function, and then use the drop down window to indicate whether the recurrence is daily, selected days, weekly, or monthly. Below that you can set the duration of the recurrence – either by selecting “no end day” or “end by” and specifying a date on which to end the recurrence. Then click “Ok” to record your choices, or “Cancel” to void them if you’ve made an error or changed your mind.

By default, if you make no specification, the recurrent task does not have an end day.

MULTI-VALUED TAB

Clicking on the “Multi-Valued” tab allows you to specify the task category (from a drop down window), to specify resources you’ll need to perform the task, to specify any prerequisite task (i.e., any task that must be completed first), and to specify any task that depends upon the completion of this task:

The categories contained in the drop down list are custom-created by each Skoach user. You can add a category if the task you are creating does not fit into any existing category. To add a category, select “New Category.” To delete a category from the list, select “remove category.” Categories that you assign to a task are related to “time buckets” (click here to learn more about time buckets). Time buckets are used by the automatic scheduler to schedule each task at an appropriate time in your day.

In this window you can also manage your task’s resources:

Resources are items that you need for your task. You can select a resource that you have previously entered, or you can list a new resource by clicking on “add new resource.” You can add a resource already listed by selecting it, clicking the left box, and marking it with a check: . To delete a resource already listed, select it and press the button to the right.

The “Dependent tasks” feature allows you to specify any tasks that are prerequisites for the current task by clicking on “depends on.” You can drag and drop any number of prerequisite tasks from the task map into the Dependent Tasks box. You can also specify any or all tasks that depend upon this task by clicking on “dependent tasks” and dragging and dropping or listing any tasks that depend upon this one:

Clicking on the button deletes the prerequisite or dependent task. Recurrent tasks cannot be listed as prerequisite, and they cannot be included in this box. By specifying prerequisite tasks and dependent tasks you give the automatic scheduler information so that it knows which tasks to schedule before others.