Task management
Task management or English task management involves planning, managing, monitoring and implementation of tasks.
The associated activities can thus include components such. B. project management or quality management and always have the goal that tasks are fulfilled within an agreed framework.
Framework
Framework conditions also represent the objective of task management:
A task must be formulated in a clear, unambiguous and understandable manner, so that it can be understood and accepted by the person responsible or performing the task without any queries. It makes sense to document the task so that it is always available in the course of processing, so that requirements and implementation can be compared. The traceability of the content is therefore also the essential prerequisite for binding compliance.
In addition to the clear content, the scheduling of tasks is necessary in order to be able to consider the time of implementation as agreed upon taking over the task. The finish date of a task is also a goal.
Another objective is the budget or the effort that is planned for processing the task. The person responsible will later be able to be measured against this specification (ideally an agreement) - whether he was able to complete the task not only on time, but also within the scope of the agreed effort.
Since many tasks, especially in larger companies or organizations, are not only carried out and implemented by the person responsible, it makes sense to be able to assign the tasks to different people.
implementation
There are various ways in which tasks can be handed over to those responsible or executing them - in word and writing, image and sound, by means of signals, and in many other ways. What all procedures have in common is that the content must be agreed between the sender of the tasks and the recipient and, if possible, leave no room for interpretation. After taking over the tasks, it is now up to the recipient, the person taking over or the person responsible to ensure that the task is carried out.
This is where the task of managing tasks comes into play, since when faults are detected, a response to the sender of the task is expected. This is the only way to react to faults at an early stage. It is also the responsibility of the task processor to report back the processing status of a task in order to make the processing progress and the result transparent on the one hand.
Systematic task management is closely linked to consistent time management or a necessary part of it.
The completion of a task should be agreed as well as the start of work - and within z. B. a task overview should show which tasks are still "in progress" and which tasks have already been "completed" or fulfilled.
Controlling
After a task has been assigned, the principle of “fire and forget” is inappropriate. It should be ensured that the task processing is followed up in order to compare the development of the processing with one's own expectations and to be able to counteract this at an early stage if necessary. Continuous monitoring and appropriate steering support the tasks and content of controlling . Signals such as For example, task-specific traffic lights that indicate that tasks have been fulfilled as expected, functions of an early warning system are perceived.
Tools
Today, IT support is used almost everywhere in companies and organizations. Consistent and transparent task management without EDP support is therefore hardly conceivable. There are numerous tools for this, some of which are free.
In such software solutions, users can store and manage their data and organize workflows. Many task management solutions such as Wunderlist , Zenkit or Remember the Milk are cloud-based SaaS tools . These are particularly advantageous for international teams that work together regardless of time and location.
Controlling profitability is neither a commercial nor a technical discipline, but a typical entrepreneurial task that cannot be delegated. Only in small or medium-sized companies is this still a top priority. Shareholders of an old German corporation recently had the experience that two large construction sites overseas got out of hand because board members and supervisory boards had not asked specific questions in good time. Without expert knowledge at the highest level, even with highly developed management software in the MIS (Management Information System), project results are usually only recognizable when they can no longer be influenced.
Decades ago, Linde AG TVT in Munich developed project-accompanying risk analyzes for greater cost accuracy in advance for turnkey and tailor-made large-scale plant construction after intensive collaboration with EXXON & STATOIL engineers.
During the order processing, cost engineering and control estimating in the detailed design ensured that the project was operationally under control with objective specifications: the expected project result was plausible after technical plan adjustments and manufacturer selection, and first-class cost knowledge was quickly available in sales Shops available. In this way, inaccuracies in the price determination were gradually eliminated.
If every employee has the tasks assigned to them or taken on by them in mind or can keep them in mind at any time, it is almost guaranteed that nothing is overlooked or even forgotten. Furthermore, such a database also enables an overview of pending tasks to be quickly created and their processing taken over, particularly in the event of the unplanned non-availability of the task processor or person responsible. So-called to-do lists in non-database-based structures or in paper form cannot offer this advantage - although such applications are better than just relying on the spoken word.
Use
Task management is z. B. as a tool of lean project management suitable to "accelerate the projects" - combined with potential competitive advantages, shorter project durations and an improvement in project success.
literature
- Christian Innerhofer, Paul Innerhofer, Ewald Lang: Leadership Coaching . 2nd Edition. Luchterhand, 2000, ISBN 3-472-04447-0 .
- Hans-Dieter Litke (Ed.): Project Management . Hanser, 2005, ISBN 3-446-22907-8 .
- Klaus Eschenbruch: Project control and project management . Werner Verlag, 2009, ISBN 3-8041-1467-9 .
- Joachim Zülch, Luis Barrantes, Sylvia Steinheuser (Eds.): Corporate management in dynamic networks . Springer-Verlag, 2006, ISBN 3-540-34650-3 .
- Walter Geiger, Willi Kotte: Handbook Quality - Basics and Elements of Quality Management: Systems - Perspectives . 5th edition. Vieweg + Teubner, 2008, ISBN 3-8348-0273-5 .
- Matthias Steitz: Knowledge-based task management for the FFH impact assessment - a working tool of the knowledge society . Edition Zukunft-Verlag, 2007, ISBN 3-89799-221-3 .
- David Allen, Helmut Reuter: How I can get things done. Self-management for everyday life (“Getting Things Done”) . Piper, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-492-24060-4 .
- Jürgen Zimmermann, Christoph Stark, Julia Rieck: Project planning - models, methods, management . Springer, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-540-28413-3 .
- MP Maus, Heiko, Wil van der Aalst, Alan Rickayzen, Uwe. V. Riss: Challenges for Business Processes and Task Management. Journal of Universal Knowledge Management. Volume 0, Issue 2, 2005.
- Jörg Friedrich: Agile teams. Effective task and project management. 1st edition. Steinbeis Edition, 2012, ISBN 978-3-943356-39-7 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Walter Geiger, Willi Kotte: Handbook Quality - Basics and elements of quality management: Systems - Perspectives. 5th edition. 2008, page 8.
- ↑ social media academie, 11/2019: "10 tips for effective team and task management" https://www.socialmediaakademie.de/blog/10-tipps-fuer-effektives-team-und-habenmanagement/ , accessed on 26. November 2019
- ↑ factro-Toolvergleich, 02/2019: "Software for successful task management", https://www.factro.de/blog/software-lösungenverwaltung/ , accessed on November 28, 2019.
- ↑ manage it | IT strategies and solutions. Retrieved February 19, 2020 .
- ↑ Martin Mohrmann: Rethinking building projects with the help of lean project management. 4th edition, 2011.