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Configuring Tasks (Simple Model)

A program's task settings decide whether its projects have tasks and schedules, which fields their tasks and RAID action items have, and how the Task Board is set up. Tasks are set up on each program, under its Configuration > Program Items > Tasks, and the Task Board under its Configuration > Task Board. This article also explains how program and project dates are worked out from what they contain.

This article covers the Simple Model, and needs program administrator access. For the Advanced Model, tasks are turned on with Enable Tasks on each initiative classification, and the Task Board is set up on its Kanban Board tab — see Configuring Initiative Classifications (Advanced Model). For working with tasks, see Managing Tasks.

Turning tasks on

To turn tasks on or off for the program's projects:

  1. Navigate to the program, then to Configuration > Program Items > Tasks. The Schedule Overview opens.
  2. Turn Enable Tasks on or off. The change is saved straight away.

Where tasks are turned off, the program's projects have no schedule, Task Properties isn't available, and the Task Board can't be used. For using a schedule, see Schedules.

Task fields

Tasks can have custom fields, which show alongside each task's other details. To set up task fields:

  1. On the Schedule Overview, click Task Properties. The Properties tab for the program's tasks opens.
  2. Under Additional Fields, click Add Shared Field to use a field created in Administration, or New Custom Field to create one for the program.
  3. Turn on Active for each field the tasks should have.
  4. Drag the fields into the order you want.

Linked Selects can't be created on task properties. For field types, and how shared and program fields work, see Custom Fields (Simple Model).

Action item fields

Under RAID Action Items, on the same page, click Action Item Properties to set up the fields of the tasks and milestones created under RAID items. These are set up the same way as task fields.

Action items are only available on RAID types with Allow RAID Tasks and Milestones turned on — see Configuring RAID Item Classifications (Simple Model). For using them, see Managing RAID and Action Items.

The Task Board

The Task Board shows a project's tasks as cards in columns, such as To Do and In Progress, so the team can move work along by dragging cards. In the Simple Model, the board is set up once on the program, and every project in the program uses the same columns. The board needs tasks to be turned on — see Turning tasks on.

Enabling the Task Board

To enable the Task Board:

  1. Navigate to your program, then to Configuration > Task Board.
  2. Turn on Enable Task Board.

The board starts with four columns: Backlog, To Do, In Progress, and Complete.

The board appears on each of the program's projects, under Tools > Tasks. It isn't shown on the program itself.

Turning the board off asks you to confirm first.

Setting up columns

Columns are the stages tasks move through, from left to right. Each column is listed with its number, name, and color. Changes are saved straight away, and apply to every project in the program.

  • Add a column — click Add Column. A column named New Column is added before the last column.
  • Rename a column — edit its name. Every column needs a name.
  • Change a column's color — click the color spot at the right of the column, and choose a new color. The color shows at the top of the column on the board.
  • Reorder columns — drag a column by its grip to a new position.
  • Delete a column — click its delete button, and confirm. If the column has tasks in it, choose where they go: Move all tasks to the previous column, or Move all tasks to the next column.

The first and last columns mark the start and end of the board, so they can't be moved or deleted. They can still be renamed and recolored.

For using the board, see Board View.

How program and project dates are set

A project's start and end dates aren't fixed. They're worked out from what the project contains, and the program's dates are worked out from its projects.

  • A project spans its costs, benefits, RAID item review dates, tasks, goals, resource capacity, and resource demand. It starts at the earliest of their start dates, and ends at the latest of their end dates.
  • A program spans its projects, and its own tasks, goals, and resource capacity.

Dates are rounded to whole months: the start date moves to the first day of its month, and the end date to the last day of its month.

The dates are worked out again whenever something they span changes — including when an item is archived or restored, since archived items aren't counted. The span can shrink as well as grow. So, while you can set a project's dates when you create it, they're replaced by the span of its items once it has any.

To change a project's dates, change the dates of the items in it — for example, by dragging their bars on the schedule. The project's and program's dates follow.

For the program's other settings, see Configuring a Program and Program Features.