Action Method
Didn’t I just finish saying there’s a new task/project management app each day? Yesterday, TechCrunch posted about a new project management application called Action Method. I just signed up to check it out, and even though my first instinct is to label them as a “me-too” app, I must say I am pretty impressed with what they’ve built.
They haven’t just dropped a set of features on a page and labeled each with a navigation link, the way another tool I found today has done (check out Pelotonics). Instead, they’ve attempted to create a flexible tool that reflects how we actually work. The primary focus of the app is on “Action Steps” - actual work products. Beyond that, I can dump items into References, Backburners, Discussions, or Events. They’ve also got a “Project View” that unites all of these project items together, and an Activity Feed that shows what everyone has been up to.
The collaboration is extremely smooth. After I type in the name of a task/”Action Step”, I can just start typing in an e-mail address to assign it to someone, even if they haven’t signed up yet. For each new task I create going forward, it attempts to auto-complete for the e-mail addresses I’ve already entered. I can also choose to share all of the activity associated with a project with a specific contact. Kudos to their UI designer(s) for making the whole user experience quick and easy to get started with.
Where’s the task management category killer?
Every time I check up on the status of task management apps, it seems that five more have appeared. Here are a few of the apps I’ve come across: Remember the Milk, Nozbe, Todoist, Things, OmniFocus, ActionGear, iGTD, Zenbe List, and HiTask.
Then, if you want to put a collaborative slant on things, you can take a look at all of the different project management tools: Basecamp, Goplan, QuickBase, CentralDesktop, activeCollab, and @task.
Why are so many of these applications getting built when the existing list of options is so large?
Maybe it’s because programmers are the group that most need to pay attention to a long list of detailed tasks, so they build it for themselves - because they can. Programming about programming.
Or maybe it’s because none of these tools have captured how we actually want to work. Developers are stuck in a world where they’re trying to port a desktop application to the web, and hoping it sticks; but all they get is a steep learning curve. Many throw every possible feature at the user, and hope that the user can make sense of it all.
Can task management be a winner-takes-all category? Can an application generate enough value by making its users more productive than they were before - to the point where they’re willing to use it every day? Can it reduce enough friction and become viral so that it’s not just me using it, but us?
I’m still not sure I’ve figured out the answers to these questions. But if it is possible, then I think this space needs an entirely new approach. The user doesn’t want to learn GTD theory or somebody else’s idea on the tools and features necessary to be productive. He wants to learn how to accomplish his tasks.
Our approach to task management with Ativiti is similar to the way we learn our native language (through hearing it, reading it, and speaking it). We think you should learn how to become more productive by seeing how others did it - by seeing how they effectively accomplished a project goal, and then adopting their expert approach.
Where Current Project Management Tools and How-To Sites Fail
Why can’t existing task/project management tools and how-to websites effectively manage all of the different activities in my life?
Don’t get me wrong, Remember The Milk and OmniFocus are great task managers that can keep track of my daily to-dos.
And Basecamp, CentralDesktop, and JIRA do a pretty good job of enabling co-workers to collaborate by providing a structured way to interact, though they are too heavy for most of my projects. I’m still looking for a tool that starts simple and scales with the complexity of my projects.
After talking to users of MyOffice, we realized that many of them are asking simple questions – not about the structure of their project plans – but about content. How do I get started on this project? What steps do I follow?
For answers, they turn to how-to websites like eHow and wikiHow. But how do you track your progress? And if you’re working on a collaborative project, how will you track who’s done what?
We think, at the intersection of all of these tools, there’s a problem that is begging to be solved. We need a tool that not only helps keep track of all our daily tasks and projects, but also gives assistance when we searching out our next steps.
Managing Life and Preventing Crack-Fallers
I’m Brandon, one of the co-founders of Ativiti. This is my first post, so I’m going to lay out my life’s constant struggle that Ativiti will finally resolve.
I am an information analyst and manager at a $250M dot com in New York. I’m at the office 50 to 70 hours a week providing information to senior executives, training fellow analysts, and developing new technologies to make information more available to anyone who can utilize it.
In New York City, as with many other cities in the world, there are things to do 24×7x52. There’s work, there’s play, there are extra-curricular projects (mine is Ativiti)… the list of things to do seems to get longer each day.
SUNDAY:
- Go to the gym.
- Get the groceries.
- Errands with Izabella (buy potting soil, pick up repaired shoes, Paragon warehouse sale).
- Meet with Ativiti team.
- Season premier of Entourage at 10pm.
MONDAY:
- Weekly reports.
- Daily reports.
- Outline this week’s to-dos.
- Follow up on tasks colleagues own that are in critical path for my work.
- Buy flowers for Izabella (apology for coming home late).
- Add a blog post to Ativiti.
The list keeps going and growing. That’s just the “regular” to-dos; then there are the spontaneous ones that pop into your head out of nowhere when you’re out and about or talking with friends:
- Look up tickets for the 2010 winter Olympics in BC.
- Buy Izabella a new laundry basket.
- Pick up an HDMI cord.
- Pull a new sales variance report together to demonstrate the effects of the new quality ratings system on consumer behavior.
Last week I counted the things I wanted to do: 101. Then I counted the things I remembered to do: 79.
Things that aren’t top priority end up falling through the cracks. Some get overlooked for weeks until they become top priority. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I’d done that three weeks ago?
Some crack-fallers never get attended to at all. Many people will brush this off and say “it just wasn’t important enough.” I consider a crack-faller to be a missed opportunity, the result of an inefficiency in our ability to manage life.
- Maybe the first step to accomplishing this task wasn’t intuitive to me. Intimidated by my lack of a starting point, I put it on the back-burner (where it stayed).
- Maybe the iPhone note to which I added this task was ignored thereafter.
- Maybe it didn’t come up in conversation for the next two weeks, so it didn’t get ingrained in my mind.
With Ativiti, you can catch these things, learn how to do them, track them, and get them all done.
Doing more feels good.
Have you ever dreamed of learning to play the guitar, but found it too difficult to figure out where to begin?
Have you ever wanted to start a blog, but were intimidated by hosting options, design strategies, and what to write about?
Have you ever wanted to throw a party, start a business, or organize a study group?
Too many obstacles are getting in the way of projects before they even get off the ground. Too often dreams are deferred because:
- The guide you need is nowhere to be found; or
- There’s no way to manage your progress; or
- You simply don’t have the time to manage it.
We are developing a solution to this problem. Ativiti is an application that will help you start and manage your projects, whether by yourself or in collaboration with others.
We are adhering to the following principles as we build this tool:
- Let the experts show you how: We think the information you need to get your project off the ground is sitting somewhere in someone’s head. Ativiti will foster a community that will make the how-to’s, guides, and steps you need easily accessible.
- I/O Everywhere: We don’t want to add yet another destination to your every day life. Ativiti will go wherever you go: your browser, your desktop, your iPhone, or even your Gmail via a plugin.
- Don’t reinvent the social wheel: You already have your contacts stored somewhere. Let’s just use that.
Doing more feels good. Follow us as we build Ativiti.