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.

October 5, 2008 | Filed Under Post 

Comments

5 Responses to “Where’s the task management category killer?”

  1. Mark on October 6th, 2008 4:23 am

    A quick word on the design of this site: The orange-yellow links on white background are HIGHLY illegible, and actually make it hard to read your site. Would it hurt to make them darker?

  2. John B. Kendrick on October 6th, 2008 9:46 am

    I’ve written several posts about my experiences with GTD on my blog at http://johnkendrick.wordpress.com/how-to-gtd/

    I actually found the application I use to GTD before reading David Allen’s book, and though I have looked at many other apps, I’ve found nothing I prefer. And I do use my GTD everyday and have come to rely on it, though I’m not quite sure I would call it “us” yet John

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