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Task management: definition, examples, methods, software

Tobias Kortas — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 07:08:21 +0000

Task management: definition, examples, methods, software

2024-12-18
Tobias Kortas

Customer Service, Processes & Workflows

Definition: What is task management?

Task management is the way organizations systematically plan work, set priorities and monitor task progress. Tasks are often assigned to fixed processes or projects. The aim is to prioritize them effectively, delegate them and complete them on time.

The challenge is to have an adequate overview and use resources as optimally as possible. This means both teams and individuals can work productively, in an organized manner, with clear responsibilities and realistic schedules.

How does personal task management manifest itself?

There are many different preferences, methods and tools for organizing, prioritizing and completing tasks in a timely manner. Tools may include calendars, digital boards, Kanban views, to-do lists or whiteboards. Various approaches, like timeboxing, are employed to organize tasks and stay organized.

It is always important that the approach works individually and that it also favors teamwork on the other. A brief example: A team member may plan his tasks using a digital task board. This gives him a good overview and creates transparency for his colleagues.

Task management vs. project management

Tasks may or may not belong to projects. To ensure that projects are implemented successfully and do not experience unnecessary delays, those responsible must spend time planning all of the tasks and their implementation. Project management software can support this effort.

“Task management is fundamental for both standard processes and project management.”

Tobias Kortas

Tasks, workflows and processes

At work, many things build on each other: tasks are related to one another. This drives workflows and processes. As such, task management interacts strongly with workflow management and process management.

Here is a brief overview:

Tasks: They form the smallest unit and represent defined activities to be completed and assigned to a specific goal. There is usually a responsible person and a deadline attached to the task.
Workflows: These consist of a sequence of tasks that are completed according to a specific pattern. Workflows outline how tasks are related to each other and how they are carried out. Good workflows promote collaboration and goal-oriented interdependencies between different tasks.
Processes: Processes are made up of several workflows. They are a recurring and holistic sequence of work steps that aim to achieve a specific result. Rules, standards or activities such as process automation help here.

Examples of good and bad task management

The key word when it comes to successfully handling tasks is “management”. Targeted management makes a decisive difference in the efficiency of a team.

Example: Hardware for onboarding

The following example contrasts poor task management with efficient and optimized management. The results in the onboarding experience are clear.

Poor task management in onboarding

An IT employee is informed by email that they need to procure the necessary hardware for a new employee. However, the task was created so far in advance that it was lost in the employee’s inbox. It was not marked as “Important” or “Urgent” and no separate discussion took place about it.

To make matters worse, the assignment of the task made little sense. The IT employee had little experience in this area and was already very busy with other tasks. The employee was frustrated. The task should have been assigned to an experienced and less busy colleague.

Now, it’s time for the onboarding and all the required items are not available. The newly hired person has to begin onboarding without the tools required for his work.

How to make onboarding better with task management

Task management thrives on structure and planning – and the IT employee’s team takes this into account. Before he was assigned the task, a team meeting was held. All members briefly went through their current tasks, including their importance, urgency and prioritization.

Based on this, he was assigned the task with a generous lead time. He added the task to his personal task board, which he keeps a constant eye on. The task description contained all the important details. The task had deadlines for all subtasks and contacts in case anything is unclear or help is needed.

The IT employee was able to prepare the onboarding in a structured, calm and conscientious manner. There were no “nasty surprises” to fear. The new colleague arrived to find the hardware ready and available on their first day.

Important components of a task

Individual tasks are more than just a bullet point on a list that needs to be ticked off. The details make all the difference: they vary depending on the complexity and depth of the planning. They provide structure and organizational clarity.

“If a task has all the important components and sufficient information, it tends to be completed more quickly and with the desired result.”

Tobias Kortas

Information is – at a higher level – the main component of a task. In this sense, the requirements of task management overlap strongly with those of information management. The task details can ultimately be broken down and categorized in a meaningful way, as shown below.

Title and description

The title should be as meaningful as possible. It should indicate the context and not raise any questions for the person responsible. In addition, the description must be as clear and concise as possible and contain the desired goal.

Responsibilities

The task must first be clearly assigned to a person with primary responsibility. This may also be several team members at once. Stakeholders should also be informed about the status of the task in question. In addition, there are often dependencies, so that communication with those responsible for other tasks is necessary.

Priority (importance)

Task priority is a simple clear classification of how important the respective task is. It helps those responsible with planning and deciding how much concentration to devote to the task. A traffic light system or gradations from priority 1 to 5 are therefore possible.

Current processing status

Having task progress defined is an important step. However, it is even more effective and time-saving if the processing status is displayed directly.

These assignments, for example, make sense:

“Planned”
“In progress”
“Under review”
“Revision”
“Completed”

Time period and effort

For most tasks, the end date – often called the deadline or due date – plays an important role. Less attention is usually paid to the start date of a task, but it is more important in terms of duration.

Those who focus exclusively on the end date have to estimate for themselves how much effort the task will require – including possible disruptive factors – and are more likely to miss the deadline. When the start and end dates are both specified, there is also clarity about the expected effort, and the tasks can usually be completed more easily.

Attachments / resources

Successfully completed tasks don’t just happen. Attachments with documents containing further information, samples, examples or descriptions of contexts are often required. These help the person responsible fully understands a task and can complete it with the desired result.

Such attachments can also contain working materials or exemplary solutions of comparable tasks. Attachments work best when they are part of a knowledge base, providing access to relevant knowledge in a structured and clear way.

Hierarchy and subtasks

Most tasks are related to other tasks. There are often higher-level tasks that are broken down into subtasks. This structure defines the procedure more precisely and monitors progress more granularly.

Task management methods

There are various approaches to task management. All can be effective depending on the type of task, the collaboration model and individual preferences.

Here is an overview of a few methods as examples.

1. To-do list

The simple To-do list is the basis of task management. It is a simple but effective method for organizing tasks. It is advisable to prioritize the respective tasks or to create a ranking according to importance.

For example, the six most important tasks can be placed on a to-do list each day. The list is ranked in order of importance or urgency.

2. Kanban

A Kanban board can be digital with drag ‘n drop tasks or physical with sticky notes. Tasks are visualized in columns such as “to do”, “in progress”, “under review” and “completed”. The organization in columns can be designed in a variety of ways. For example, the Kanban view in OTRS is suitable for continuous improvements and progress reports.

3. Timeboxing

Timeboxing works as a time management method. Instead of using a list, a worker enters tasks – with a specific timebox – in a calendar. Such a box sets a fixed time for the task’s completion.

Timeboxing can be combined with the Pomodoro technique. This is a system in which one works with focus for 25 minutes and then takes a break for 5 minutes.

4. Not-to-do list

This method reverses the idea of the typical to-do list – and can also be used alongside one. Workers write down the tasks that they can skip, postpone or delegate. It helps them to reduce stress and focus on important tasks.

This approach can help enormously with prioritization. It’s a means for questioning apparent to-dos and making way for really important tasks.

5. Agile task management (Scrum)

This method is aimed at teamwork. It has spread from agile software development and provides clearly defined processes for working together while handling tasks on one’s own.

Scrum is particularly suitable for teams that complete their tasks in sprints (e.g. in 2-week cycles). These teams coordinate regularly in meetings, such as short stand-ups. A scrum team typically consists of a product owner, a scrum master and developers.

6. Getting things done (GTD)

This method is about breaking tasks down into specific steps and organizing them. It reduces mental burden while the task is in progress. Users record all their pending tasks in a system. This allows them to prioritize tasks without being disturbed and without the risk of forgetting something important.

How can software help with task management?

Modern task management solutions provide an excellent overview of tasks, improve organization, put tasks in relation to each other, remind you of due dates, offer time-saving automation and much more.

Here are the most important advantages of task management tools in a nutshell:

Users have a good overview by having tasks centrally collected in one place. Everyone knows what is assigned. Structure is added by categorization. And information, like deadlines and reminders, is stored with the task.
Visualizations help to identify progress and dependencies between tasks and to react accordingly.
In order to collaborate and coordinate better, teams can share tasks with each other, communicate clearly and task-specifically in real time.
Teams save a lot of time by having a tool automatically send notifications about tasks.
Software can create reports that show project progress, identify bottlenecks and measure success.
With cloud-based software, task management can be synchronized to all desired devices. This makes tasks accessible at any time and from anywhere.

Task management with a ticket system

A ticket system can be used flexibly, including for task management. This type of task management system is particularly popular in IT and support. It records tasks quickly and processes them in an organized manner.

For other areas, too, the main advantages are that tasks can be tracked easily and all those involved are informed. Workflow automation saves a lot of time and all information is available in an organized manner in a ticket.

This is an example of a team process:

Record the task: Those involved record the pending tasks in tickets. The tickets are assigned to the responsible persons and include descriptions, attachments, prioritization (according to importance and urgency) and, if necessary, categories.
Set the task status: The tickets are each assigned a status – such as “open”, “in progress” and “closed”. Anyone working on a task documents the progress directly in the ticket.
Discuss the task as needed: Comment functions allow queries and discussions to be made directly in the ticket. Notifications keep everyone involved up to date.
Escalate if needed: As ticket systems support automated workflows, a ticket can be automatically forwarded to the line manager as part of escalation management.
Close the ticket: Once the task in question has been completed, the ticket is closed. It can be archived for later analysis or documentation.
Analyze overall task management: The collected data provides the team with insights into which measures were successful. They can evaluate how work can be improved in the future.

Conclusion: task management – a crucial process

Virtually all operational, value-added creative work can be expressed in tasks. As a model, the more information and details tasks contain, the more accurate and valid they are. Task management is not just about organization and simple processing. It is also about dependencies between tasks, the connection with workflows and improving processes to achieve overarching goals.

In short, the more thorough and focused task management is, the more likely teams are to make progress, achieve tangible results, find work enjoyable and continue to develop. Investing time in task management pays off.

Teams and individuals are faced with the challenge of choosing a suitable and target-oriented method for task management. The right software support often makes the decisive difference. It offers an overview when there are many tasks. It helps teams act more effectively, stay more focused, work more successfully.

Find out how OTRS can support you with task management.

Tobias Kortas

Customer Service, Processes & Workflows

Knowledge Management – The Path to Profiting from Experience

Tobias Kortas — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 10:00:10 +0000

Knowledge Management – The Path to Profiting from Experience

ITSM

Knowledge is a crucial factor in the corporate context – and is becoming increasingly important. In most companies, information trapped with one person will stiffle efficiency and innovation. Instead, knowledge should be available quickly, validly and in the right format so that many people can use it. Knowledge management is the practice of making effective use of knowledge and information.

What is Knowledge

In short, knowledge is awareness of and understanding about a certain topic or fact.

It is important to differentiate the term knowledge from those of information or data as follows:

Data -> Information -> Knowledge

Knowledge = opinions, processes, ideas that stem from knowing about the information
Information = data provided with context
Data = measurements or objective details

Another term that is often confused with knowledge is skill. Typically, knowledge can be transferred from one person to another. When it comes to knowledge within a company, is often shared through writing or video.

In contrast, skills – for example, how to drive a car safely – can usually only be learned. They must be learned and put into practice by someone.

Knowledge Management: A Definition

Knowledge management (KM) is a structured process for capturing, organizing, storing, sharing and using knowledge or information.

Knowledge management is a multidisciplinary approach. It draws on learnings from many subject matter experts. These experts share knowledge with others, generally through a knowledge management program.

This provides everyone with adequate access to available knowledge. It does so in an easily accessible way that offers knowledge users an overview and structure. This makes it easier for people to put the knowledge to use.

Against this background, the challenge for companies is to use their inherent know-how profitably. They need to benefit as much as possible from their own expertise.

Why is knowledge management important?

By implementing a knowledge management process, companies can operate more efficiently, increase their innovation and gain competitive advantages.

The challenge is to separate the important from the unimportant. It is also necessary to provide truly relevant information to the right addressees and store it in the right places. This is where knowledge management tools come into play. They make knowledge content accessible as well as provide structure.

Effectively managing and access knowledge gives companies a competitive edge.

Relevant steps in knowledge management

Knowledge management is made up of the following steps and components:

Identify relevant knowledge
Capture and document knowledge
Save knowledge
Distribute and pass on knowledge, e.g. through knowledge base articles
Use and apply knowledge
Preserve knowledge and protect confidential information

It's not enough to know - you also have to apply. It's not enough to want - you also have to do. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johan Wolgang von Göhte

Knowledge management in a company is a continuous process that never really comes to an end. Those responsible must constantly maintain, update, renew and supplement know-how. It must be up to date and truly helpful.

Knowledge Management Use Cases

Using knowledge in the corporate world is important. Here are two use case examples that illustrate how it may be a competitive advantage.

Example #1: A company develops an AI strategy

A company wants to establish itself more strongly in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). So far, however, there have been very few points of contact with the topic. In other words, no one has been explicitly assigned to it.

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) must develop a strategy. As a first step, they source all of the existing knowledge in the company:

The relevant knowledge that employees already have can be collected in an internal company forum.
Any existing self-service portal is searched for relevant information.
The existing knowledge is consolidated in a knowledge base.

Now, there is foundation on which to build. An AI strategy is developed based on the company’s own knowledge. In this way, knowledge about AI is used collectively and transferred into a target-oriented strategy.

Example #2: A team develops new software

A group of developers is in the process of creating new software. They need detailed information about previously developed modules, technologies used and frequently occurring problems for this extensive project.

This means that prior history, or knowledge, about the software must be accessible. Fortunately, a variety of items are available in a wiki (a type of knowledge base). This includes best pratices, peer and code reviews, project templates, checklists, etc.

By also documenting details such as code snippets and individual bug fixes, knowledge about the entire project is tracked The information serves as a basis for continuous improvement.

In the end, other people from the developer’s company can use this as an important reference for similar projects. This closes the cycle of learning and improvement.

The Benefits of Knowledge Management

Solid knowledge management leads to specific benefits that have an extremely positive impact. Specifically, the advantages are as follows.

Advantage #1: Work effectiveness

With the right knowledge at the right time, companies and their employees can expand their potential. This is a basic prerequisite for being effective and achieving goals.

Know-how pushes work in the right direction. This adds value and makes a real difference. When the right information is available to everyone at the right time, people are able to convert it into tangible results.

Advantage #2: Creativity and innovation

Ideas, suggestions, information, leanings, knowledge objects – all of these stimulate creativity and innovation. The basic concept is to build on what already exists in order to develop something new. Those who are well informed broaden their horizons and are much more likely to develop new approaches.

This is not just a basic scientific principle. It is also helps companies develop concepts that are in line with certain circumstances and market situations.

Advantage #3: Better products and services

By making best practices and experiences more accessible, companies can continuously optimize the quality of their products and services. Among other things, the principle of continuous improvement helps to increase efficiency and customer satisfaction.

This is in line with consistent knowledge management. It is the best way for organizations to pool their expertise, skills and experience to ultimately provide better products, customer support and related services.

Advantage #4: More efficient problem solving

By quickly accessing knowledge from past projects and similar challenges, companies can solve their current and future problems more efficiently.

With a well-structured knowledge management system, employees can quickly see how someone has successfully solved a similar problem. They do not have to reinvent the wheel. It is often sufficient to use best practices for similar cases as a guide and adapt this to the current situation. This speeds up the problem solving for the new case.

Advantage #5: Better decisions

Good knowledge management also makes it easier for companies to make targeted and logical strategic decisions. This is because the required information is available to people quickly.

After all, the quality of a decision often depends heavily on the information used to inform it. It’s a simple calculation: only those who have the right knowledge at their disposal can make truly logical and target-oriented decisions.

All change creates fear. And the best way to combat this is to improve knowledge.

Ihno Schneevoigt, former Managing Director at IBM Germany

Knowledge Management: Methods

The aim of knowledge management is to deal effectively with the knowledge available.

Knowledge should…
… not be lost.
… have a clear benefit.
… be available to as many employees as possible.
… bring clear added value.
… be applicable in the right situations.

Let’s look deeper into the knowledge creation process.

Identify knowledge

The first step is to identify existing knowledge. This often begins inconspicuously through conversations, team chats or group discussions. A more direct method is expert interviews. Documents, reports or minutes are also relevant sources of knowledge.

Collect and store knowledge

Both individual and collective knowledge must be well recorded. Individual knowledge can come from interviews, recordings or lectures. Collective knowledge (swarm intelligence) comes is created during meetings and can be found in minutes and recordings. Companies should store this knowledge digitally and make it centrally accessible.

Create a knowledge base

A knowledge base is at the heart of effective knowledge management. Knowledge base articles, FAQs and instructions can be essential for companies because they provide they structure and organization.

They also form the basis of a digital self-service for customers.

Actively use and apply knowledge

Even the best knowledge base is ultimately only a means to an end. Customers and employees should be able to use it frequently and satisfactorily. In general, it is often a decisive goal to be able to use the available knowledge as comprehensively and effectively as possible.

Optimize and enrich knowledge

Knowledge is not a static thing. It is constantly evolving. Organizations and individuals should regularly evaluate existing knowledge, identify “needs” and look for new sources of knowledge. The overriding question here is which knowledge is useful and up-to-date.

The SECI model

The SECI model has established itself as a systematic approach to knowledge management. It is one of the most widely used methods for systematic knowledge management.

SECI stands for Socialization, Externalization, Combination and Internalization. The model describes the process of how companies create and transform knowledge.

The SECI model depicts knowledge development as a dynamic cycle. It was developed by the two Japanese knowledge theorists Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi.

This cycle can be applied to different levels of a company, such as individual, group or ove level. It promotes a learning organization that is constantly evolving and generating innovations.

The four phases of the SECI model are:

Socialization

In this phase, knowledge is transferred from one person to another through conversations, observation, imitation or shared practices. Examples include mentoring, on-the-job training and informal meetings. For example, an experienced salesperson might take a trainee along to a prospect meeting.

Externalization

Now tacit knowledge (that which is personal and experienced) is transformed into explicit knowledge (that which is codified and captured). In other words, the knowledge is recorded in some way such as in a document, model or concept. In the example above, this could be as simple as the trainee writing a report on the interview.

Combination

In this phase, knowledge from various sources is combined to create new knowledge. The aim is to collect and process information, combine data and systematize knowledge. This might involve several trainees comparing their reports in order to draw more informed and better conclusions.

Internalization

Now the explicit knowledge is transformed into implicit knowledge. It is internalized through practical application and experience. It is finally integrated into people’s actions. In the example, this means that the trainees apply the acquired skills in practice.

Tips for Successful Knowledge Management

In addition to understanding types of knowledge management, it is worth using a few tools, tactics and strategies too. This helps the company use of existing knowledge resources in the best ways.

Tip #1: Promote knowledge

sharing in a targeted manner
Knowledge management is far more useful when it is practiced by the entire company. In the best case scenario, employees actively participate in knowledge exchange and share relevant content immediately.

Companies can encourage this by calling for an open exchange of ideas, information and knowledge, involving key people with critical knowledge, and valuing or rewarding the exchange.

Tip #2: Actively use collaboration platforms

Lively exchanges bring relevant knowledge content to light. This requires good collaboration tools and document management systems. These make it easy to share information, ideas and concepts.

Tip #3: Create templates for documentation

If it is easy to create knowledge content, this will happen much more frequently. All too often, employees are overwhelmed by the task of creating useful and meaningful documents. Templates can be an important aid. Plus, they help standardize the documentation.

Tip #4: Incorporate security measures

Sharing relevant knowledge is a good idea. However, not every single person should be able to access it. It is important to implement access restrictions that protect confidential and sensitive content from unauthorized access.

Tip #5: Measure results

It is advisable to use metrics and key figures to evaluate the success of knowledge management. This can be as simple as the number of knowledge contributions created. It is also possible to record the extent to which a knowledge base is used. Other metrics include how much time employees saved or how many innovations emerge.

Relevant connections

Knowledge management only reveals its strengths in combination with other information management disciplines and tools.

Knowledge management and information management

Information management is closely linked to knowledge management. It enables companies to make targeted use of information as a strategic resource. Information must first be available in the right form. Then, it can be transformed into knowledge content.

Often, however, information and knowledge cannot be clearly separated from each other. This means that information management and knowledge management merge seamlessly.

The relevant difference between the two is that knowledge combines factual with experiential information.

Knowledge management and knowledge databases

Knowledge databases are an important means of recording knowledge centrally, clearly and easily retrievable. They are an important component of knowledge management, which also covers other areas.

Databases prove to be essential for recording, maintaining and retrieving relevant information. Knowledge management also controls how knowledge is used and how it is strategically deployed.

Knowledge management and information flows

Information flows describe the path that information takes within a company. Sender-recipient relationships are defined here.

Functional information flows are required in order to obtain relevant knowledge. Because communication does not necessarily take the most effective routes, information management directs the information.

For instance, two team members share important project experiences in an informal conversation (information flow) and ultimately come to the conclusion that this knowledge should be shared (information management). Based on the conversation, a knowledge base article (knowledge management) is created with lots of relevant and exciting information, learnings and experiences from the project.

Knowledge management and artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly important role in the effective handling of knowledge. Recently, users have become accustomed to consulting generative AI tools. Typically, these are AI chatbots that promise simple, fast and intuitive access to relevant knowledge content.

However, the benefits of artificial intelligence – such as increased efficiency, time savings and optimized decision-making – can be used in a variety of ways. AI summaries of texts, for example, are often useful for gaining a better overview. This captures relevant content more quickly and easily transfers it into knowledge base articles.

Conclusion: knowledge management – an important discipline

Knowledge is of enormous importance. It is a decisive factor in the modern corporate world. Companies that operate a knowledge management system can make much better use of their information, ideas, experience, learning, values and skills.

To achieve this, use a suitable knowledge database, systematically generate documentation, and use the knowledge content. Drawing on models, such as SECI, and some best practices can bring great added value.

Find out how OTRS can support you with knowledge management.

Tobias Kortas

ITSM

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André Mindermann — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 09:00:11 +0000

Older workers are often considered less efficient, less innovative in their thinking and not open to change. Is that true or do we have to change our attitude?

IT Focus in 2019: What Are the Top Priorities for German and American CIOs?

Author OTRS — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 10:00:34 +0000

The differences between Germany and the USA are small, and one sector stands out the most.

4 Questions to Ask Yourself If Your 2019 Competitive Strategy Includes Digital Transformation

Sabine Lüders — Mon, 07 Jan 2019 10:00:42 +0000

We will show you what actions you can take to drive digital change.