The concept of goals, projects, tasks, actions, plans

Recently was troubled by several concepts, looked up the information, thinking about it, temporarily defined as follows:

1. Actions (TODO or action)

Action is the task of determining the time node that can be done immediately. Actions are easy to operate and measure.

2. Tasks (Task)

A task usually refers to the work that is accepted, and the duties that are performed are the activities that arise in order to accomplish a directed purpose . The task has clear implementation goals and the implementation of the person, compared to the project, the task focused on the results , there will be time constraints. Tasks can be nested within a task, that is, a main task can be subdivided into several sub -tasks, the completion of these subtasks constitute the result of the main task. a task has a clear purpose , and the task itself is the activity that is created to accomplish a goal. There are specific task principals, and the results are predictable. The general task specifies the execution time.

3. Projects (Project)

PMI definition: A project is a one-time task with a definite goal under certain constraint conditions (mainly, limited resources). the project focuses on the process . The project is a multi-component portfolio that contains tasks, such as milestones, that are a series of tasks for accomplishing milestones.

4. Events

Events are usually temporary bursts, unpredictable, a class of activities that require rapid response processing, and the notable difference between events and projects, the task, is that events are not explicitly intended and are completely unpredictable . But events can be called a good addition to tasks and projects, and when a certain type of event occurs frequently, a task needs to be set up to solve the problem completely. The salient feature of the event is its temporary and abrupt nature, which may not occur frequently, but is accidental and unpredictable.

5. Plan

The plan includes the goals, along with the path and method of achieving the goals. That is, plan = target + Task/sub-task.

6. The difference between task and action

A task is done by breaking it down into multiple actions, or it can be understood that a sub-task at the lowest level is action . For example, subtasks indicate what you want to do, but one thing may have n steps, and each step is an action.

7, the difference between the goal and the task

The goal is the result, the task is the whole process , by accomplishing the task to achieve the goal. In general, tasks exist for the purpose.

8. The difference between time management and task management

Time management emphasizes on the management of time, and does not attach importance to the management of the process and result of the completion of the work, requiring definite time of the event. Task management emphasizes the management of work processes and results, and can have definite time or no time limit. Task management applies to teams and individuals, and time management applies to individuals. recommend the use of task management , can have a better goal to achieve.

9. Target management, task management, knowledge management

The core of ensuring the right direction is the management of objectives, ensuring that the core of action is action management, and that the core of continuous accumulation is knowledge management. The goal management decides the responsibility and the sub-goal of the upper and lower levels; Goal management contains only static result information, and task management also contains dynamic process information, and the task actually contains the target. task management actually covers the function of target management , it effectively overcomes the shortcomings of target management, and has a greater advantage in relative target management.

The concept of goals, projects, tasks, actions, plans