Suggestions for Project Management

[SoBeGuy]

Just tried out the demo and it looks really nice. Here are some initial suggestions:

1. Currently we only have one level of subtasks. Espo supports unlimited levels of hierarchy, so it would be great to have sub-sub tasks, sub-sub-sub tasks, etc...

2. Repeating tasks would be nice. This is true of the regular task entity as well.

3. Would like the ability to drag/drop directly on the Gantt chart to move tasks around, create/manage dependencies, etc... Also, double click on the chart to create a new task.

4. In the Tasks list view, there should be a toggle control to view all tasks or exclude subtasks and only view tasks at the current level.

[yuri]

It's already possible to move tasks on the Gantt view as well as manage dependencies when selecting two tasks.

[yuri]

> to have sub-sub tasks, sub-sub-sub tasks, etc...

One level of sub-tasks was a deliberate choice. BTW JIRA also has one level of sub-tasks too.

> double click on the chart to create a new task.

This was planned. But I was not sure that double click would be the best choice.

[yuri]

> In the Tasks list view, there should be a toggle control to view all tasks or exclude subtasks and only view tasks at the current level.

I'm not sure whether I understood correctly. It's already possible to toggle between all tasks and only root tasks.

[yuri]

Ctrl + < and Ctrl + > shortcuts for power users

[SoBeGuy]

It's already possible to move tasks on the Gantt view as well as manage dependencies when selecting two tasks.

I'm able to move a task left or right on the Gantt chart and change its duration, but I can't move it vertically. Ideally, we should be able to move it in any direction so the order could be rearranged in the task list, moved to a different group, etc... Also, we should be able to draw the dependencies on the chart by clicking a node on the task edge and then dragging to connect the line to another task. Likewise, click on a dependency line and hit delete or right-click context menu to delete a dependency.

One level of sub-tasks was a deliberate choice. BTW JIRA also has one level of sub-tasks too.

There are lots of project management tools that support unlimited levels of hierarchy. Wrike, Clickup and many others. I'm wondering what you perceive as the downside. Sure, it can increase the project complexity, but since the framework supports it, I don't think it's right to intentionally restrict the ability to use it. It should be up to the user to decide how complex his projects are.

In the Tasks list view, there should be a toggle control to view all tasks or exclude subtasks and only view tasks at the current level.

Yes, it works, but the terminology is confusing. "Actual" should be called "Active" because it includes all tasks that haven't been completed. "Active (parent)" should be "Active Top Level". A task can't be a parent if it has no sub-tasks, so I think Top Level more accurately describes these tasks. We should also have a a filter called "Available", which would include top level tasks without sub-tasks AND sub-tasks of other top level tasks, but not the top level tasks themselves. If a task has sub-tasks, you'd normally work on the sub-tasks before completing the parent tasks.

Speaking of confusing terminology, why is the Task status referred to as "Column"? I think this should be called "Status".

One other nice feature would be disclosure triangles on parent tasks that could be clicked to view their sub-tasks inline.

[yuri]

Speaking of confusing terminology, why is the Task status referred to as "Column"? I think this should be called "Status".

It's covered in the documentation. There's already the Status field which is read-only and has fixed options, there is a "Column" the task is placed in on the board. Different project can have different (or same) sets of board columns. One can always rename a field. Why wouldn't we coin a term? It's not a copy of some other PM system. It actually has some own ideas (though those ideas might already exist in other products, I'm just not aware of it).

There are lots of project management tools that support unlimited levels of hierarchy.

Sure.

what you perceive as the downside

There are already technical downsides of having unlimited sub-tasks. E.g. querying tasks with access control applied would have been much more complex and slower.

Once we add a feature to a product, we can never remove it. In the future, we may add some features which would not play well with unlimited sub-task levels.

the framework supports it, I don't think it's right to intentionally restrict the ability to use it

The framework does not support sub-tasks. It's not just to add a relationship and call it a day. It's not correct to say that we limited users intentionally and we did "not right". A developer created a new thing, not took something away.

One other nice feature would be disclosure triangles on parent tasks that could be clicked to view their sub-tasks inline.

This is considered for the future. This would have been tricky to implement in an elegant way. So, maybe, we would need to make changes in the core first.

Yes, it works, but the terminology is confusing. "Actual" should be called "Active" because it includes all tasks that haven't been completed.

The "Actual" term is chosen to be consistent with regular Tasks. The term is also used in other places in the CRM. If we rename it, we'd rather do it in all places in the CRM.

"Active" rather describes tasks that are actively being worked on. But our filter also displays tasks that are planned for future. Could be "Open" but it's also a verb in English. But I'm fine with having own terminology considering it's consistent. We have "Actual" for 10+ years.

"Active (parent)" should be "Active Top Level".

The "Parent" was chosen because it's how it's called internally and because of space constraints. We were not sure about the term. I don't like "Top Level" either. We have only two levels, hence "top" is not a proper choice. "Parent level" seems is quite widely used. We can always rename when find a better term.

Also, we should be able to draw the dependencies on the chart by clicking a node on the task edge and then dragging to connect the line to another task.

I find the current way quite handy. When two tasks are selected, click a button. While the edges serve for resizing.

I can't move it vertically

Currently, the Gantt view displays tasks ordered by timeline. Moving tasks vertically would not be compatible with this. The principle of the Gantt chart is that tasks are ordered by date. I know that there're systems allowing custom order. I'm not sure whether we implement it.

We also will make tasks to automatically re-order after drag-n-drop (if tasks changed their order in time). Currently, the chart refresh is required.

EDIT. Automatic re-order after drag is added.

We should also have a a filter called "Available", which would include top level tasks without sub-tasks AND sub-tasks of other top level tasks, but not the top level tasks themselves.

We need to add some visual cue to be able to recognize sub-tasks on the list view. It was set for a future release.

EDIT. Visual cue to indicate sub-tasks on the list view is already added.

[SoBeGuy]

Thanks for the detailed and thoughtful response, Yuri!