Projects

4.1From action to project

Sometimes an action turns out to be more work than one person can tick off. Then you split it up: you add the first action underneath it, and from that moment it is a project. It stays the same item, with the same owner, the same deadline and the same timeline; there is simply a list of actions underneath it now, and the page shows them as a table. The way back exists too: a project without open parts can become a plain action item again.

You can also start a project on its own, via Projects › Create project: a name, an owner and optionally a deadline. The actions follow naturally.

4.2The rules

• A part is never done later than the whole. The deadline of an action in the project stays within the deadline of the project. DeciDesk guards that everywhere: when adding, when editing and in postponement proposals.
• The project does not tick itself off. The progress bar shows how many parts are done, but only the owner decides when the whole is truly finished.
• A project with open parts cannot be closed. As long as an action is open, DeciDesk accepts no Done or Archive on the project.
• Whoever has work in the project belongs to the project. There is no separate member list: the owner and everyone with an action in the tree together form the project.

4.3Projects inside projects

When a part itself turns out bigger as well, it becomes a project inside the project in exactly the same way. There is no limit to that:

4.4The project page

The project page shows everything at a glance: the actions as a collapsible table with the owner, deadline and status per row, a progress bar, the meetings attached to the project, and the timeline. Nested projects fold open and closed with an arrow, like folders in a file explorer.

The table shows at most five layers at once. When a branch goes deeper, it says There is more under this project with the button View the full structure: a page of its own that shows the whole tree from top to bottom, however deep it goes. Every row clicks through to that action or project.

4.5The Projects page

The Projects page shows the projects you are allowed to see, as a tree. Everyone sees their own top: the director sees the layer-one project with everything underneath it; a team lead sees the highest project within their own part of the organization. Search looks through the whole tree.

4.6Meetings on a project

When you attach a meeting to a project (chapter 5), the people of the project take part automatically, and the meeting appears on the project page. Action items you create in such a meeting land in the tree of the project by themselves.