Turning an objective into tasks.
WHY IT MATTERS
You cannot estimate, schedule or assign what has not been broken down.
WHAT TO DO
Divide the outcome into deliverables, then each deliverable into tasks.
HOW FAR TO DIVIDE
Until each task is something one person can do and you can tell when it is done.
WHAT A GOOD TASK LOOKS LIKE
A clear outcome An obvious owner A duration you can estimate with some confidence
WHAT A POOR ONE LOOKS LIKE
Build the system Sort out the website
WHY THEY FAIL
They cannot be estimated, tracked or completed.
WHAT SIZE TO AIM FOR
Days rather than weeks.
WHY
Long tasks hide their status; a task in progress for three weeks tells you nothing.
WHAT TO CAPTURE FOR EACH TASK
What it produces Who owns it What it depends on Roughly how long
WHAT DEPENDENCIES ARE
Tasks that cannot start until others finish.
WHY THEY MATTER
They determine the order and the total duration.
WHAT TO IDENTIFY
Which tasks can run in parallel Which must be sequential
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Work nobody has listed: testing, review, approval, handover, documentation.
WHY THOSE SPECIFICALLY
They are forgotten in almost every plan, and they take real time.
WHAT TO DO WITH THE BREAKDOWN
Use it to build the schedule.
