TASK-MANAGEMENT APPS

List of Apps

Trello Basecamp 2 Pivotal Tracker Asana JIRA Wunderlist TeamWork LeanKit Any.Do Todoist Kanban Flow Streaks Google Tasks

General I choose for analysis:

Asana Jira Any.Do

ASANA

- the status message of the task completion is not distinct (see screenshot to the left) - there is no undo option to restore the completion - you can edit completed tasks, which is not a good feature to my personal opinion. completed task should have a sense of accomplishment and editing it after completion is somewhat cheating:-)

Feature: CRUD tasks (create, update, delete)

- creating anything in Asana is conducted through + icon, which is distinct by the bright color - there is no validation for empty fields when you create a task, the more you hit enter button,

the more empty tasks without subjects are created below, which creates a mess (see here http://prntscr.com/agayok), I believe adding validations on Subject at least would solve the issue.

- I like the feature of making tasks private/public. This makes the app balance between being a personal task manager, as well as the group work tracker

- when you hit “add task” , the task is automatically added to the section or place on the screen, where you have been before, this is not a good practice , since you spend time searching with your eyes , where you were before :-) there should be a default place to collect all created tasks

- deleting or copying task is a trick, since the action links are quite hidden, I would add these to important icons to the dashboard.

- overall lacking error prevention and intuitive guidance in creating tasks results in somewhat messy dashboard (more on this next)

- the calendar is a very useful feature, but clicking on any field or date opens the window of creating a new task. not sure the purpose of this, I am just viewing what I have on my plate for today, I do not want to create a new task.

Feature: Dashboard and Categories - “My tasks” board - there is no clear categorization and system state, it is hard to

understand from the view what project are we working on, what are deadlines and priorities.

- Jumping between filters does not help in orientation where we are

- the “Files” section of the dashboard is useless, viewing files which were attached to tasks from different sections and projects without categorixation is not helpful at all.

- the search field is emphasized on the screen too much, the main purpose of the dashboard as a landing page is to view tasks and categories, but not search smth (because it is not a e-commerse website);

- sorting feature works good, actually it is the only way to view tasks per project :-) . The bad thing - the sorting feature is hard to find. You have to: click a very blurred link “View”, find “Customize View” and click on it, “sort” and then “sort by projects”. Too much steps and not intuitive for first-time users.

- to find Team work and conversation you have to go to the left side dashboard , find a team and then click on Group conversations.

Feature: Conversations and Team work

- Creating conversation from + icon: we see from the screenshot, that my dialog was created, but it is not clear where can I view it. Again drawback from Asana - not clear where the things are and where to find them :-)

- there is a separate conversation menu for every project , which also requires steps to find it, would be nice to have a general dashboard of all dialogs and updates.

- each member of the team can update project status, based just on three color icons. No calculations are made, so just subjective opinion of each member,and no error prevention. My thought is, there must be hierarchy of permissions on editing project. Ideally, the status of the project should be calculated automatically based on due dates and tasks progress.

- good feature on commenting on the tasks

- cross-functional - can be used as a personal task manager, as well as a project tracker

Conclusion

- simple, does not require additional configurations (unlike Jira)

- view tasks by due dates on calendar is very useful

- lack of general categories, default and versatile dashboard views makes it a “lost-and-found” game :-)

- too much steps to find links to some basic actions or sort out tasks, a lot of hidden functionalities which should be very obvious to users

good stuff

not so good stuff

- has conversations feature, which is great for team collaboration

- low level on error prevention and defense against unintended random actions.

- confirmation messages should be more distinct

JIRA

- the View mode of the issue is full of necessary information, including statuses, assignees and even commits from github

- main action buttons like “Edit” are distinct - because Jira works by workflows, you can change the status of the task easily,

which in addition prevents you from mistakes. Changing statuses is equal to undo action if you closed task unintentionally.

Feature: CRUD tasks (create, update, delete)

- Pre-defined fields , dropdowns with pre-configured categories is a great stuff. - Validation on mandatory fields is a great stuff. - Automatically appears on the chosen board and project - comes in an overlay, which covers the page - great stuff, since you are not distracted, but focused on

this particular task

- alerts on delete actions help to prevent errors.

- one thing I would add is viewing hierarchy of issues in relation to main epics and stories

- options on the left side bar are hidden behind icons, which is not distracting you from main focus - task board

Feature: Dashboard and Categories

- clean, categorized view, describing workflow

- has options for customizing view and configuring columns

- has filtering options which are easy to customize

- Jira has lots of dashboard options - Kanban, Scrum

- main dashboard is highly customizable and functional. - views across different projects using lists, charts, graphics - all calculations are made automatically - has activity stream, which shows last comments and changes in tasks

- Comments are made without reactions, emotions and attachments. (attaching image automatically adds it to description field, which is not always a purpose)

Feature: Conversations and Team work

- Jira has no options for chats and dialogs, but you can integrate Atlassian tool - HipChat, which is not as popular as Slack.

- the strict comments UI shows the issue-based approach to collaboration, not the conversational and chatty one.

- great stuff on dividing roles and permissions

- profile configuration is not customizable, and requires only your image and name, which again shows that the app is not intended to be a social-networking one

- no fancy social networking (which again is great in software development, since chatting and issue tracking should be separated)

Conclusion

- everything about Jira is a good stuff in terms of using it in agile project management and software development

- clean minimal UI

- requires lots of configuration at the beginning, but once you managed it, it does all calculations and workflows for you

- it is an enterprise solution for teams on basis of workflows, but it is not a PERSONAL task manager. it has no options for personalization and rather strict UI

good stuff

not so good stuff

- preconfigured calculations and project building with lots of options for customization - self generated reports with charts and statistics - integrations with third-party solutions, extensive API

- would be nice to change the views of dashboard and tasks to be able to add some personal flare (like changing background color, font colors or adding some black skins to it! )

- their mobile version is not working properly, but I know that it is something they work on right now

ANY.DO (MAC DESKTOP APP)

Feature: CRUD tasks (create, update, delete)

- if we hit + button to create a list, we see that the active field is too pale, the action area should be more bright - great feature on making the task recurring and sending reminders

- minimal view with drag-and-drop functionality - to edit task you have to click on its name, but the cursor does not show it is actionable , so would be nice to highlight the text or add some effect - completed tasks are crossed, but there is no option to undo the action

- minimalism in everything :-) I like it :-) You have to state at first what you want to do, and then only edit or add sub-tasks if you want.

- use of icons instead of links and words (however most of UX papers say that this is a drawback rather)

Feature: Dashboard and Categories

- layout is organized by general categories to emphasize what`s important

- filtering, search, sorting is here under icons with pop-up hints

- Minimal design

- great solution on showing/hiding sidebars - blurring unimportant areas gives us sense of focus and clarity of navigation - the categories are highly customizable - it would be nice to add more filtering options (like “Tasks completes in the

Sports category” etc)

- the general dashboard lacks some insight on priority and deadline tasks

- the app signals the tasks for today

- has “import contacts” feature

Feature: Conversations and Team work

- The lists and boards are invitation-based

- sharing is only by email - no social icons clutter (which is a big + for me)

- has “assign” and “notes” functionality

- just awesome minimal clean functional app, no clutter, no distractions

Conclusion

- no fancy social networks crap (like icons, and sharing each and every breath of yours)

- not for big teams, and definitely not for agile project management.

- no options for customizing color scheme, the layout is a bit pale, especially at daylight

good stuff

not so good stuff

- simple categorization for day-to-day tasks, lists and work-related issues - desktop notifications and reminders can simply substitute a calendar - sync with mobile application - my favourite :-)

- general dashboard could be more informative with more options for filtering

- this is a PERSONAL task management solution and reminder, with possibility to share and collaborate