Task Management

The Task Management options are used in concert with the map's Task Info to allow you to automatically calculate and update task information on the map.

To indicate branches where task information is automatically calculated, you mark topics as roll-up topics. To create dependencies between tasks you add relationships, and you can specify a dependency type. Workdays used in calculations are derived from the Map Calendar.

Calculated task info is shown with special markers. You can choose to display at-risk and past-due tasks with special fill colors.

Mark roll-up topics

When you mark a topic as a roll-up topic, task info for the entire topic branch is calculated from the task info you've entered. Start date, Due date, Duration (if used) and % Complete (if used) are calculated for all parent topics of tasks up to and including the roll-up topic. (Resources are not used, but are retained when entered.) The calculated task info is shown with special markers.

1. Select a topic that has at least one subtopic.

2. In the Task Info pane, Task Management options, click Roll-up task info to here. Roll-up topics display a special icon .

If you are using a Task Management add-in that provides task management features (for example, Mindjet Gantt), those features will replace the MindManager task management features described here in the Task Info pane. Consult the Help for the add-in for information on using its features.

3. (Optional) Enter task info for the roll-up topic's subtopics.

You can mark a topic for roll-up only if all its subtopics have the same roll-up setting (either on or off). If only some subtopics are marked for roll-up, you cannot designate their parent as a roll-up topic. Change the roll-up settings for the subtopics to make them consistent (all roll-up or all non-roll-up).

Calculated task info

Calculated task info is shown with special markers. You cannot edit this calculated task info, but you can add and edit other task info that has not been calculated (for example, Resources).

When task info is calculated:

• All task durations are converted to days.

• All tasks with only a Start date are automatically assigned a Due date that equals the Start date and a Duration of 1 day.

• % Complete info is not required.

• % Complete can only be set for tasks with Duration > 0.

• Duration is not required. (You can eliminate the duration for a task by setting it to 0.)

• Task information on topics hidden by a filter are included in the calculation.

At-risk and past-due tasks

You can choose to use a specific topic fill color for at-risk and past-due tasks using the Task Management options.

• Select and choose colors in the Show at-risk as and Show past-due as options.

Tasks are considered at-risk if their current progress indicates that they may not be completed by their Due date. Specifically, if the period between the Start date and Due date is more than 75% elapsed, but the % complete is less than 75%., the task is marked as at-risk.

Tasks are past-due if they are less than 100% complete and their Due date is today or earlier.

Dependencies

You indicate a dependency between tasks by linking the topics with a relationship. You can choose the type of dependency using the Task Management options.

The dependency is defined using the order that you click on the tasks. While you create the relationship, think "This task (topic 1) determines that task (topic 2)", and click the tasks in that order. Topic 1 is the determining task. Topic 2 is the dependent task.

Dependencies can only be created between topics in roll-up branches. Relationships that include a topic that is not in a roll-up branch are treated as normal relationships, and do not influence the task info calculation.

Add a dependency

1. Select the determining task (the task that another task depends on), and assign a Start Date, Due Date, and Duration.

If you do not assign Due Date or Duration, during the dependency calculation, the task is given a Due Date equal to the Start Date and a Duration of 1 day.

2. On the Home tab, click Relationship.

3. Click the determining task, and then the dependent task.

Select dependency type

• Select a single dependency, or multiple topics with dependencies, then choose the dependency type.

• The dependency type is indicated by an icon on the relationship.

For the purposes of explanation, we refer to the first topic selected (the determining task) as Task 1 and the second topic selected (the dependent task) as Task 2. The task info for Task 2 is adjusted according to its dependency on Task 1.

* Only if necessary to abide by the dependency condition.

The start and due dates for the dependent task are re-calculated if needed. If the dependent task has no task info assigned to it, Start and Due dates are automatically assigned and the task is given a 1-day Duration.

Map calendar

The Map Calendar lets you specify which days should be considered as work days for this map. These settings override the workdays already defined in the Task Info options calendar. You select which days of the week are used as workdays, and add or remove holidays (non-work days) from the calendar using the Add Date and Remove Date functions.