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Methodology

One list of priorities for the whole team.

The TaskBeat methodology is an original company management concept that combines team work with projects and finances. Instead of the chaos of many lists and conflicting priorities - a clear order of tasks and a clear picture of profitability.

See how it works → Benefits for the team

We have developed the methodology for small and medium-sized teams that operate under the pressure of constant change - when the project plan or even the daily schedule of an individual employee changes. We wanted a tool that allows us to manage our work without specialist knowledge in management or accounting.

Innovation involves combining employee cooperation networks with project and financial management. Thanks to this, the organization adapts to changes faster and the team focuses on the right tasks in the right order.

This description introduces the concept itself. The methodology does not impose any specific tool - although TaskBeat is also an application that fully implements it.

Main rules

Six rules that organize team work.

The entire methodology is based on two concepts - task and budget - and on clear relationships between them.

Hierarchy of tasks

We divide complex projects into stages, tasks and steps. Each task can have as many subtasks as required by its complexity.

The order, not the deadlines

The priority is the order in which tasks are performed, not rigid time frames. The task higher on the list is more important than the one lower.

One common list

One list of priorities for the entire team, which includes the tasks of each employee. Priorities from different lists never conflict.

One owner

Each task has at most one owner - clear responsibility for completing the project, stage or task.

Task and budget

You manage everything - projects, stages, budgets, time and costs - using just two concepts: task and budget.

Tags instead of categories

You add as many tags as you want to each task and find the tasks by any tag, maintaining their order in the hierarchy.

/ 01 - Delegation

Assign tasks and close the implementation loop.

The owner determines the order of steps in his task and can delegate each step to another person. When the task is completed, it is returned to the ordering party - it is he who decides whether to close it or return it for corrections.

  • Each step can be delegated - the taker becomes the owner of the subtask
  • After completion (75%), the task is returned to the client for review
  • The requester closes the task (100%) or returns it for corrections
  • It is useful when supervising many orders at the same time
Task status · progress scale
Status = percentage complete 0–100%
0
New - 0%
No estimate, no deadline and no owner
¼
Assigned - 25%
The owner accepted the task and estimated the effort
½
In progress - 50%
Dependent work in progress or pending
¾
Completed - 75%
Ready, waiting to be checked by the ordering party
✓
Verified - 100%
Accepted and verified
/ 02 - Context and estimates

Shared workspace and reasonable estimates.

Work takes place in the Context - the team's workspace with equal rights. One company can have multiple contexts, separating departments or groups. Private tasks remain hidden from the rest of the team.

  • The estimate (time and cost) is optional and is set by the task owner
  • Subtask estimates add up to the parent task estimate
  • Breaking down tasks into small tasks uses the law of large numbers - estimation errors cancel out
  • You log time, cost and comments at any task level
Profitability of projects

You see which projects make money - and which don't.

You value each task in terms of expected revenues and costs (direct and working time). The values ​​add up up the hierarchy, giving profitability to the project and the entire portfolio.

Pricing at the task level

Expected time and cost multiplied by employee rates. The smaller the tasks, the more accurate the forecast for the entire project.

Profitability index

Profitability is the ratio of profits to costs. A score above 1.0 means the project is profitable - below that it should be changed or abandoned.

Progress weighted by effort

Task progress is calculated in proportion to the progress and workload of subtasks - a real picture, not an average of thumbs.

For a task consisting of three subtasks priced at 1, 3 and 5 hours, with progress of 20%, 40% and 60%, the total progress is ((1×0.2)+(3×0.4)+(5×0.6)) / (1+3+5) = 4.4 / 9 ≈ 49%.

At the end

TaskBeat is an original work implementation methodology that does not require any specific tool - it can be implemented in many ways. “TaskBeat” is also the name of the web application that implements this methodology.

The methodology is based on productivity research conducted by Taskscape Ltd based in London and is protected by British copyright law and international treaties. Copying, distributing or using this document - in part or in whole - requires the written consent of the owner.

Do you want to implement the TaskBeat methodology in your team?

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