How-to... General information about TaskPack

  • TaskPack is the basic building block of the process.
  • A process is made up of interconnected TaskPacks.

TaskPack is a specific form of procedure. 

The purpose of a TaskPack is to group tasks whose execution ultimately results in a new product or service increment.

See the document: How-to... Principle of process construction.

The instructions in the TaskPacks should contain the best experiences and practices in the company on how to perform a task. The fastest, simplest, safest, cheapest, best quality, etc.

A process is made up of interconnected TaskPacks. TaskPacks are interconnected by their own special tasks that achieve that connection. We mark them as "input" tasks and "result" tasks.

Information about one TaskPack can be placed in 5 sections:

  • General information
  • Tasks
  • Norm
  • Info
  • Profile/Doer

Here we will describe in more detail:

General information about TaskPack

Name

The name of a TaskPack should be crafted to:

a) Specify the action to be performed

b) Identify the subject matter on which the action will be performed.

For instance, as illustrated in the How-to... Principle of Process Construction example:

a) Format

b) Lumber

The combination of the chosen action in the imperative mood and the subject matter should clearly convey the expected outcome of the TaskPack.

In the example provided, this results in the name:

Format Lumber

Such a naming convention is essential for ensuring that the purpose of the TaskPack is immediately clear and recognizable.

Result / Increment

The end result of the TaskPack can also be specified. The main result is a new incremental version of the product or service. If the name of the TaskPack clearly refers to the result, it is not even necessary to specify the Result / Increment separately.


In the example, it is:

Formatted lumber


There are rare cases when one TaskPack can produce two or more main results. For example, when we cut lumber into two parts, one of which is used for the production of a toy and the other for the production of a kitchen cutting board.

Secondary results and multiple main results should be avoided. We do this by splitting the TaskPack into two or more shorter TaskPacks. But sometimes it can be counterproductive, ie. to slow down the process.

Control / Approval Tags

In the process, it is very important that the control points we set are clearly marked. TaskPaks that have such a function should be marked separately.


Control

We have two types of tags to control:

  • (ctrl) – This tag indicates the TaskPack that must be controlled.
  • [CTRL] – This tag indicates the TaskPack that controls this previous one.

See more: How-to... Checkpoints in a process

Approval


Similarly, we have tags for approvals:

  • (appr) – This flag indicates the TaskPack whose result should be approved.
  • [APPR] – This tag indicates a TaskPack that approves the result of the previous one.

Note

We should keep in mind that each control point, along with its advantages, also has a disadvantage, which is that it slows down the process. That is why control points should be placed carefully.

Worksites

If necessary, TaskPack can be linked to a specific "worksite" in the company.

For example, we have TaskPacks related to activities in retail stores and they are the same for all. But if a retail store has certain specifics, such as the fact that it does not have glass windows because it is located in a shopping center while the others on the street have them, then a specific TaskPack can be attached to that one or more retail stores as work units.

Note

Worksites are defined in the Doers > Worksites module.