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Project Workflow Guide

Managing multi-task initiatives from planning to completion.

Quick Navigation

Creating Projects

Using Create Project Button

  1. Open area note in Reading Mode
  2. Click "Create Project"
  3. Fill form:
    • Label: Project name
    • Status: ems__EffortStatusBacklog (default)
    • Area: Auto-filled

Result: projects/project-build-api.md created with:

---
exo__Instance_class: ems__Project
exo__Asset_label: Build API Server
ems__Effort_area: "[[Development]]"
ems__Effort_status: "[[ems__EffortStatusBacklog]]"
---

# Build API Server

REST API for mobile app.

Manual Creation

---
exo__Instance_class: ems__Project
exo__Asset_label: [Project Name]
ems__Effort_area: "[[Area Name]]"
ems__Effort_status: "[[ems__EffortStatusBacklog]]"
ems__Effort_votes: 0
---

# [Project Name]

## Objective
[What success looks like]

## Key Deliverables
- [ ] Deliverable 1
- [ ] Deliverable 2

## Timeline
Target: [Date or Quarter]

Project Lifecycle

States

Draft → Backlog → Analysis → ToDo → Doing → Done

Same as tasks, but:

  • Backlog: Awaiting resource allocation
  • Analysis: Defining scope, tasks, timeline
  • ToDo: Ready to start (tasks created)
  • Doing: Active work on tasks
  • Done: All tasks completed

Typical Duration

Status Duration Percentage Complete
Draft 1-7 days 0%
Backlog Weeks to months 0%
Analysis 1-5 days 0-10%
ToDo Days to weeks 10-20%
Doing Weeks to months 20-95%
Done Permanent 100%

Task Management

Creating Project Tasks

  1. Open project note
  2. Click "Create Task" repeatedly for each work item
  3. Tasks auto-link to project via ems__Effort_project

Breaking Down Projects

Good project = 5-15 tasks

Too few tasks (<3):

  • May not need project structure
  • Consider converting to single task

Too many tasks (>20):

  • Break into milestones
  • Create multiple projects
  • Group related tasks

Example: API Server Project

Build API Server (Project)
├── Set up Node.js environment (Task)
├── Configure Express server (Task)
├── Build /users endpoint (Task)
├── Build /posts endpoint (Task)
├── Implement authentication (Task)
├── Write API tests (Task)
├── Deploy to staging (Task)
└── Deploy to production (Task)

Tracking Progress

Progress Calculation

Exocortex doesn't auto-calculate progress. Track manually:

Option 1: Checklist in content

## Progress

- [x] Environment setup
- [x] Express configuration
- [ ] User endpoint
- [ ] Post endpoint
- [ ] Authentication
- [ ] Tests
- [ ] Deployment

Option 2: Add progress property

ems__Effort_progress_percentage: 40

Option 3: Count completed tasks

  • 3 / 8 tasks done = 37.5% complete

Project Dashboard

View project status from project note:

Asset Relations section shows:

  • All child tasks
  • Status of each task
  • Vote counts
  • Scheduled dates

Sort by status to see:

  • What's done
  • What's in progress
  • What's blocked

Daily Project View

Schedule entire project to daily note:

ems__Effort_scheduled_start_date: "2025-11-10"

Daily Projects section shows:

  • Project and all its tasks
  • Task statuses
  • Quick access to start tasks

Project Completion

Completion Criteria

Project is done when:

  • All tasks completed or archived
  • Deliverables met
  • Documentation updated
  • Stakeholders notified

Marking Project Done

  1. Verify all tasks complete
  2. Click "Mark Done" on project note
  3. Add completion summary in content:
## Completion Summary

**Completed**: 2025-11-15
**Duration**: 3 weeks
**Tasks**: 8 completed, 2 archived (out of scope)

### Outcomes
- API deployed to production
- 95% test coverage
- Documentation published

### Lessons Learned
- Authentication took longer than expected
- Should have split user/post endpoints into separate stories

Post-Completion

  • Project remains in relations
  • Tasks remain accessible
  • Archive project if needed (optional)

Best Practices

Project Naming

Good:

  • "Build Mobile App"
  • "Migrate to Kubernetes"
  • "Launch Marketing Campaign Q4"

Bad:

  • "Project 1" (not descriptive)
  • "Do stuff" (vague)
  • "Fix things" (use task instead)

Project Scope

Clear scope indicators:

  • Specific objective
  • Defined deliverables
  • Measurable success criteria
  • Time-bounded (even if flexible)

Scope creep warning signs:

  • Tasks keep getting added
  • No clear completion criteria
  • "One more feature" syndrome

Fix: Create new project for scope additions

Vote on Projects

Prioritize projects within area:

  1. Open area note
  2. View all projects in Asset Relations
  3. Vote on high-value projects
  4. Move top-voted to Analysis

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Milestone Projects

For large initiatives:

Phase 1: MVP
├── Core features (Project)
├── Basic UI (Project)
└── Alpha testing (Project)

Phase 2: Enhancement
├── Advanced features (Project)
├── Polish UI (Project)
└── Beta testing (Project)

Pattern 2: Epic Projects

Group related projects under area:

Mobile App Development (Area)
├── iOS App (Project)
├── Android App (Project)
├── Backend API (Project)
└── Shared Components (Project)

Pattern 3: Recurring Projects

Quarterly/annual projects:

Q4 2025 Marketing (Project)
├── Content calendar (Task)
├── Social media campaigns (Task)
├── Email newsletters (Task)
└── Analytics review (Task)

Clone for next quarter, update dates.

Quick Reference

Essential Properties

exo__Instance_class: ems__Project
exo__Asset_label: [Name]
ems__Effort_area: "[[Area]]"
ems__Effort_status: "[[ems__EffortStatusBacklog]]"
ems__Effort_votes: 0
ems__Effort_scheduled_start_date: "YYYY-MM-DD"  # optional

Common Commands

Action Command/Button
Create project Area note → "Create Project" button
Create task Project note → "Create Task" button
Change status Status buttons or Command Palette
Vote "Vote" button
Schedule "Plan on Today" button

Next: Daily Planning → | Back to Task Workflow