gtg-contributors team mailing list archive

[meg ford <meg387@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Alex,

I really like these! The task view seems a little too complicated,
though, but a really good start! I'm sure your ideas will be clearer
after a few more iterations. Ask in GNOME design, too! They can give
you some tips about how to simplify the view.

Meg

2012/4/9 Izidor Matušov <izidor.matusov@xxxxxxxxx>:
> Hi Alex,
>
>
>>  From my current point of view, i see two possible directions for GTG:
>> 1. Light and simple To-Do App (like Wunderlist)
>> 2. Powerful and feature loaded Task Manager (like Producteev)
>>
>> Considering our opportunities, i would say, that option #1 is the one to
>> go with.
>
>
> AFAIK, Lionel and Bertrand's original goal was #1. I would also say that is
> the way to go. However, some features and power could be added as a plugin.
>
>
>> If we want to compete to other To-Do Apps for linux, we have to focus on
>> two things:
>>
>> 1. Fluent integration in the Gnome 3 desktop
>> 2. Easy syncronisation between GTG and external To-Do Apps.
>
>
> We talk on features/wireframes level, don't we? I completely agree with you.
> The internal side of synchronization must be reworked to be as easy as
> possible, I am working on it. I see it more the problem of underlaying
> layout of GTG and not so big problem of UI.
>
>
>> Allen (Day) wrote me a few days ago and he said that the app name
>> "(Task) Manager" would make him think of work. Maybe we should simply
>> call it "To-Do" instead?
>
>
> I agree, there is already a bug for it:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/gtg/+bug/962649
>
>
>> The manifesto goal #1 states, that "it makes sure you never forget
>> anything and you never miss a deadline.". This is not the case, since i
>> have to remember to open GTG in order to get remembered of my tasks. I
>> wouldn't call this "never".
>> I think GTG needs a deamon, which starts on computer startup and tries
>> to remind you of your tasks, even if GTG is not opened. This deamon
>> should be fully integrated in the Gnome 3 Desktop. It should show you
>> your next Tasks in the calendar applet and it should be able to make
>> notifications 30 to 60 seconds after the computer start.
>
>
> Amazing idea! I would love it to use! GTG includes separate code for the
> daemon but it still communicate directly to those parts. We are waiting with
> the total split and I think implementation of a new design is a great
> opportunity for that.
>
> I propose to show first N tasks directly in the calendar window and a link
> to the show other tasks in GTG. (see calendar.png)
>
> Should it be integrated with regular Calendar window which also has Today,
> Tomorrow. It might be confusing to see those categories twice next to each
> other.
>
> Implementation question: Would it make more sense to have it as an GNOME
> extension or real notification daemon? My guess is GNOME extension with GTG
> running in daemon mode would be more appropriate. (I haven't written any
> extension yet)
>
>
>> The first wireframe shows the new start screen (Summary), which aims to
>> achive manifesto goal #2 "Focus on what's relevant" and goal #4 "Avoid
>> procastination".
>>
>> The start-screen contains information about the most relevant tasks
>> depending on your time and deadlines. It should also show something that
>> motivates the user to get tasks done. The start screen provides an
>> overview of my current situation. I can easily see how much tasks i
>> should do today and how much I've already completed. It could also
>> contain some motivational phrases.
>>
>> The Start Screen concept isn't finished yet, because i've read a nice
>> book about game machanics and want to try to get some of these into GTG,
>> to make it fun to complete tasks.
>
>
> Having game mechanics in GTG, yay! There was some discussion about start
> screen. It seems to be a good idea but nobody convinced me what should be on
> start screen. (I also don't have any idea) GTG should have start screen only
> if it adds something cool / important. Otherwise it goes against the simple
> direction #1. It would add a step to show the list of tasks what is the most
> important feature of GTG. We need to work on statistics/nice graphs but
> maybe not as a start screen.
>
>> The second wireframe shows normal state, with primary toolbar (top)
>> tag-sidebar (left) and plugin-toolbar (bottom).
>>
>> *Inbox View:* The Inbox-view contains all tasks, imported from other
>>
>> to-do programms, such as Remeber The Milk etc. If you add notes, assign
>> dates etc. the tasks get moved out of the inbox.
>
>
> So the Inbox would replace Tasks without Tags? (Which I and few other people
> abuse as an inbox) More cleaner way would be wait until user edits a task
> for the first time. I see a possible confusion: I open a task, make a first
> edit, switch to another task to check a detail and want to make a second
> edit on the task but it is not there. Would it be worth the risk?
>
> I propose to get rid of special tags "All Tasks" and "Tasks without Tags"
> and make other tags as a checkboxes to select one or more tags.
>
>
>> Just an Idea:
>> It would be great if you would be able to send yourself emails with a
>> special subject (e.g. "@GTG: My Task") which would then land in the
>> Inbox for further editing.
>
>
> Synchronization with e-mail is in the plan, coming sooooooooooon :-)
>
>
>> *Focus View:* The Focus-view behaves like the current work view.
>> *Scheduled: *This view shows you all your tasks in a chronological order.
>
>
> I would like to propose a special representation of tasks for this mode.
> Instead of showing them as list items, I makes more sense to have a
> timeline, Gantt diagram or customized calendar.
>
> The use case: I want to find what I have to work on/how busy I am on week
> 15. (Goal #2: "Focus on what's relevant")
>
> Gantt diagram in Planner:
> https://live.gnome.org/Planner/Screenshots?action=AttachFile&do=get&target=gantt.png
>
> My wireframe: see timeline.jpg
>
> We would have to create this widget ourselves.
>
>
>> Since i wanted to focus on synchronization-abilities, i moved the
>> sync-button to the right side of the primary toolbar. If you klick on
>> this button the first time, it will open an account selection dialog,
>> where you can enter your account details of external services. It should
>> maye show some text, which explains all the sync-stuff and tell you,
>> that you can add more accounts later in the options.
>
>
> Do you think that synchronization is so important that it need a button on
> the main toolbar? I opened that dialog only few times to setup
> synchronization and then forget about it. In the optimal case,
> synchronization should work without explicit request from user (i.e.
> synchronize every 10 mins) and it would mean to give the user really
> expensive "save" button - every service has limited number of API requests.
>
>
>> The idea is, that GTG would handle tasks, like other Gnome 3 apps handle
>> files. If you click/tap on a task, it will open the edit-view, where you
>> can edit your tasks, set another title, tags and dates.
>
>
> I am against having special fields for Title and Tags. What makes GTG so
> special is great editor which is simple to use with keyboard. There should
> be buttons for managing tags, subtasks but not special fields for Tittle and
> Tags.
>
> I miss "mark as done" button. It could be on the right side of the toolbar.
>
>
>> My current approach is highly "inspired" by Gmail, but i think this is a
>> very nice way to display the tasks.
>>
>> The hight of a single task should be around 40px, so its easy to target
>> on touch devices. The first three buttons are "Mark as done", "Priorize"
>> and "Expand/Collapse". I hope the rest oft the design is
>> self-self-explanatory.
>>
>> For the sub- and sub-sub-tasks, i  used darker shades of grey, to
>> symbolize, that you are going deeper in the hirarchy.
>>
>> I know, there is no extra place for a starting date, but if there is a
>> starting date assinged and the task hasn't started yet, we could just
>> display "Starts at:" instead of the due date.
>
>
> That design was almost achieved in the current GTG :-)
>
> When the high of a single task should be around 40px, why not split the task
> and show it on two lines? It would make more space for preview text, start
> date could be also shown. 20px for a line should be enough.
>
> At the first glance, I didn't realize the color of subtasks and neither it's
> meaning. The background color of subtasks should be reserved for mixing from
> tags what is a killer feature for some people (Lionel loves it and won't let
> to get rid of it). Another meaning of background color might be a status of
> task: Due today (over due), active, done, dismissed.
>
> What about using drag and drop for prioritizing instead of a button? Using
> drag and drop would:
>  * result in a finer precision - I would like to done this task before
> another
>  * it is more natural to decide if a task is more important than another one
> than say this task has priority 1, 2, or 3 (it could be still done as a tag)
>  * save space and clutter in UI
>
> Thanks for your mockups.
>
> Izidor
>
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