PROJECT MANAGEMENT

One of the strongest tools included in the Zaurus is the ability to link (or associate) selected entries to other entries located within the Zaurus's memory. Harnessing this ability is the principle feature behind the Project Manager.

A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE FIELDS

The Projects File ties together all related data into one section that you may go to for a "snapshot" of any project currently in progress even though there may be various notes, contacts, letters and to do's related to that project. The fields are setup into 10 sections (Figure 1). The first, "Description" is used to name the project and may include a brief description if necessary (I usually use this section for the name only and include the description in the "Goals" field.). You can see figure 3 for an example of this. The second field, the "ID #" identifies the project. Depending on what kind of projects you work on, this field may not be as useful, but it is still a good way to track your projects. The next field, the "Start Date" is very important for obvious reasons. Next is the "End Date" equally important. Together the Start and End Date fields make sorting projects simple and enables you to follow your projects with out surprises. "Priority" is critical! You should use four levels of priorities. H are High priority items. These are the most critical projects! M are Medium priority. And S are Low or small priority items. ("L" could not be used for Low priority items because when you sort by priority the "L's" would come before the "M's" causing confusion). The last priority level is X or complete (done) items. By using these letters, when you sort by priority, every thing floats into place. H at the top M in the middle and S priorities last. Followed only by the X entries. The Goals field is followed by the POC/Team field. This field is used to identify all individuals assigned to the project. Status field is used to keep track of the current status of the project. For example, s-Scheduled means it is scheduled to start or s-Pending might be used if the project is held up for some reason, s-In Progress for a current project, s-planning for a project in the planning stages, or you could use s-Done once the project is complete. Notice the "s" in front of the status type. This is for using the "Word Key" when entering this data. By placing a "s" in front you cause all the "status items to be grouped in the word list so entering them is easier. (More information can be found on using the "Word List" at the "Almighty Zaurus Forum" under "How I use my Zaurus". I will also be elaborating on this strong tool at a later date.) The Information field is for miscellaneous information. And the Notes section is for pasting information in scrap book form or pictures that are related since you cannot link that information.

SETUP FIELDS

The first thing you need to do is set up the fields in one of your Data Files to be used as a project manager.

  1. Go to Data Files Select the Data Files section by touching the "Data Files" icon.
  2. Choose Which Field You Will Use Touch the "Setup" icon next and choose the Data File you will use as your project management file. (Data File 1, 2, or 3)
  3. Name The File Next, rename the file "PROJECTS" and set the number of fields to 10.
  4. Set Field Names Set the field names as follows:

Figure 1

  1. Set The Index Form Set the index form as follows:

Figure 2

6. Set The Field Index Names First field should be set to: PRIORITY

Second field should be: DESCRIPTION

Third field should be: START DATE

The hard part is over. You are now done with the set up. But let me take a moment to explain how well this works. The Following section is very important!

HOW IT WORKS

Figure 3

Figure 3 shows how each entry would be made. Now where the beauty of this system comes in is in the linking! Every entry you make in your Zaurus related to the project you generated or create from the Projects Data File. That means, if for example, you wanted to enter a to do related to the project, you would go the the Projects Data File instead of the To Do section and enter your To Do in the Projects Field and automatically link it at the same time. Like this:

  1. Go to and open the project from the Project Data File.
  2. From the "Full View" of your projects entry, touch the "Links" icon on the top menu bar.
  3. Select "New Link Entry" from the pull down menu.
  4. Touch the "To Do" icon from the icon menu.
  5. Touch the "New" box.
  6. Enter your to do entry.

After you are done, you can check your entry in the Projects Data File by going back to the Projects Field and from the "Full View" of your projects entry, do a 2nd W on your keyboard (ZR-5000 do not have this short cut. They must go to the "Links" icon and select "Show Linked Entries from the pull down menu). You will see your screen split into two sections, the top will show your Project and the bottom will show all your linked entries including the new To Do you just completed. Now, when that To Do is completed you can check it off right from your projects view (just touch the little box), no need to go to the To Do section. Of course you may still link any item the regular way, but I would recommend doing everything from the Projects Data File, that way you can avoid going back and linking it later.

CONCLUSION

If this sounds complicated, it's really not! After a little practice you will be managing your project better than you thought possible! If you have any questions just send me e-mail and I will help anyway I can!