Most desirable MLO features

[Andrey Tkachuk (MLO)]

If I asked you to list top 7 (seven) most desirable features you are
waiting to be implemented in MLO what it would be? Please list only
seven :)

Andrey.

P.S Please do not include PPC Active Sync since it is already in the
top list :)

[Chris]

Here's a link to the list for everyone:
http://mylifeorganized.net/products/my-life-organized/features-plan.htm#

My top 7 (only about 4 more than this that I care about):
#F315 The number of To-Do visible tasks for each place in Places
picker on To-Do tab
#F270 Dockable Windows (seeing the To-Do and Outline together)
#F107 Time spent measurement and transfer to the time spent field
#F482 Notes in Properties tab
#F481 Graphs*
#F349 Allow tasks to have start dates without due dates.
#F335 Alarms and Reminders

* For #F481 I was thinking it would be great if I setup contexts for
departments and then I could see a graph of how much time I'm spending
working on projects for each department.

--
Chris

[scoobie]

My top 7:

#F107 Time spent measurement and transfer to the time spent field

#F481 Graphs *
#F335 Alarms and Reminders
#F320 Tablet PC support - New
#F43 Field "task assigned to a person" and view by this field - New
#F7 Statistics/reporting/task tracking after completion - Open
#F10 Special view "By Places" - Open

* I raised #481 originally, to recap it was to implement something
similar to the pie charts implemented in Life Balance. First chart= a
desired split of activity between different areas (the areas being the
top level tasks) Second graph = split of tasks completed between
different areas. An example of how this would be used would be to show
the high level split of tasks completed between, say , work tasks, and
exercise and homelife. thanks

[Luciano Passuello]

Hi Andrey,

Thanks for asking. Here's my list, from most important to least.
(I did not include in this list items that are marked as "In Progress" in
the planned features page).

1. MLO-PPC feature leverage
===========================
Okay, since I am not supposed to mention ActiveSync (oops, just did it :),
the next big concern that I have is the leverage of the recent implemented
features to the PPC version. I see that MLO-PPC development is much slower,
and I believe that's because the sync feature is preventing people to widely
adopt it. I've been playing a lot with the PPC version lately, and plan to
be a heavy user of it. I absolutely love it. If PPC version can keep up at
least with the main features of Desktop, the combo will be *THE* killer
productivity app for me.
I realize that PPC is much more limited than PC and that one cannot expect
to have all desktop features in it, but I expect effort towards that
direction.

2. Better Algorithm for Computed-Score Priority
===============================================
Couldn't find a F# for this, but still tops my list. We have to make
importance normal=neutral in the algorithm and eliminate the diminishing
weight as we go deeper in the tree, otherwise the whole feature is pretty
useless. Full discussion on
http://groups.google.com/group/myLifeOrganized/browse_thread/thread/e6dde92f
3230651d?tvc=2&q=algorithm.
Too bad Bob left the discussions right before thinking more deeply about
this. I hope he's doing OK in his new venture.

3. Effort View/Filters
======================
Couldn't find a F# for this. As I understand, the Effort slider indicates
the "level of engagement" or "energy required" to do a certain task. It's
been a long time that I want to use this variable to guide my decisions on
what to do, but today the product doesn't seem to use the information at
all. The way I see it is as a filter to the to-do list, in the same way of
"time available". Sorting on it would be nice, too (see 4).

4. #F106 additional columns in to-do list and outline
=====================================================
This allows sorting, which is a big thing, IMO. Also, together with #f112
(below) it allows maximum flexibility for people to see all information that
they want, without cluttering the interface for novices. Following the
Outlook model would be great (choose columns, sort, maybe even grouping -
humm, have to think better about this last one)...

5. #F112 Ability to customize font color and icons for different types of
tasks (color coding)
============================================================================
==================
I love the ideas presented in the text of this feature request. Having
icons/colors for projects, "locked" tasks, monthly goals, etc. Icons for
bookmarks would be included here.

6. Better Goal Management
=========================
No F# for this. I think the Weekly/Monthly/Year model of goals could be
improved. Maybe allowing extra customization of goal types, maybe making it
more time-sensitive (monthly becoming weekly, weekly expiring)... I find
myself in conflict sometimes if I set a due date or make it a weekly goal,
for example. Honestly, I didn't think through this one very much yet, but I
think it is a big area of improvement in general.

7. #F20 Multiselect in the outline
==================================
Being able to set properties in multiple items at the same time, via outline
or to-do list.

Cheers!
Luciano.

[dann...@gmail.com]

Here is my top List,

1. Better reporting capabilities. Every other day I print a hard copy
of my to do list and projects so that I can work form it and then
update my computer. I am doing most of my reporting from excel. I
export the info and then manipulate it (filter, configure, print, etc)
from Excel.

2. Have an option to Delegating and remainders of when it touch bases
with each individual.

3. Better synchronization with outlook.

4. Section to keep agendas and meetings and relate them to projects.

5. option to choose to manually prioritize the to do list

6. Color coding

7. Multiple filtering capabilities on the to do list.

Thank you for a great product.

DT

[JohnP]

1) Customisable field name that can then be used in view filtering (eg
have a field called "affirmations" and use it like you can for
goal/project viewing.)
2) ability to filter out certain tasks from sync to Outlook or PDA e.g.
only tasks due in X days and exclude certain places (waiting
for/someday)
3) F10 - special view by places
4) Improved printing - eg All places categorised/sorted by choice of
places or immediate project and option to filter tasks due this week or
month
5) F515 - excluded places option
6) #F297 - Inherit parent place feature (configurable)
7) horizonatal lines/dots in printed reports so I can see associated
places/projects with task

JohnPannell.com

[Kenneth S. Rhee]

Dear myLifeO...@googlegroups.com

> On 07-Jan-2006 08:21:35, myLifeO...@googlegroups.com wrote:

> If I asked you to list top 7 (seven) most desirable features you are
waiting to be implemented in MLO what it would be? Please list only seven :)
>

I'll keep it simple.

1. Drag and drop task from MLO to Outlook Calendar for scheduling (this way
I can even schedule future items as timed events or untimed events).
2. Select an option to not sync an item to Outlook
3. Filtering for Master Outline view

I think that does it for me.

Take care,
Ken

[MomGeek]

Not necessarily in order of preference:

[1]

F#345 - Customize Project status; allow users to specify the labels
for project status,
currently: "Not Started, Suspended, Completed, In-Progress"

**please don't limit users to 4 values!!***
===================================
[2]

[New Suggestion] Rapid Entry Notes Feature for adding notes to either
new OR *existing tasks* - I would love to be able to pull up a "sticky
note"/Virtual post-it note, write notes and then select the
pre-existing
task to which I want the note added.
=============================
[3]
#F514 Lock Tasks [imho - related to #F54 Consider "do not show in todo
list" tasks as completed tasks so that the parent task shows up in ToDo
- Open]

My Note:
As I see this item, it would provide the ability to designate tasks as
parent categories.
Thinking through this a little further, how about the ability to mark
items as parent categories, and the option to include the parent
category in the to-do view with all subsequent tasks?

Yes, I do use the to-do list's formatting of task paths set as a suffix
now to do this; but it seems to me to be much more user-friendly to
give users the ability to select items as Parent Categories and select
whether or not you want parent categories to appear next to tasks in
your to-do view. Perhaps also - multiple parent categories for projects
and subjects?
===============================
[4]

#F112 - Ability to customize font color and icons for different types

of tasks (color coding)
==================================

[5]

#F10 Special view "By Places" - Open

My notes:

1) Please allow the ability to see tasks set for future due dates

2) should my #2 be implemented, the ability to see parent categories
should also be allowed; or at least implement the same feature as we
currently have in the to-do view with task paths settings
============================
[6]

Luciano's #2 - When I first started using MLO I didn't have any problem
with this due to my tree structure, but as I have added more to my
outline I have noticed this problem.

(If anyone can give hints as to how they currently structure their
outline to use the computed-score prioritization, please post them to
this list)
============================

[7] #F107 Time spent measurement and transfer to the time spent field
[or anything having to do with time tracking for tasks & projects]

============================
A feature request which doesn't necessarily thrill me:

#F482-Notes in Properties tab.
I like having a full pane for notes, thus I don't know if I would like
giving this up with the implementation of Perhaps #F138 Metadata
could replace the notes pane, and would make up for losing the notes
tab pane?

________________________

I am not Bob, by any means, but I would be happy to work on some
additional templates in his absence, if that interests anyone?

[David Rees]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: MomGeek
> Sent: Saturday, January 07, 2006 3:49 PM
> To: MyLifeOrganized
> Subject: [MLO] Re: Most desirable MLO features
>
>
...

> #F482-Notes in Properties tab.
> I like having a full pane for notes, thus I don't know if I would like
> giving this up with the implementation of Perhaps #F138 Metadata
> could replace the notes pane, and would make up for losing the notes
> tab pane?
>

As I say in
http://groups.google.com/group/myLifeOrganized/browse_frm/thread/fc59cc17c6b
9818b/1a83705a70d7b3de, I would actually like see it keep its own tab and be
on the first tab. You will never see the two fields together so I don't see
any usability or programmability problems with that.

d

[Chris]

On 1/7/06, Luciano Passuello <luci...@simplus.com.br> wrote:
> 7. #F20 Multiselect in the outline
> ==================================
> Being able to set properties in multiple items at the same time, via outline
> or to-do list.
>

I missed that one... I want to put this near the top of my list now.
I find myself holding down control to click on multiple items all the
time.

--
Chris

[David Rees]

#F316 - Filtering (outline and todo)

However, #F316 is too limited. I think we need filtering on both ToDo and Outline. And filtering should be supported based on at least place, goal type, importance, and/or project status.

http://groups.google.com/group/myLifeOrganized/browse_frm/thread/14020fa69988d82b/80e3cb8e812b3209

http://groups.google.com/group/myLifeOrganized/browse_frm/thread/6b75c2d9e2afbed4/a0a74a331251d7c2#a0a74a331251d7c2

 

 

#F112 - color/icon coding

Specifically for goals

 

 

#F? - More Weeks in By Due Date View

In "By Due Date" view show week groupings for the next 2-3 months rather than moving to month groupings.

http://groups.google.com/group/myLifeOrganized/browse_frm/thread/5164aa45580bd081/98a76ec1d4d330b1#98a76ec1d4d330b1

 

 

#F270 - ToDo and Outline together

 

 

#F482- Notes field on first tab

This is mentioned in #F270, but I consider it a separate (and much smaller) feature.

http://groups.google.com/group/myLifeOrganized/browse_frm/thread/fc59cc17c6b9818b/1a83705a70d7b3de

 

 

#F? - Default importance of 50%

http://groups.google.com/group/myLifeOrganized/browse_frm/thread/a89b1865a6b4fbba/7cfe6c49f7f743ca

 

#F51? - Hide children (but not parent) option

 

 

Thanks,

 

d

[iLiAS]

Hi Andrey, and thanks for asking.

My absolute #1: Fix importance/algorithm computation
==========================================
Luciano already mentioned this. This feature is at the heart of what
MLO is all about. It is its identity as a software. I personally have
stopped fiddling around with the importance slider (I use only urgency
now) since I my outline is several levels deep, and you know the issue
with the importance being less than "max" on deep outlines. It
seriously compromises the promise of MLO. This feature is deeply flawed
and needs to be fixed ASAP, in my opinion.

#2: Grouping ToDo list by PROJECT. ToDo list is terribly fragmented.
=====================================================
There's much talk these days about how multitasking lowers our IQ and
makes us less smart (http://www.woodtv.com/global/story.asp?s=3854335).
Also, many productivity experts stress that we need to structure our
work on a *per project* basis as a way to focus, becaure there is a
mental shift that must take place when you switch from project to
project. I can verify from my own experience that this is awefully
true.

However, in MLO, the todo list is terribly FRAGMENTED. The mental image
I get everytime I look at my todo list is that of a shuffled playlist.
Maybe that's good for music, but definitely not good for productivity
and efficiency. It is just not conducive to help you focus on any one
project at any one time. This is a big one for me.

Perhaps this could be implemented by having multiple columns in the
todo list, with wich we could sort or group on whatever column we
wanted.

#3: Feedback (Statistics/reporting/task tracking after
completion/Graphs)
==================================================
"You can't improve what you can't measure" --Peter Drucker. Enough
said.

#4: Outline filtering
================================
David already mentioned this here. The Outline is fast becoming a black
box. We need a way to filter it by a multitude of criteria (for
example, show me only tasks that have no places, or, show me only tasks
with urgency less than "normal" etc. etc.)

#5: Fiter the todo by EFFORT
================================
Luciano already mentioned this also. Effort is one of the core criteria
of task selection (David Allen seems to agree and stresses this in his
GTD book.)
If I am exchausted from staying up all night in the bouzoukia (Greek
nightclubs), then there's no reason to see those gringe,
effort-intensive tasks in my outline because I simply have no energy to
do them. Likewise, if I am full of fresh energy, I don't want my todo
list littered with trivial and easy tasks--I want to use that time to
focus on effort-intensive tasks. Right now as it stands, I am not using
the effort slider at all--the value I get from using it simply doesn't
justify bothering with it.

Well, that's it for now Andrey. The only thing I would like to ask you,
is to keep us posted on your priorities as well. It's nice to be able
to look at the horizon and see what's coming up in MLO :)

Cheers,

-ilias.

[AndyC]

My vote, and I'm not going to mention PPC ActiveSync because everyone
knows that PPC ActiveSync is already in development and that PPC
ActiveSync is going to be available Real Soon Now.

#1: Better to-do format. Group by project/hierarchy as one option, and
also fix the importance calculation. I can understand how the current
algorithm works, and why it's there. I don't know if I'm just bad at
planning, but I tend to see the bottom level Next Action and realise
that this is actually part of something really important, but it's
really at the level above that the priorities should be counted. I'd
also like to be able to break out the list by sub-places, so that my
"Calls", "Computer", and "Paper" categories (all included in @Office)
show under different headings.

I know someone else said group by project, and this would be a nice
alternative. Sometimes it's best to carry on with all the things on
one area at a time; Other time you want to progress one particular
project because you're "in the zone" on that project. Supporting both
would let you adapt to both modes of working (I know I switch between
them).

#2: Reporting/Feedback. I would like to be able to define reports like
"The To-Do for today, for this place/context, with the title "Today's
Next Actions For @Office", and then print them just be selecting the
report from a list. I'd also like to be able to print the Outline
showing just all completed actions in a specific timescale (great for
those monthly reports).

#3: I'd echo the comment about goals. I'd like to be able to set the
goals as Yearly, Quarterly, Monthly and Weekly, but to identify the
year/qtr/month/week that they're set for - and then have some kind of
"auto progression" feature so that if I have

Goal: Complete Assigned Q1 Goals - Goal for Q1 2006
Project: Do Something - Monthly Goal for Jan 2006
Subtask 1
Subtask 2
Subtask 3

I can automatically get the next subtask to come up as a weekly goal to
push goal-related activities to the top of the list.

I know that's only three items, but there's at least 7 different
features in there.
And I didn't mention ActiveSync once.

[Luciano Passuello]

One thing that AndyC mentions below is about breaking-out todo by subplaces.
This is something that I would want to have too. Sometimes I am at home, but
with the computer turned off (computer is a place included in @Home). At
that time I want to tacke the tasks that are @Home, but NOT @Computer.
Better grouping/filtering would be handy. The same applies with effort /
time-required / project.

This put me think a little bit more during the weekend.

I think what is really needed to accommodate a lot people's features is a
multi-column in todo, and allow Outlook-like sorting/grouping (drag columns,
group by this column, etc).
I noticed that the different views available in the outline should also be
available in the to-do list.
Don't get me wrong, I would love to have MLO sort the tasks automatically by
importance (better algorithm), but the ideal solution would be so that score
to be a column in the to-do on its own, that I can sort by it - but still be
able to sort/group by anything else.

Today, I find myself using the different views in the outline (by due date,
by project, etc) as the actual to-do list. That is a indicative of the
deficiencies of the to-do list, and that the concepts of the outline and the
to-do list have to be *somehow* merged.

I see this way: have views (by due date, project, etc), and choose what
visualization you want (outline or to-do), independently of the views.
I don't have the answers on exactly how to do that with good design, but
does anybody else feel the same?

[]s
Luciano.

[Daniel Walker]

I'm going to put in my lone sad vote for a more flexible/elegant system for task dependencies.  :)  Aside from that, I agree with most of what other people are mentioning - better filtering capabilities in the outline view would be nice, as would todo list filtering (or perhaps grouping?) by effort level.

-Daniel

On 1/7/06, Andrey Tkachuk (MLO) <for...@mylifeorganized.net> wrote:

[David Rees]

> -----Original Message-----
> iLiAS
> Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2006 12:29 AM
>
...

>
> #2: Grouping ToDo list by PROJECT. ToDo list is terribly fragmented.
> =====================================================

This doesn't fix what you are asking for, but I just wanted to make sure you
saw the "Encode project name" option under "To-Do list format". It allows
you to show the Project name before/after the task. I find it very handy to
get project context.

Also, I think the requested feature of seeing the Outline and ToDo together
would help a lot for what you are talking about (for me at least). Then when
you select a task you see it in the Outline and its project context right
away.

d

[David Rees]

Yes, once you have used Outlook and its flexibility for grouping and sorting
everything else seems very limited. It's not clear to me how you can use
grouping with the outline though. From my perpective there are two different
"views":

- Outline view
Filtering is key here, sorting doesn't really make sense

- List view
Sorting, grouping, and filtering all should be options

Optimally I should be able to have multiple ones of these open. So I could
have all of the following at once:
An outline view filtered for just my weekly goals
A list view grouped by place and filtered for just the week
A list view sorted by priority with place and project listed after each task
A list view grouped by week

For those who have used Ecco, one of its great features was to have up to 4
panes at once. That can be really helpful in some cases. Of course, you can
always just have the ToDo list up some of the time also.

d

> -----Original Message-----
> From: myLifeO...@googlegroups.com
> [mailto:myLifeO...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Luciano Passuello
> Sent: Monday, January 09, 2006 4:30 AM
> To: myLifeO...@googlegroups.com
> Subject: [MLO] Re: Most desirable MLO features
>
>

[Mark Levison]

My top 7 list (mostly taken from other peoples lists)

1) Multi-column outline (will provide the basis for filtering, grouping and sorting)
2) Multi-column to-do list - same reasons as above. Hopefull you will be able to implement this using the same code. As David said - see Outlook for a source of ideas on this front.
3) Computed Score algorithim made transparent and solving the "importance must be set to max at depth greater than one problem".
4) More templates for printing - specifically a review template (weekly or otherwise) - I know this is just XSLT and that with some effort (a few days) I could get most of what I want (outline in other conversations several times before).
5) As several others have mentioned better support goals (more than just week/month/year). An aging feature for goals so the longer they remain the higher they move up the to do list.
6) Alarms and Reminders
7) Calendar view or an option to export scheduled tasks to the outlook calendar. That way I would be able to see at a glance what tasks have been commited to a certain date in the future.

I hope you had great ski vacation. Let us know what effect we've had on your prioirities.

Cheers
Mark
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Blog: http://dotnetjunkies.com/WebLog/mlevison/

[jornh...@gmail.com]

Hi,

iLiAS wrote:
> #2: Grouping ToDo list by PROJECT. ToDo list is terribly fragmented.
> =====================================================
> There's much talk these days about how multitasking lowers our IQ and
> makes us less smart (http://www.woodtv.com/global/story.asp?s=3854335).
> Also, many productivity experts stress that we need to structure our
> work on a *per project* basis as a way to focus, becaure there is a
> mental shift that must take place when you switch from project to
> project. I can verify from my own experience that this is awefully
> true.
>
> However, in MLO, the todo list is terribly FRAGMENTED. The mental image
> I get everytime I look at my todo list is that of a shuffled playlist.
> Maybe that's good for music, but definitely not good for productivity
> and efficiency. It is just not conducive to help you focus on any one
> project at any one time. This is a big one for me.

This really resonates with my thinking. Being a software developer my
approach to project and task management is influenced of what's going
on in the "agile" camp with stuff like timeboxed iterations ("Sprints"
see http://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/scrum/index.php), getting
features "done-done" and the "eliminate waste" idea from Lean (Software
Development).

One way that up until now seems to work for me is setting the weekly
goal on only one big project at a time which then "floats this project
to the top" and I am focusing on that project for a period. Then after
a period I might switch to another project.

I am new to GTD and reading up on it at the moment while I'm trying out
MLO. So in fact all this fragmentation with just doing the "next
action" for each project has puzzeled me a bit. But maybe I'm
misunderstanding something with GTD?

Jørn A Hansen

[Orson Kellogg]

I have similar problems, and I work mostly within the Outline view rather than the ToDo List view. I work most productively when I spend solid focused time on one project before moving the tasks in a different project.

That's why I wish there were some way to display in the ToDo List (as an option):

- Projects sorted according to the method you've chosen
- Tasks marked as Weekly Goals
- Tasks marked with due dates.

I could see my hottest project, then switch to the outline to work through some tasks in that project.

My workaround for now is to select the first task for a given project in the ToDo List, then switch to Outline view to work on that project, not specifically the task that was highest on the ToDo List.

Best regards,

Orson Kellogg
Training Developer
Calix

orson....@calix.com
707 766-3121

www.calix.com

-----Original Message-----
From: myLifeO...@googlegroups.com [mailto:myLifeO...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of jornh...@gmail.com
Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2006 2:15 PM
To: MyLifeOrganized

[Mark Levison]

When you get a few hours a summary of your reactions, feature #'s etc. to this excellent thread would be very cool. (I'm not even sure if you're back from vacation - maybe I should just relax).

[Daniel Walker]

I'd like to take this opportunity to change my request to this: completely independent start and due dates, with the option of "none" for either of them, and the ability to select which of the three parameters (start/due/lead time) is "free."  The only aspect of timing that can filter a task off of a todo list would be a not-yet-arrived start date.

I tried to describe what I'm after for a while, then gave up and made a prototype, which I humbly submit for your review:

http://slorg.org/pics/

Default state (timing1.png ) is obvious.  Note that the ShowCheckBox property is set to true for the time fields, eliminating the seperate "Use Time" checkbox.

Timing2.png - if you want to set one date (start or due), you simply check its box (these should probably have Alt+shortcut keys assigned to them), which enables that field.  You then use the date picker as normal.

Timing3.png - if you want to set any two fields (either both dates, or a single date and lead time), check those two boxes and pick values as normal.  The unchecked field will be calculated automatically from the other two.

The three checkboxes would ideally be grouped and set up so only two checkboxes can be checked at once.  If you try to check a third, the next-to-last box checked will automatically uncheck.  For example:

1. Check start date.
2. Check lead time.  (Due date is now automatically calculated from contents of Start and Lead.)
3. Check due date.  (Start date is now automatically unchecked.)

This behavior solves the problem mentioned by Bob Pankratz in [1].

And also, there's the handy-dandy "-1 day" and "-1 week" actions for both date fields, as well as the full set (minus "today" which doesn't make sense) available for use on Lead Time as well.  Maybe nobody else cares about this part, but I think it would be handy.

Disclaimer: I am not a real programmer... but I have run a few usability tests.  Also, I will argue with anyone who might point out that I have been procrastinating for the last hour that this was a "Quadrant II" activity.  :)

Supporting threads:
[1] http://groups.google.com/group/myLifeOrganized/browse_thread/thread/88deedbab45fcd36
[2] http://groups.google.com/group/myLifeOrganized/browse_thread/thread/7ea928ee3964148e

--
Daniel Walker

[David Rees]

I think project management is the biggest gap in GTD - both the organization
of projects and the organization of milestones within a project.

d

> -----Original Message-----
> From: myLifeO...@googlegroups.com
> [mailto:myLifeO...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of
> jornh...@gmail.com
> Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2006 2:15 PM
> To: MyLifeOrganized
> Subject: [MLO] Keeping fragmentation between projects low. (was: Re: Most
> desirable MLO features)
>
>

[David Rees]

Filtering would give you the last two (some of the reasons I want it)

Project sorting is interesting. So you essentially want a "group" by project
but with the full outline under each one rather than the To Do list. Yes,
that would be nice.

All in all I think we should be moving towards losing the strong distinction
between ToDo and Outline. I think we should just be able to have multiple
panels open with different filter, group, and display (e.g. show task, show
task with children in outline) options.

d

> -----Original Message-----
> From: myLifeO...@googlegroups.com
> [mailto:myLifeO...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Orson Kellogg
> Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2006 2:20 PM
> To: myLifeO...@googlegroups.com

[David Rees]

As a potential example, Process Explorer (a free very useful utility from
http://www.sysinternals.com/) uses the basic Outlook mechanism for sorting
and column order (it doesn't have the grouping feature). When you sort on
"process" it switches to an outline for that column.

I think in our case we need to be able to choose "task in outline" or "tasks
in list", but the idea of swapping between outline and list is valid.

d

[Shoshana Sloman]

I really do like the idea of showing the to-do list in outline form.  Ideally, I'd like to be able to see parents, children, or parents and children together in outline format, for the day I am looking at (in other words, only tasks that are scheduled), in addition to the regular outline of EVERYTHING (whether it is ready to begin or not).

 

-Shoshi

---

Do you Yahoo!?
With a free 1 GB, there's more in store with Yahoo! Mail.

[julianw]

Here are my most desirable new features. Registered MLO a couple of
weeks ago since it seems like I'm now in it for 'the long haul' Cheers
Andrey

1. F297 - Inherit parent place feature (configurable)

2. F#345 - Customize Project status; allow users to specify the labels

for project status

3. F515 - excluded places option
a way of implementing @someday/maybe (Excluded places) i've been
thinking the best way of implementing this would be using boolean (like
ecco pro's filters)

4. #F21 Flag any task item AND group by flags (if you implemented a way
of excluding flagged tasks from view this would also be a way of
implementing @someday/maybe option

5. #F514 Lock Tasks

6. Enable the tab key for indenting text within the notes pane, simple
text formatting bold/underline/italic/bulletpoints would be very useful

7. Proper VGA support within MLO pocketpc, its already REALLY close
when I active the VGA brute force hack in tweaks2k2, but some screen
elements are not displayed correctly

[Simon Coles]

I've not contributed to the features list up to now because I don't have
strong preferences in terms of additional functional richness for MLO. All
the ideas suggested are good, but then again the function provided today
allows me to get stuff done very nicely. However, the feature I do want
hasn't appeared on many of the top-10s that I've read.

What I would really like is to get all my commitments into MLO so I can see
the full picture of my day. My top priority feature is "#F28 Sync
Appointments to MLO". This is listed as in progress, so perhaps people
aren't including it in their lists because they are assuming it will appear
in one of next few releases anyway. Or perhaps I'm an atypical user!

Regards,
Simon

[metroboy]

Hi Andrey,

First, a thank-you for a great program -- I am a recently-registered
user and am loving MLO!

I thought I'd give you my list of 7 desired features -- if you could
put these in, MLO would really sing for me!

1) Start date w/o due date -- #F349

2) reminders -- #F335 (I could throw Outlook;s Tasks out completely if
MLO had this!)

3) ability to quickly create a "Today" or "Current" list. I want to be
able to do this without duplicating tasks already in the outline.
Settable flags could work, or the ability to put lists into a "Current"
category as Masterlist Professional does.
(Basically, I like the weighting that occurs in the To-Do list, and I
appreciate that MLO can do the heavy lifting to figure that out for me.
However, there are some busy days when I *know* that certain tasks
have to get done, and I don't want to sift through the outline and
fiddle with their weightings until the To-Do list comes out like I know
I need it. I want to be a *partner* with MLO in setting my priorities,
instead of depending on it entirely.)

4) Have the MLOTimeMin field map to the Total Work field in Outlook. I
am trying to use Takline to schedule my tasks, and it would be great to
do the data entry for this in MLO instead of Outlook.

5) Time tracking for tasks - #F107 -- Again, I need to get a grip on
how long it takes me do to projects, and learn how to estimate my time
better. The open source software ToDoList has a time tracking element
for each task that I'd love to see in MLO.

6) Hierarchical To Do list with projects visible. As many others have
mentioned, this would help immensely in keeping my focus throughout the
day. (Again, it's part of including the user in the To Do List instead
of making it a prescription from MLO).

7) Better algorithm for computed score priority. I currently keep my
todo list on the hierarchical setting until this is fixed.

Nick

[Andrey Tkachuk (MLO)]

Hi ALL,

Thanks to all participants in the MLO top-7 survey. I really
appreciate your feedback.

I have compiled the results to the simple spreadsheet (will be sent
separately) for future references. To simplify things a little, only
features which had been discussed earlier were added to the
spreadsheet. Each feature got individual score which is based on the
position in your lists.

How will I use this data?

I will use this information while planning next development iterations.
It does not automatically mean, however, that a feature which got
higher score in the list will be implemented first since there are
number of factors I need to consider before start implementation.
However this information will help me to determine the general
direction of the development.

How features are planned for development? Why feature X has not been
implemented yet?

When selecting features for the next iterations I have to consider
different factors such as:
1) Is everything ready to implement this feature (internal subsystems
and another features which needed first)
2) How new feature affect existing and planned functionality.
3) How new feature affect Pocket PC edition and Outlook sync.
4) Do I have enough inspiration and energy to start designing this
particular feature?

For example, the feature "Auto sync MLO<->Outlook periodically" have
been on "In Progress" list for some time. Once I started it I realized
that it depends on the robust internal mechanism "internal timer" as
well as on some usability issues. The same "timer" mechanism is needed
for Alarms and Reminders. This is why these features will probably come
together.
Another example is "Task Archiving". Once we implemented internal
mechanism for MLO Desktop <-> MLO-PocketPC synchronization it took me
just a few hours to connect to use it in Archiving and we got long
desired feature.
And finally such features as Outline/ToDo Filtering, Columns, Reporting
depend on integrating of new TreeView component to MLO.

Thanks again for your thoughtful feedback and looking forward to
working with all of you on improving MLO.

Andrey.

P.S. The next things I have the most inspiration for are Alarms and
some parts of Color Coding. Seems everything is ready for this...

[Andrey Tkachuk]

the spreadsheet is attached.

--
Sincerely,
Andrey Tkachuk
www.myLifeOrganized.net, Ukraine

Please join MLO discussion on Google:
http://groups.google.com/group/myLifeOrganized

MLO features plan:
http://www.mylifeorganized.net/products/my-life-organized/features-plan.htm

What people say on forums about MLO:
http://www.mylifeorganized.net/products/my-life-organized/what-people-say.ht
ml

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Andrey Tkachuk (MLO) [mailto:for...@myLifeOrganized.net]
> Sent: Saturday, February 04, 2006 4:03 PM
> To: MyLifeOrganized
> Subject: Re: Most desirable MLO features
>

[Kenneth S. Rhee]

Dear myLifeO...@googlegroups.com

> On 04-Feb-2006 09:02:46, myLifeO...@googlegroups.com wrote:

> Thanks to all participants in the MLO top-7 survey. I really appreciate
your feedback.
>
> I have compiled the results to the simple spreadsheet (will be sent
> separately) for future references. To simplify things a little, only
features which had been discussed earlier were added to the spreadsheet.
Each feature got individual score which is based on the position in your
lists.
>

Thanks for doing this.

Looking forward to improvement in the future.

Take care,
Ken

[lagsalot]

#F315 The number of To-Do visible tasks for each place in Places
picker on To-Do tab
#F270 Dockable Windows (seeing the To-Do and Outline together)
#F481 Graphs*