Zengobi Forums

mnmcook · Joined: 31 May 2009 Posts: 196 Location: Pennsylvania

I saw in the Mac App store today a collection of Apps highlighted and advertised in a "Get Stuff Done collection -- Apps for Productive People".

I don't know how these are selected but it's too bad Curio Core isn't grouped there. Maybe it's viewed "only" as a "notebook" app for those unfamiliar with it. I certainly find Curio Pro very helpful in being productive all day long. I'm sure the Core version would likely be as helpful as most of the apps shown there.

Maybe the productive aspects of Curio aren't as obvious as a "task manager" -- they come about from the freedom, creativity, visual / cue dimensions and rely on one's organizational skills and use of these features as well as sections, folders, idea space structure, and tags. The task management capabilities in the Pro version certainly make it equivalent to any "task manager" however and I think the dossier feature further lends organizational structure as well that can assist productivity.

jjweimer · Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 5:38 pm Post subject:

I have only started using Curio for managing projects. In one case, I have been using a Kanban-style board that I developed in Curio to track the status of my ongoing projects. That system does not use any of the project feature in Curio, though it could in a future development. In another example, I have created smaller level Kanban-type boards and tied "outcomes" that flow on the board to project-center features in Curio. In particular, I set due dates on the outcomes so that I can track them in the Project Center.

IMO, the big step to allow one to showcase Curio as an equally competitive tool for doing GTD or task management will be when it integrates more closely with one of the existing tools for doing this, such as OmniFocus (and other OmniGroup apps), Things, The Hit List, ... pick your favorite here.

--
JJW

mnmcook · Joined: 31 May 2009 Posts: 196 Location: Pennsylvania

How is Kanban in Curio working out for you? Do you like it better than usual Agile process? I've read some of the material around Kanban and comparisons but have no real experience with it.

I would like some closer integration with Curio and other PM apps as well so that I could use them a bit more seamlessly between iPad and desktop. I've played around with a few of the iOS apps and do wish it was a bit more seamless. Unfortunately right now I've got a bit of a mix of both mobile & desktop.

Though I would like a seamless task management experience, I wouldn't dismiss the project management capability. I've certainly tried a number of other apps that profess to have that seamless sync capability and usually find them wanting.

The project management features in Curio seems pretty robust to me and allows me to work across many projects with the advantage of the immediate context of the project idea space at hand. It doesn't matter/depend on whether you want to use GTD or any other "system", but you can if you like.

I like it because of the flexibility I may choose to have the tasks within a mind map for one project or a list or even just a simple text entry on an idea space - whatever I choose. That's nice since you may make them during a brainstorming session or decide you need one when you are in the middle of something other phase of the project without having to go back to the mind map or other table. May seem a bit "scattered", but the Status Shelf brings it all together and easily lets me navigate to any task of interest and the context of the task is immediately apparent.

But as you say, it's pretty much confined to the desktop. However to my original points, I think Curio is a great productivity (& creativity) tool for me.

jjweimer · Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 2:13 pm Post subject:

mnmcook · Joined: 31 May 2009 Posts: 196 Location: Pennsylvania

Thanks for the reply. Yes the Agile process is usually associated with software development. I was thinking Kanban sounded more flexible and more easily applied to other types of projects. Are you using it as an individual or part of a team? My impression was it was geared for team projects but I was wondering if it would be useful for personal projects as wello

jjweimer · Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 7:11 pm Post subject:

jjweimer · Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 7:44 pm Post subject:

Here is an example of the Kanban for a topic in one of my courses ...

The PDF version is here http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16144384/mts501kanbantopic.pdf

--
JJW

mnmcook · Joined: 31 May 2009 Posts: 196 Location: Pennsylvania

Thanks for the detailed insights! I'll definitely give it a try. I've been thinking of trying it one one particular work project. I'll look through your example in detail and see what analogies I can use for mine. When I fully comprehend its utility, I'll think about an overview test of a few projects as you have.

jjweimer · Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 7:55 pm Post subject:

Here is a somewhat sanitized version of my overall Kanban ...

The PDF is here http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16144384/overallkanban.pdf

--
JJW

Marcus · Joined: 08 Mar 2011 Posts: 3

Thank you JJW for posting this information. Very helpful.

mnmcook · Joined: 31 May 2009 Posts: 196 Location: Pennsylvania

Yes, thanks again JJW!

jjweimer · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 9:12 pm Post subject:

I have removed the example Curio-Kanban files from my public DropBox because I am cleaning up every-growing e-storage clutter. The links in this thread will no longer work to find the files.

I am glad to learn of repository options that would allow me to post examples of my Curio projects that others may find useful without having to keep track of them from my personal data storage locations.

Recommendations are welcome.

Thanks.

--
JJW

seprus505 · Joined: 10 Jul 2012 Posts: 1

Thank you JJW for posting this information. Very helpful.

jjweimer · Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 4:26 pm Post subject:

Here are the reconstituted links after doing some house-cleaning on my DropBox folder. First, an example image of a "Kanban" board similar to what I currently use in Curio ...

Blue rows are the professional areas of responsibility, green are personal, brown are "social", and the red is an over-all. The one "Project Tile" is an example of what gets "pulled" across a row. I give each tile a title, typically a brief objective such as "Finalize Estate Plan" or "Spray Bushes". I also link the tiles to relevant Idea Spaces in other Curio projects or to OmniFocus projects or tasks as needed. Generally, I reconstitute a new Kanban on a weekly basis, purging the completed tiles from a duplicate. This gives me a day-by-day review board at the current week and a week-by-week track record looking back (if I so desire).

Here is a Curio project (as a ZIP archive that should directly download) containing the above Idea Space ...

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16144384/software%20examples/Curio/ExampleKanban.zip?dl=1

Feel free to modify the Idea Space to suit your own needs.

FWIW, I am also finding that GoalScape makes an excellent companion for a larger overview in project management (Goalscape + Curio + Omnifocus works great!). http://www.goalscape.com/

Enjoy!

--
JJW