The Power of Lists
80% of Project Management comes down to one simple thing
- Managing lists
It is that simple, and that complex
So, what is a list?
- The Power of Lists
- The Anatomy of a List
- Why Do We Want Lists
- Some Example Lists
- Key Takeaways
- Appendix
Last updated: Mon 10-Aug-2026 noon
The Anatomy of a List
List Item
- First: Start at the Bottom – The List Item
- Contains the details of the item
- Could be assigned to someone
- Could have due dates
- Could have labels
- Could have lots of things
List Group
- Second: Next Group the List Items
- By label
- By assignee
- By due date
- By whatever makes sense
- Items can be in multiple groups
List
- Third: You Have a Set of Groups That Form a List
- Represents a project
- Or a high-level task
- Or some thing that needs to be accomplished
Why Do We Want Lists
Tasks can be complex.
But a large task can be broken down into a few smaller sub-tasks.
- And so-on to smaller sub-sub-tasks
- Etc.
At the end you have small tasks that are easy to accomplish but need to be organized into a larger whole
Some Example Lists
Grocery Shopping
- Small
- Could just be you or include your family
- Simple labels for “need” and “bought”
Holiday Shopping
- More complex
- More labels
- Maybe assignees as people purchase items for you
Business Project
- Yet more complex
- Many tasks
- Many groups
- Many assignees
- Many labels
Enterprise Change Management
- May be even more complex
- Across an organization
All are a collection of tasks that must be organized across several people (possibly one) accomplishing small items that feed up to a larger accomplishment.
Personal Lists
Requirements
- Just for you or a few close family or friends
- Simple or no labelling
- Simple grouping
- Simple done criteria
Options
- Google Keep
- Microsoft To Do
- Microsoft OneNote
- Evernote
Business Lists
Requirements
- Shared among colleagues
- More complex labelling
Options
- Atlassian JIRA tasks
- Atlassian Confluence pages
- Shared Microsoft excel or word files
Need More Complexity
Requirements
- Need more organization?
Options
- Trello
- ZenHub
- GitHub Projects
- Jira
Key Takeaways
The tool does not matter
- Pick the right tool that will accomplish the task at hand
The Philosophy Matters
- Complex tasks can be broken down into simpler sub-tasks
- Simple subtasks can be organized into a variety of groups
- As simple subtasks are completed the larger, complex tasks are achieved
Appendix
Old Version
Version History
| Date | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Sun 10-Jan-2021 | Initial version |
| 02 | Mon 10-Aug-2026 | Converted to markdown |