Locked task management is a way to manage client task work by locking down the individual steps and tasks needed to complete the project. Locked tasks and steps allow work to be completed and assignments to be made but bigger changes will need to be done through an official revision of the project, hence the “locked” status.
Locked tasks and steps help you keep focus and help to defend against scope creep.
Why would you impose limitations on something as important as tasks and steps?
Having hard limitations help bring clarity and focus on your work.
Locking tasks is a forced process that makes you consider what is the most important work to be done on a project before it starts. All other project tasks that are added later (after your contract or agreement is made) can then be sorted more easily to determine what is in or out of scope.
With locked tasks it is still easy to revise a project and make any change needed. By making regular revisions you will begin to understand how well (or how badly) your project was planned which leads to a deeper understanding of how you work and how to better plan future projects.
The major advantages to locked task management
There are several huge advantages to locked task management:
- Defend against scope creep
- Prevent projects going out of control
- Pause a bad project and discuss new terms with client
- Easier to project manage