Those terms get tossed around quite a bit. But are there any real differences between project management and task management?
At my house, I want to put in a new stone walkway that leads to my front door. To do that, I’ll need to clear the ground, make it level, add the stones and also do a lot of other things I’m not thinking about.
The project is creating the walkway. The tasks are what I need to do to make it happen.
But other tasks involve gathering resources: buying stones, finding my shovel, and oh yeah, asking friends to help me out. Those are all tasks, too.
Each project usually has several tasks, due at different intervals. Often, they’re dependent on one another and sometimes one task can’t be finished until the next one begins.
If you manage projects or simply get things done, you’ve likely heard the terms “project management” and “task management” used interchangeably. But while they sound similar, these practices differ in important ways.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll differentiate project management and task management, analyze their unique values and explain when each approach works best.
What is Project Management?
Project management refers to the overall process of planning organizing and managing resources to complete a specific temporary initiative with defined start and end dates. It provides structured methods for delivering project results on time and within budget.
Key activities and components of project management include
- Defining the project scope, objectives and deliverables
- Creating a detailed project plan and timeline
- Assembling the project team and assigning responsibilities
- Managing the budget and procuring resources
- Executing tasks according to the project schedule
- Monitoring progress and performance using key metrics
- Managing changes, risks and issues as they arise
- Reporting on status and milestones to stakeholders
- Closing the project and conducting reviews
The project management methodology provides frameworks for initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, controlling and wrapping up projects. Popular approaches include waterfall, agile and hybrid models.
The overall focus is delivering the desired project outputs while maximizing quality, mitigating risks and optimizing use of resources. It takes the big picture view.
What is Task Management?
Task management refers to the process of tracking, organizing and managing a set of tasks through to completion. It focuses on frontline task execution rather than comprehensive project oversight.
Key components of task management include:
- Creating prioritized to-do lists and tasks
- Setting reminders and due dates
- Marking tasks as complete when finished
- Grouping tasks into categories or projects
- Assigning tasks to individuals
- Tracking progress on individual tasks
- Rearranging tasks based on priority
The emphasis is on providing visibility and structure around the tangible work items that need to get done. This allows individuals and teams to execute tasks in a timely, organized manner.
Task management takes more tactical, task-level view compared to the broader project perspective. It centers on task tracking and execution rather than high-level coordination.
Key Differences Between Project and Task Management
While project management and task management are complementary disciplines, they differ in some fundamental ways:
Scope
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Project management involves extensive planning, coordination and oversight across the full project lifecycle.
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Task management simply facilitates completion of individual tasks and work items.
Time Horizon
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Project management spans the entire project timeline from initiation to closure.
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Task management focuses on daily execution of tasks.
Scale
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Project management coordinates complex initiatives with multiple stakeholders.
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Task management handles simple, individual tasks and to-do items.
Focus
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Project management focuses on high-level strategy, budgets, resource allocation and risk mitigation.
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Task management zeros in on task tracking, prioritization and completion.
Team Coordination
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Project management aligns large teams and sets responsibilities.
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Task management provides visibility into individuals’ tasks.
Tools
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Project management uses software like Microsoft Project, Asana and Jira.
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Task management uses simpler tools like Trello, Todoist and Evernote.
Metrics
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Project management monitors budgets, timelines, resources and risks.
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Task management tracks completion status of tasks and to-dos.
Role
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Project management is led by project managers.
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Task management is conducted by individual team members.
When to Use Project Management Methods
Project management brings maximum value for complex initiatives with multiple components, interdependencies and stakeholders. Its comprehensive methodologies shine when coordinating major efforts from end-to-end.
Examples of initiatives where structured project management excels include:
- Software development projects
- Business transformation initiatives
- Construction/engineering projects
- Product launch plans
- Event planning
- Mergers & acquisitions
- Organizational change plans
For these large-scale undertakings, project management frameworks optimize planning, scheduling, role clarity, risk mitigation and oversight. The rigor and governance helps drive project success.
Project management is overkill for smaller, simpler efforts. But it provides indispensable value for mission-critical initiatives with many moving parts.
When Task Management Techniques Are Ideal
For small, everyday work items, task management provides better simplicity and focus. Tracking tasks on personal to-do lists works perfectly for:
- Personal errands and chores
- Individual work assignments
- Standalone tasks and to-dos
- Daily or weekly actions
- Recurring tasks like data entry
For these types of discrete, individual work items, task management gives you just the functionality needed to tick off tasks efficiently. No complex project management overhead required.
Task management also equips individual team members to take ownership of their work. Whether or not it relates to larger projects, they can define and manage their tasks.
Can Project and Task Management Coexist?
Absolutely. Project management and task management complement each other beautifully when utilized together purposefully.
Project managers can break large initiatives into individual tasks and work packages. This makes it digestible for team members who then take on task management for their assignments.
Conversely, task logs and completed task status updates from team members provide valuable data for project managers to monitor project health.
Think of project management as the overarching framework and task management as the tactical execution. Or project management provides the big picture while task management enables ground-level delivery.
To gain the benefits of both, identify when to apply the rigor of project management based on initiative complexity. Then leverage task management to drive efficient execution.
The project manager oversees the integrated plan while team members own the tasks. Powerful platforms like ClickUp and Smartsheet combine both project and task management capabilities in one system.
Key Features of Project Management Tools
Robust project management software like Microsoft Project, Asana and Basecamp include features like:
- Interactive Gantt charts to visualize schedules
- Kanban boards to view progress in columns
- Custom fields, forms and templates
- Task assignments and dependencies
- Time tracking
- Calendar views
- Reporting dashboards
- Budget management
- Resource workload management
- Version control and file management
- APIs and integrations
These tools provide views to plan and orchestrate all aspects of project delivery. Their dashboards roll up task completion into high-level project analytics.
Key Features of Task Management Tools
Leading task management tools like Todoist, Trello, Things and Wunderlist offer capabilities such as:
- Creating task lists and to-do lists
- Applying tags and categories
- Setting reminders and due dates
- Marking tasks as complete
- Basic task assignments
- Mobile apps and alerts
- Personalized workflows
- Elementary reporting
These lightweight tools focus squarely on helping users create to-do lists and action items then systematically complete them. They help individuals track and manage their personal and work tasks.
Blending Project and Task Management Wisely
The savvy use of both project management and task management approaches leads to success:
For major projects, apply project management rigor for oversight and risk mitigation. Define all components in detail. Decompose initiatives into work packages and tasks for team members to execute. Maintain clear role clarity between the project manager and team executor roles.
Use task management for personal productivity, daily work, and standalone tasks. Don’t force complex project management overhead onto routine task management.
Evaluate each initiative objectively. Consider size, strategic impact, risk, and complexity. Then tailor your approach – project and/or task management – based on what matches the circumstances.
Select tools that allow you to start simply with task management then scale up to robust project management as needed. Unified platforms keep things simple.
The bottom line is that project management and task management, when used strategically, form a cohesive value chain. They enable you to plan projects effectively, delegate tasks with clarity, and ultimately get more done.
Adopt agile blended approaches. Be judicious about when to apply formal project methods versus lightweight task tracking. Master this crucial distinction and you’ll complete initiatives successfully and efficiently.
So are you ready to put both project management and task management to work for you? The first step is choosing tools that provide the right blend to match your needs. Simplify your work and life with a platform equips you for both. The result will be greater productivity, visibility and ultimately success on all your projects and tasks.
The Best Project Management Software is Also Task Management Software
There aren’t necessarily clean breaks between your work and personal life.
Yes, there’s balance, but making your children’s dance recital could overlap with your next client call. Or you may need to fit in that Amazon order while writing your next project proposal.
See what I mean?
The best software combines both task management and project management. You have the tools to do both with the simplicity not to overwhelm one with the other. You should find software that’s a joy to use–whether it’s tasks or projects, personal or professional.
What does project management software solve?
Project management software, on the other hand, is meant to coordinate projects, and usually provide all the features that a task management software offers.
These project management tools are all about collaboration, coordination, and project planning. Project management software have subtasks, comments, attachments, and task descriptions that give detail on when a project should be done.
It often takes a robust time view or Gantt chart to see how all of the projects stack up against one another.
Project management software helps project managers create time estimates, track team member’s work, and project reports. Most task management software programs just don’t have that. Tasks aren’t usually that urgent or that involved to include time estimates within them.
Project Management – Activity versus Task?
What is the difference between task management and project management?
The primary difference between task management and project management is the scope of responsibilities involved. Task management refers to managing individual tasks or personal work, while project management involves managing team members and assigning tasks across multiple projects to various individuals to meet due dates.
What is task management & why is it important?
Task management is just as crucial as project management for any project’s success. It includes breaking down larger projects into smaller, more manageable tasks, setting deadlines and priorities, and allocating resources to ensure tasks are completed on time, within budget, and to the required standard.
Should you approach work from a task management or project management perspective?
Knowing whether you should be approaching work from a task management or project management perspective depends on the scale of the work. Task management is the appropriate approach when tackling work that is completed on the individual level, such as, scheduling or creating your weekly to-do list.
Is task management a subset of project management?
Task management is therefore a subset of project management. Let’s get more specific with tasks vs projects. Projects are chunks of work with specific start and end dates.
