Re: depending TODOs, scheduling following TODOs automatically

[John Wiegley <johnw@newartisans.com>]

Carsten Dominik <dominik@science.uva.nl> writes:

> First, let me say that I was surprised that quite a few people are so keen
> to see this kind of features.  I myself would worry a lot about spending
> more time to set up and maintain these connections, than I would be saving
> by using them.  And I am not sure if Org-mode really scales up nicely when
> it comes to really large projects, large number of people interacting,
> keeping complex GANTT charts up to date etc.  Me, I have sometimes made
> these charts during an initial project setup, to get a feeling what amount
> of time and resources would be needed, but I have never kept these complex
> structures alive and up to date.  Obviously, others believe they can.

I agree that if we keep making org-mode smarter and smarter, it will start to
become a bear that is overly complicated -- and in the world of task
management, complexity is death.

I use a dedicated Project Management application when I need scheduling and
management of complex time and resource dependencies (Merlin, from
http://merlin2.net).  I setup a proposal for a client, and then I use Merlin
to record the time spent, by capturing moments with timeclock.el and entering
the resulting blocks via the Merlin interface.  It takes time, but the value
to me and my customer of knowing where we stand and when things should
complete is definitely worth the effort (and software cost!).

But with org-mode, I'm not reporting to other people.  I want something light
and agile.  This is the first task management scheme *in my life* that I've
used daily for more than 3 months.  That is saying something, let me tell you.
I've even written my own systems still in use by other people (see Emacs
Planner)!!

In fact, I would probably say that before the year is out, org-mode's
interface and basic data structures should reach Feature Complete status.
I think we still need more hooks, for user customization, and several more
"library API functions" to make writing those customizations easier; but in
terms of the core package, I can't see how to improve on perfection from here.

John