Managing Tasks

Every project in AcaTrove includes a task board where you can break work into actionable items, organize them with milestones, define dependencies, and track progress against deadlines.

Creating Tasks

1. Open your project and navigate to the Tasks tab.
2. Click Add Task.
3. Enter a task title and, optionally, a description with additional context.
4. Assign the task to a collaborator, or leave it unassigned for now.
5. Set a due date if the task has a deadline.
6. Set a priority level (Low, Medium, High, Critical) to help your team focus on what matters most.
7. Click Save.

New tasks appear in the task list with a status of To Do. As work progresses, move tasks through In Progress and Done statuses by updating the status field or dragging them on the board view.

Task board showing tasks organized by status

Milestones

Milestones are high-level checkpoints that mark significant progress in your project. Examples include "IRB Approval Received," "Data Collection Complete," or "Manuscript Submitted."

To create a milestone:

1. In the Tasks tab, click Add Milestone.
2. Give the milestone a name and a target date.
3. Optionally, link existing tasks to the milestone. When all linked tasks are complete, the milestone is automatically marked as achieved.

Milestones appear as distinct markers on the project timeline, giving you and your collaborators a clear view of overall progress.

Dependencies

Dependencies let you define the order in which tasks must be completed. If Task B cannot start until Task A is finished, you create a dependency between them.

To add a dependency:

1. Open the task that depends on another (the "blocked" task).
2. In the Dependencies section, click Add Dependency.
3. Search for and select the task that must be completed first (the "blocking" task).
4. Save.

AcaTrove enforces dependencies by displaying a visual indicator on blocked tasks and preventing them from being moved to Done before their prerequisites are complete. The dependency chain is visible in both the list and board views.

Dependency chain between two tasks

Due Dates and Reminders

Every task and milestone can have a due date. AcaTrove uses these dates to:

• Sort your task list with the most urgent items first.
• Display overdue tasks with a visual warning.
• Send notification reminders as deadlines approach.

To set or change a due date, open the task and click the date field. You can also bulk-edit due dates from the list view by selecting multiple tasks.

AI Task Suggestions

When AI Project Management is enabled for your project, AcaTrove analyzes your project's current tasks, milestones, research phase, and documents to suggest new tasks you may have overlooked.

Suggestions appear in a dedicated AI Suggestions panel on the task board. Each suggestion includes:

• A proposed task title and description.
• A recommended priority level.
• The rationale for why the task is relevant at this stage.

You can accept a suggestion to add it directly to your task board, dismiss it, or modify it before accepting. See the AI Project Management article for a deeper explanation of how these suggestions work.

Tips

• Break large tasks into smaller subtasks. Granular tasks are easier to estimate, assign, and track.
• Review your task board weekly. Tasks that linger in "To Do" for too long may need to be reassigned, reprioritized, or removed.
• Use milestones to align your team around shared deadlines rather than tracking dozens of individual due dates.