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2010 Roadmap for OF Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
It's been 2 years since OF 1.0 was released (I would have sworn, it's been longer), and it has been great with numerous updates and improvement since then. I'm sure Omni folks are working hard on the 2.0 release. Since this is the beginning of 2010, I thought I would ask whether there is a roadmap for the program in 2010. I'm not asking for any specific timelines or dates since those can be fluid and uncertain.

Also, whatever happened to 1.8 testing? Toward the end of 2009, I thought it would be released to testing before the year's end, but never heard about it since then.

Thanks.
 
1.8 was put on temporary hold so that OF for iPhone/iPod 1.6 could be gotten out the door (1.8 depends on some stuff in OFi 1.6, and there are some important sync performance fixes in OFi 1.6 as well). Ken just posted release notes for OFi 1.6 a few hours ago, so I think we'll start seeing some 1.8 activity shortly.

My impression has been that feature content has also been rather fluid, not just timelines. Good luck getting much more detail than has already been provided about OF 2.0 (and OP 2.0)! The policy seems to be to decide on a group of important features, implement them + incorporate whatever bugfixes have been done concurrently, test/polish until it represents a clear improvement over the shipping software, release.
 
Okay... well I have some strong suggestions for ya!

The first one is kind of big. I have given the same suggestions to Cul... Cod..

First, make this a true Success Achievement System! I am an executive coach and leadership development guy and I have to say I am so surprised (other than LifeBalance) - no one has come close. You have the tactical down from projects to completion. And David Allen of GTD fame - had his niche that created all this stuff. Yet, the bottom line is - it don't matter how organized you are ... if you are not driving towards a big vision, set of consistent missions in life and business and boiling it down to goals - you will be very happy with how you are managing your projects but not any more successful! Now - I am sure there are people here who have worked around this as have I because GTD is powerful when aligned with your vision and goals.

So you need to figure out a way to establish these links:
Vision for an Area (e.g. business growth, health and vitality, relationships, etc.) > Key Missions within that vision > Goals > projects. Even if you just had a place to write your vision and recalibrate FOLDERS - that might work. At the very least - changing folder colors or being able to add icons to the folder and of course have space for writing goals. Also, adding a perspective that would just look at vision and goals before planning would be AWESOME. Because that is where we all need to be MOST FOCUSED!!!

It would even be great to be able to link a goal to multiple projects because as we know - sometimes a personal goal helps you achieve a business goal and vice versa. But just as with David Allen - you need to understand the philosphy of how the mind works (see Maxwell Maltz's Psycho-Cybernetics - which has been tested many years over GTD and is aligned with GTD). The two systems are very aligned!

I think that would allow for a powerful system. If you or anyone else at Omni wants to talk call me 410-381-9155 (David).

Yes, you can always rework perpectives and make it easier to manuver the program but to make it the most powerful then I would suggest that be a main focus now or in the near future!

Last edited by David4GTD; 2010-01-11 at 09:14 AM..
 
Hmmm...... certainly interesting food for thought. I've been using OF as more of the Runway (Next Actions) and 10K (Projects) levels for a while now. Just starting to get comfortable and working on my 20K (Areas of Focus & Responsibility) within OF. The upper levels (Goals/Objectives, Vision, Purpose/Principle) seems to require other tools for me like mind-mapping programs.

So I'm not sure how OF would be able to incorporate this without losing the key essence of OF itself. Perhaps add-on modules or another package would be sold that would add to OF? So, if somebody wasn't ready for the higher levels then they wouldn't have to worry about it.

I kinda seeing this going the way of OmniFocus and OmniPlan. You buy OmniFocus to handle your personal Next Actions. Then you buy OmniPlan for more advanced project management needs. There will be a tighter integration between the two packages. For your higher elevations, you might buy something like OmniVision to handle your goals, objectives, etc.


But in the end, @David4GTD, you are correct. OF doesn't seem to have some kind metric system to measure your progress. In another heated discussion about task prioritization, @abates17 talked about loving Life Balance and wishing there was some way to get OF to suggest or nudge you towards achieving your goals (gently reminding you that some projects or tasks haven't been getting done).

It would be nice to be able to see how far along you are in various aspects of your life and see a metric system to see your overall picture.
 
One of the advantages of OmniFu (my opinion) is that it is *not* tailored to business executives — those of us who don't even own a desk can use it.

One of the reasons GTD doesn't work well for me is that I don't have the meetings, business travel, work vs. leisure life that David Allen's GTD was designed for. Vision Statements, Missions, and the like don't work for me, and I'm sure they don't work for many people. I can, and have adapted some parts of GTD to my work, but as a whole, the system is "a fail", as my teenage daughter would say.

What do I do? A bit of everything, actually. I'm a housewife, mother of two active kids, graphic designer, occasional presenter at various cons (gifted education and science fiction), and lately, general contractor on a massive home remodel. If I tried to write a Mission Statement, it would have to be divided into chapters.

And some things don't have capital-G Goals at all. What is the Goal of running a household? There really isn't one ... there is no point at which one can say "I'm done, the job is over."
 
Hmm.... I think running a household would be more of an Area of Focus & Responsibility instead of a goal or project with a definite completion point. Running a household doesn't have that completion point. It's more about maintaining a certain level or state.

I also haven't gotten up to the Higher Levels of Horizons. I'm working my way up. I've gotten as far as the 20K Level (Area of Focus & Responsibility). I know I'll get up there eventually.

After listening to a few GTD-focused podcasts, I've learned to accept that when I am ready for the next level, I will get there. It's all about the baby steps to go to the next level.....

IIRC, there was a a podcast on iTunes from the GTD Virtual Study Group that talked about the Horizons of Focus. I think this was the podcast that helped clarify for me the distinction between a goal, a project, and an Area of Focus & Responsibility.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by David4GTD View Post
Even if you just had a place to write your vision
I have a SAL for each level of horizon (e.g., 50,000' Purpose and core values, etc.). I use the notes field of the SAL for reference material as to the purpose of each level. Then I enter the stuff for each of the horizons (purpose and core values, vision, goals and objectives, areas of focus and responsibility) as tasks (and I use some grouping at times) with a dummy perspective ("anywhere"). For example, in 30k', I have a task group 'Health', and an 'action': "My weight is healthy and my body fat ratio is good." The items are not actual actions, but it works out OK.

I realize this is not everything you have written about as possible new features, but thought I'd toss this into the conversation.

Bob
 
 


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