Task

A task is an activity with requirements for a specific Input and output in order to accomplish a specific objective.

• AKA: Problem.
• Context:
  • It can have Task Requirements, such as task mandates or task constraints.
  • It can be solved by a System (with prerequisity capabilities that, for example, implements a process or algorithm).
  • It can range from being a Performed Task to being an Unperformed Task.
  • It can range from being an Unplanned Task to being a Planned Task.
  • It can range from being an Informally-Defined Task to being a Formally-Defined Task.
  • It can range, depending on how much/little human participation is required, from being a Manual Task to being a Hybrid Task to being an Automated Task.
  • It can be associated to a Benchmark Task (to evaluate task performance).
  • It can range from being a General Task Type (such as searching) to being a Domain Specific Task (such as semantic role labeling).
  • It can be associated with a Task Solution Attempt.
  • It can be associated with a Task Issue.
  • It can be a Subtask of a Composite Task.
  • It can be described by a Task Description.
  • It can range, depending on the task output, from being a Well-Defined Task to being an Ill-Defined Task.
  • It can range from being a Paid Task to being an Unpaid Task.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • a In-Project Task.
  • any General Task.
  • a Computing Task, such as:
    • Supervised Learning Task, which has several Supervised Learning Benchmark Tasks.
    • A Relation Mention Recognition Task, a type of NLP Task.
    • A Sorting Task can be solved by a Sorting System (that implements a Sorting algorithm).
    • An Annotation Task (See: Penn Treebank Project.
    • An n-Queens Task.
    • A Knapsack Optimization Task.
    • A Linear Programming Task.
  • any Domain Specific Task, such as credit scoring.
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • a Task Solution.
  • a Process.
  • a Project.
• See: Project Management, Dependency (Project Management).

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References

2013

• (Wikipedia, 2013) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Task_(project_management) Retrieved:2013-12-13.
  • In project management, a task is an activity that needs to be accomplished within a defined period of time or by a deadline. A task can be broken down into assignments which should also have a defined start and end date or a deadline for completion. One or more assignments on a task puts the task under execution. Completion of all assignments on a specific task normally renders the task completed. Tasks can be linked together to create dependencies.

    In most projects, tasks may suffer one of two major drawbacks:

    • Task dependency: Which is normal as most tasks rely on others to get done. However, this can lead to the stagnation of a project when many tasks cannot get started unless others are finished.
    • Unclear understanding of the term complete: For example, if a task is 90% complete, does this mean that it will take only 1/9 of the time already spent on this task to finish it? Although this is mathematically sound, it is rarely the case when it comes to practice.

2009

• wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
  • assign a task to; "I tasked him with looking after the children"
  • undertaking: any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted; "he prepared for great undertakings"
  • tax: use to the limit; "you are taxing my patience"
  • job: a specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or for a specific fee; "estimates of the city's loss on that job ranged as high as a million dollars"; "the job of repairing the engine took several hours"; "the endless task of classifying the samples"; "the farmer's morning chores"
• http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/task
  • 1. A piece of work done as part of one’s duties.
  • 2. A difficult or tedious undertaking.
  • 3. An objective.
  • 4. (computing) A process or execution of a program.

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