Techniques for setting priorities

ABC analysis

A technique that has been used in business management for a long time is the categorization of large data into groups. These groups are often marked A, B, and C—hence the name. Activities are ranked upon these general criteria:

* A – Tasks that are perceived as being urgent and important.
* B – Tasks that are important but not urgent.
* C – Tasks that are neither urgent nor important.

Each group is then rank-ordered in priority. To further refine priority, some individuals choose to then force-rank all "B" items as either "A" or "C". ABC analysis can incorporate more than three groups. ABC analysis is frequently combined with Pareto analysis.

POSEC method

POSEC is an acronym for Prioritize by Organizing, Streamlining, Economizing and Contributing.
The method dictates a template which emphasises an average individual's immediate sense of emotional and monetary security. It suggests that by attending to one's personal responsibilities first, an individual is better positioned to shoulder collective responsibilities.

Inherent in the acronym is a hierarchy of self-realization which mirrors Abraham Maslow's "Hierarchy of needs".

1. PRIORITIZE-Your time and define your life by goals.
2. ORGANIZING-Things you have to accomplish regularly to be successful. (Family and Finances)
3. STREAMLINING-Things you may not like to do, but must do. (Work and Chores)
4. ECONOMIZING-Things you should do or may even like to do, but they're not pressingly urgent. (Pastimes and Socializing)
5. CONTRIBUTING-By paying attention to the few remaining things that make a difference. (Social Obligations)

What is a To-Do List?

To-Do Lists are prioritized lists of all the tasks that you need to carry out. They list everything that you have to do, with the most important tasks at the top of the list, and the least important tasks at the bottom. Hand written paper based To-Do Lists have a downside that they cannot be listed via priority, but by the first remembered first written method. This can be detrimental to creating a successful To-Do List. Also paper based versions can become messy when tasks are completed and are scribbled out or ticks/crosses all over the page.

While this sounds a simple thing to do, it's when people start to use To-Do Lists properly that they often make their first personal productivity / time management breakthrough, and start to make a real success of their life and careers.

By keeping a To-Do List, you make sure that you capture all of the tasks you have to complete in one place. This is essential if you're not going to forget things. By prioritizing work, you plan the order in which you'll do things, so you can tell what needs your immediate attention, and what you can quietly forget about until much, much later. This is essential if you're going to beat work overload. Without To-Do Lists, you'll appear unfocused and unreliable to the people around you. This is vital in commercial and academic situations where others rely on you and your time management skills.

Final Idea

For my final idea I have chosen to create a To-Do List application. I will be adapting the mobile development idea due to time constraints. The final project will be made using C# or PHP. The C# application would be a standalone program which the user has on their computer. The PHP based application would be hosted on the internet with a login feature so that the user can update their list. The advantage of this is that it can be viewed anywhere in the world on any internet ready device.

Project Keywords

Here are some keywords for my project:

• Memory
• Lists
• Events
• Organisation
• Structure
• Long-term
• Management

Third idea - Mobile development

My third idea is centered around mobile development. I own a Windows mobile 6.1 and a Windows mobile 5.0 device so I will be developing towards that platform. My two proposed ideas are:

CD/DVD Database program - Used to keep records and search records of your CD/DVD collection.
Student ToDoList program - Used to keep track of assignments, priority and the stage of completion. This would have an advantage being on a handheld device because it will potentially be with the student at all times.

These would be created using Visual studio using an XML or Access database to store the users data.

Second idea - Interactive study aid

My second idea is for an interactive study aid aimed at arachnologists. They have many scientific names to remember along with pictures and other relevant information. It would have a feature to help break down long scientific names such as "chromatopelma cyaneopubescens" to make them easier to remember and pronounce. It would also have a quiz to help identify species based on body parts, names and other features based on what they have learnt.

First idea - Card game

My first idea would be a card based game where the user clicks a card to show it's face and has to remember its place on the board. The object of the game would be for the user to match the pairs of cards. This would require the user having a good memory. There would be four level settings which the user can choose from:

Easy: 4x4 grid
Medium: 6x6 grid
Hard: 8x8 grid
Extreme: 16x16 grid