Who - What - When

Software for Success in Business

Online Documentation

Introduction

This software product is designed to be a very simple to use, yet highly effective tool for managers to keep track of "Who" is doing "What" and "When" it's supposed to get done. It's the perfect software for getting the work done through delegation, and to keep track of your own priorities too.

The software is so easy to use, you will feel you have been using it forever after only playing with it for a few minutes. You will be managing better almost immediately.

System Requirements:

Microsoft Excel.

Installation:

To download the software onto your computer, visit the home page at

http://www.MichaelMcCafferty.com/whowhatwhen.htm and click on Download. This puts the software into your browser, but in order to save the software onto your computer for later use, you must click on File/Save As and then select your desktop as the place you want it saved. Don't try to use the software while it is still in your browser. Use it only after you have saved it to your desktop.

Startup:

To start Who - What - When, simply click the icon on your desktop. This will start up Microsoft Excel automatically and load the Who - What - When software and demo data.

Tour:

Click on the Priority column heading. It's a button that sorts the items on the list into Priority Sequence. Click it once for higest priority items first, click it again to reverse the sequence.

Click on the When column heading. It's a button that sorts the items on the list into Date sequence. Click once and the list is in ascending sequence, so that the first things on the list are the ones that are over-due, or the next to be done.

Click on the Who heading. It sorts the list so that each person's projects are grouped together. Click once for alphabetical sequence, click again for reverse sequence.

Filtering is simple and fun. If you want your list to include only the items for one particular "Who", then click the down arrow under the Who column and select the initials of the person you want to see, and it happens immediately. The other names are still on the list, they are just hidden until you select "All" again.

Do the same thing with Priority Filtering. Click the down arrow under the Priority column, and select only Priority A, and you'll get a list of only the most important stuff.

Filter on the Done column and you can select all the items on the list that are finished (marked with a Gold Star - an asterisk). Or select just the items that are not done (blank). So Easy!

Filtering can be very advanced! Click the filter arrow, then select "Custom" and notice that you can filter in many very powerful ways such as Greater than, Less than, Contains, starts with, and can even have And/Or relationships in the filter.

Add more items to the list.

Just as you would in Excel, right click on the far left of a blank row, select Copy. Then right click again and click Insert Copied Cells. You can have more items on your list than you would ever need. It's limited only by your computer's memory. So don't worry about running out of room. Add as many items as you need to be effective!

Changing stuff.

Just click on the data you want to change and start typing, then Enter or Tab to enter the data and exit the cell.

Saving stuff.

To save the file, click the diskette icon (or ctrl-s). To save your list under a different name, click File/Save As, then give it a different name and Enter. You can have an unlimited number of lists with different names. Keep one for your work, another one for your vacation plans... you'll be amazed at how useful it is at getting the job done.

Delete items from the list.

Right click on the far left of the item you want to delete, then click Delete.

Scroll through the list.

Use the wheel on your mouse, or use the arrows on your keyboard, to scroll up and down through your list.

Printing.

To print, click the printer icon in Excel.

Emailing.

To email a printout of your currently displayed Who - What - When, simply click the email icon in Excel (or alt-s), enter the email address, and click Send. Email your expectations for maximum clarity and efficiency.

Customizing.

At the bottom of the list, there is room for a motivational quote or company motto, etc. Using normal Excel features you can change this area to read anything you choose.

There are 9 Links in the upper right hand corner of the display. You can modify these links (right click/edit Hyperlink) to jump to anywhere, another Who - What - When list, a website, whatever.

The Logo in the upper left corner can be replaced with your company logo, just delete it if you would rather it be blank. Right click and select Format Picture.

The date format can be changed by highlighting the cells and right click, then select Format Cells, then select the Number tab and click on the date format you want.

License.

As a registered user of the software, you are allowed to use it on your computer at work and at home and on a notebook. As an unregistered user, you are not allowed to use it at all. So please register by sending me an email.

Support.

Online documentation available for all users.

Support is available on the website via FAQs, free for all users.

Email support is also available for registered users.

Email newsletter for registered users.

Pay per call telephone support available for registered users.

Annual support agreements for corporate users.

Special Requirements.

If you need a special feature, send me an email. We're here to help.

Acknowledgements.

This Management System was built with help from DeAnn Dalry and Kat Sessoms with Triple-M Systems, and Joey Stewart , Nicole Shaffer, Tom Hamilton and Kate Twogood with The Kerry Collection, and Michael James McCafferty with M5 Computer Security.

How to use the Who-What-When

The Who - What - When report is intended to be used for the following purposes:

1. To assist management in keeping track of their commitments to the Management Team to accomplish a list of important short term projects with changing priorities.

2. To inform other team members and management (CEO, board, etc) of the status of these commitments.

In order to accomplish these goals, the proper use of the Who-What-When report is described below:

1. At the standing management meetings held throughout the week, when it is agreed that a particular thing is to be done, then it is recorded as a line item on this report. The line item is given over to the responsibility of a manager (Who), a description (What), a date to be done (When), and a Priority (although Priority is the option of the manager who is chairing the meeting).

2. After the meeting, the Who-What-When is updated to the intranet.

3. During the following week, until the next meeting where this Who-What-When will be updated again, this list is available for viewing to everyone on the management team, as well as others in the company.

4. It is especially intended to be viewed, at least once a day, by the manager assigned in the Who column. The manager is requested to view the fresh copy of the list daily so that they will have a guide for the major priorities of the week, and therefore be able to accomplish these items on time. Managers are encouraged to use their Who-What-When directly in Excel mode so that the full power of the program can be used to help be more focused and effective. Note that each column can be sorted in either ascending/decending sequence, and that "Filters" make the list much more powerful. For example, you can Filter just a certain "Who" (the person to whom you may have delegated an item), and then sort into Priority sequence, then Email the result to that person as their focus for the day or week. Also notice that Hyperlinks can be made of any cell. This can make the list extraordinarily useful in that you can, with one click, bring up a work-in-progress document or spreadsheet, from inside of the Who-What-When list. In essence, the Who-What-When is a To-Do list with features that make your job easier and more effective.

5. At the next standing management meeting, the list is reviewed as part of the standing agenda. Only line items which have a date equal to or less than the meeting date are discussed.

6. Each manager will be requested to state the status of the line item. All that should be required is a simple statement of "Done" if such is the case. Done items are deleted from the next published list. This is not a time for a lot of discussion about the line item, however other managers should be sure that all of the required events have occurred in order to mark the line item Done.

7. In rare cases, additional time may be needed and the When date will be changed, or a priority will be changed, or the item may be deleted as no longer being required.

8. The changes are noted to the Who-What-When, it is updated to the Intranet and the cycle is repeated.

The successful manager will be closely focused on accomplishing the line items on the Who-What-When list, and use this tool to be optimally effective.

If you have questions about this guide, or suggestions for improvement, please send me an email.

Visit the Who - What - When Home Page