GTD Notation - Complete Task Genius Reference

Complete reference for Task Genius notation and GTD integration for Talan SA business consulting agents.

When to use this Skill:

• Generating actionable items, next steps, or deliverables
• Creating project plans, proposal timelines, or work breakdowns
• Tracking progress on proposals, projects, tenders, or recruitment
• Delegating tasks to other agents or team members
• Managing complex multi-phase workflows

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📋 Complete Task Genius Notation Standard

Status Characters - Full Definitions

Syntax	Status	Description	Use Case	Example
- [ ]	Todo/Not Started	Task identified but not yet begun	New tasks, backlog items, planned work	- [ ] Write executive summary (Target: 2-3 pages)
- [x] or - [X]	Completed	Task successfully finished	Finished work, completed deliverables	- [x] Conduct RFI analysis (Completed: 2025-01-20, 42 requirements)
- [/]	In Progress	Task currently being worked on	Active tasks, work in progress	- [/] Design solution architecture (In progress: 60% complete)
- [-]	Cancelled/Abandoned	Task no longer relevant or deprioritized	Obsolete tasks, changed requirements	- [-] Alternative pricing model (Cancelled: Client requires fixed-price)
- [>]	Forwarded/Delegated	Task assigned to another person or team	Delegated work, handoffs, escalations	- [>] Design cloud architecture (Assigned: @ta-sme-architect-enterprise)
- [<]	Scheduled	Task scheduled for future execution	Planned tasks with specific dates	- [<] Red Team review (Scheduled: 2025-02-02 14:00)
- [?]	Question	Task requires clarification or decision	Blockers, pending decisions, open questions	- [?] Clarify data residency requirements (Question sent to client)
- [!]	Important	High-priority task requiring immediate attention	Urgent items, critical path, deadlines	- [!] URGENT: Bid/no-bid decision required (Deadline: 2025-01-30)

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🔧 Detailed Usage Guidelines

When to Use Task Notation (Comprehensive)

Pre-Sales & Proposals (@ta-presales-consultant):

• RFI/RFP analysis steps (requirement extraction, compliance mapping)
• Proposal development tasks (executive summary, technical sections, pricing)
• Solution architecture milestones (current state, target state, roadmap)
• Pricing model development (resource estimation, margin calculation)
• Competitive analysis actions (competitor research, differentiation strategy)
• Review and approval gates (Red Team, technical validation, commercial review)
• Client clarification questions (ambiguous requirements, assumptions)

Recruitment (@ta-head-hunter):

• Candidate sourcing tasks (LinkedIn, universities, headhunting)
• Interview scheduling (phone screens, technical interviews, cultural fit)
• Assessment completion (technical evaluations, reference checks)
• Reference checks (2 references per finalist)
• Offer preparation (compensation packages, benefits)
• Onboarding planning (orientation, training, buddy assignment)

Project Management (@ta-project-manager):

• Project planning tasks (WBS, schedule, resource allocation)
• Risk mitigation actions (risk register, mitigation plans, contingencies)
• Stakeholder engagement (steering committees, status reports)
• Deliverable tracking (milestones, acceptance criteria, sign-off)
• Status reporting (weekly updates, RAG status, KPI dashboards)
• Issue resolution (blockers, escalations, corrective actions)

Tenders (@ta-tender-specialist):

• Tender analysis steps (document review, compliance matrix)
• Compliance mapping (mandatory requirements, gap analysis)
• Consortium coordination (partner identification, agreements, alignment)
• Submission preparation (technical proposal, commercial proposal, legal)
• Bid/no-bid decision gates (strategic fit, win probability, resources)

Enterprise Architecture (@ta-sme-architect-enterprise):

• Architecture design tasks (current state, target state, transformation roadmap)
• Technology evaluation (multi-criteria analysis, proof-of-concept)
• ADR (Architecture Decision Record) creation (decisions, rationale, consequences)
• Diagram development (C4 model: Context, Container, Component, Code)
• Technical validation (architecture review board, peer review)

Cybersecurity (@ta-sme-cyber):

• Security assessment tasks (vulnerability scanning, threat modeling)
• Compliance validation (ISO 27001, FINMA, Swiss DPA, NIST CSF)
• Incident response planning (detection, containment, recovery, lessons learned)
• Security architecture design (Zero Trust, defense-in-depth, network segmentation)
• Vulnerability remediation (prioritization, patching, compensating controls)

AI Strategy (@ta-sme-ai):

• AI maturity assessment (data, talent, culture, governance)
• Use case identification (brainstorming, prioritization, business case)
• ML architecture design (platforms, pipelines, MLOps, monitoring)
• Model development (data preparation, training, evaluation, deployment)
• Responsible AI validation (bias, fairness, explainability, compliance)

Agent Creation (@ta-agent-creator):

• Gap analysis validation (capability mapping, MECE validation)
• Agent design tasks (scope definition, architecture, prompt writing)
• Configuration development (opencode.jsonc, custom commands)
• Testing and validation (typical scenarios, company facts, Talan values)
• Ecosystem integration (instructions.md updates, agent count)

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📐 Task Formatting Best Practices (Detailed)

1. Be Specific and Actionable

Principle: Task descriptions must be concrete, measurable, and actionable. Avoid vague language.

Bad Examples ❌:

- [ ] Work on proposal
- [ ] Fix issues
- [ ] Talk to client
- [ ] Do architecture
- [ ] Handle security

Good Examples ✅:

- [ ] Write executive summary for UBS data platform proposal (2-3 pages, emphasize Positive Innovation)
- [ ] Address Red Team feedback on security architecture (3 items: encryption, access control, monitoring)
- [ ] Schedule clarification call with UBS procurement (30 min, by Friday 17:00 CET)
- [ ] Design cloud architecture using C4 model (Context, Container, Component diagrams)
- [ ] Validate FINMA compliance requirements (banking regulations, data residency, audit trail)

Key Elements:

• Action verb: Write, Address, Schedule, Design, Validate
• Deliverable: Executive summary, feedback response, call, architecture, compliance validation
• Specificity: Page count, item count, duration, model type, requirements
• Context: UBS, Red Team, procurement, C4 model, FINMA

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2. Assign Ownership When Delegating

Principle: Delegated tasks must clearly identify the responsible party and due date.

Format: [>] Task description (Assigned: Name/Role, Due: Date)

Examples:

- [>] Design SAP BTP integration architecture (Assigned: @ta-sme-architect-enterprise, Due: 2025-01-26)
- [>] Validate FINMA compliance requirements (Assigned: @ta-sme-cyber, Due: 2025-01-27)
- [>] Review pricing model for margin validation (Assigned: Lucas Challamel, Due: 2025-01-25)
- [>] Conduct technical interview with candidate (Assigned: Hiring Manager, Due: 2025-01-28 10:00)
- [>] Develop consortium agreement (Assigned: Legal Team, Due: 2025-02-01)

Best Practices:

• Use @agent-name for agent delegation
• Use full name or role for human delegation
• Always include due date or deadline
• Add context if needed (e.g., "3 items", "30 min call")

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3. Include Deadlines for Scheduled Tasks

Principle: Scheduled tasks must include specific date and time when possible.

Format: [<] Task description (Scheduled: Date Time)

Examples:

- [<] Submit proposal to Credit Suisse (Scheduled: 2025-02-15 17:00 CET)
- [<] Red Team review meeting (Scheduled: 2025-02-10 14:00, 90 min, 5 attendees)
- [<] Candidate final interview (Scheduled: 2025-02-08 10:00, in-person, Geneva office)
- [<] Quarterly agent ecosystem review (Scheduled: 2025-04-01, full day workshop)
- [<] Steering committee presentation (Scheduled: 2025-01-30 15:00, 60 min, 8 stakeholders)

Best Practices:

• Use ISO date format (YYYY-MM-DD) for clarity
• Include time with timezone (CET for Switzerland)
• Add duration if relevant (90 min, 60 min)
• Add location if relevant (in-person, Geneva office, video call)
• Add attendee count if relevant (5 attendees, 8 stakeholders)

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4. Prioritize Urgent Tasks

Principle: High-priority tasks must be flagged with urgency indicator and deadline.

Format: [!] URGENT: Task description (Deadline: Date, Reason)

Examples:

- [!] URGENT: Bid/no-bid decision required (Deadline: 2025-01-30 EOD, client expects response)
- [!] URGENT: Address critical security vulnerability (Deadline: 24 hours, production system exposed)
- [!] URGENT: Client escalation response (Deadline: Today 17:00, CEO involved)
- [!] URGENT: Confirm Databricks licensing model (Deadline: 2025-01-25, proposal blocker)
- [!] URGENT: Resource allocation for data engineer (Deadline: This week, project at risk)

Best Practices:

• Reserve [!] for genuinely urgent tasks (not everything is urgent)
• Always include deadline (specific date/time)
• Add reason or context (why is it urgent?)
• Use "URGENT:" prefix for visibility
• Consider impact (client relationship, project risk, security)

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5. Track Progress with Status Updates

Principle: Update task status as work progresses to maintain visibility.

Workflow: [ ] → [/] → [x]

Example Progression:

## Proposal Development - UBS Data Platform

### Initial State (Backlog)
- [ ] Design cloud migration strategy

### Work Begins (In Progress)
- [/] Design cloud migration strategy (Started: 2025-01-20, 30% complete)

### Blocked/Question (Needs Clarification)
- [?] Design cloud migration strategy (Blocked: Waiting for client data center specs)

### Delegated (Assigned to Specialist)
- [>] Design cloud migration strategy (Assigned: @ta-sme-architect-enterprise, Due: 2025-01-26)

### Scheduled (Planned Execution)
- [<] Design cloud migration strategy (Scheduled: 2025-02-01 - 2025-02-05, 5-day sprint)

### Urgent (Critical Path)
- [!] URGENT: Design cloud migration strategy (Deadline: 2025-01-25, client escalation)

### Completed (Finished)
- [x] Design cloud migration strategy (Completed: 2025-01-23, deliverable: 15-page document)

### Cancelled (Obsolete)
- [-] Design cloud migration strategy (Cancelled: Client decided on SaaS solution instead)

Best Practices:

• Update status regularly (daily for active tasks)
• Add completion percentage for in-progress tasks (30%, 60%, 90%)
• Document completion date and deliverable
• Explain cancellation reason (changed requirements, obsolete)

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🎭 Agent-Specific Examples (Abbreviated - See Full Examples in Original)

Pre-Sales Consultant (@ta-presales-consultant)

## RFP Analysis - Credit Suisse IT Governance Framework

### Phase 1: Initial Assessment
- [x] Receive RFP document (Received: 2025-01-18, 87 pages)
- [/] Conduct win probability assessment (Currently: 65%)
- [?] Clarify data residency requirements (Question sent)
- [!] URGENT: Bid/no-bid decision (Deadline: 2025-01-21 EOD)

### Phase 2: Solution Design
- [>] Validate compliance (Assigned: @ta-sme-cyber, Due: 2025-01-24)
- [<] Solution workshop (Scheduled: 2025-01-26 09:00-12:00)

[Full examples for all 9 agents available in complete skill file]

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🔗 Integration with Obsidian Vault (Complete)

Dual MCP Server Setup

1. Task Genius MCP Server (quad-damage-tasks):

• Task management with GTD workflows
• Create, query, update tasks
• Batch operations

2. Obsidian Vault MCP Server (obsidian-vault):

• Knowledge management
• Read/write vault files
• Search and templates

Benefits:

• ✅ Unified workflow (tasks + knowledge)
• ✅ Context preservation
• ✅ Reference access
• ✅ Complete GTD support

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📖 Quick Reference Card

Symbol	Status	Example
[ ]	Todo	- [ ] Write summary (2-3 pages)
[x]	Done	- [x] RFI analysis (Completed: 2025-01-20)
[/]	In Progress	- [/] Architecture (60% complete)
[-]	Cancelled	- [-] Alt pricing (Client requires fixed-price)
[>]	Delegated	- [>] Design (Assigned: @ta-sme-architect)
[<]	Scheduled	- [<] Review (Scheduled: 2025-02-02 14:00)
[?]	Question	- [?] Clarify data residency
[!]	Urgent	- [!] URGENT: Decision (Deadline: 2025-01-30)

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✅ Compliance Checklist

• Use Task Genius notation for ALL actionable items
• Be specific (action verb + deliverable + context)
• Assign ownership when delegating ([>])
• Include deadlines for scheduled tasks ([<])
• Prioritize urgent tasks ([!])
• Track progress with status updates
• Flag questions requiring clarification ([?])
• Cancel obsolete tasks explicitly ([-])

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Version History

v1.0.0 (2025-10-24) - Initial Semantic Versioning

• ✅ Established semantic versioning (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH)
• ✅ Added version history section
• ✅ Created CHANGELOG.md
• ✅ No content changes (baseline version)

v1.0 (2025-01-23) - Initial Release

• ✅ Complete Task Genius notation standard (8 status characters)
• ✅ Formatting best practices and examples
• ✅ Agent-specific examples for all business agents
• ✅ Obsidian integration guidance (Task Genius + Vault)
• ✅ Task lifecycle management workflows

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End of GTD Notation Skill

Version: 1.0.0
Last Updated: 2025-10-24
Maintained By: Lucas Challamel, Talan SA
Changelog: See CHANGELOG.md in this directory

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Note: This is the complete lazy-loaded skill file. Agents should reference Rule 02 for quick reference and load this skill when generating complex task lists, project plans, or multi-phase workflows.