How long does it take you to send someone a task?

Over the last couple of months we ran a series of tests with over 50 companies and organisations in different industries. We were investigating on workflow methodologies. One point they all had in common is that tasks are sent back and forth between people every single day. We also came to the realization that sending someone a simple task takes up a lot of time, or at least it takes a large number of steps. Too many…

For example, if you’re still using emails to manage projects and communicate.. you have to click on compose message, enter a subject, put a “hi Bob”, fill in your message “can you do this and this please”, include the deadline etc…If you’re using a productivity tool or a collaboration tool it takes an average of 8 steps just to send out a simple task. We’d love to also have your input on this…and let’s see the results.

So please tell us How many steps does it take you to send out a task?