eProductivity

eProductivity
Developer(s) ICA.COM, Inc.
Author Eric Mack
Chief Architect Ian Armstrong
Initial Release 2002
Public Release 2009
Development Status Active (as of 2015)[1]
Runs on IBM Notes 6.x, 7.x, 8.x, 8.5.x, and 9.x Social Edition
Website www.eproductivity.com

eProductivity is a software tool designed to help users of IBM Lotus Notes implement David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology, reinforce the best practices of GTD, and enhance the behavior of the IBM Lotus Notes PIM applications (Mail, Calendar, Contacts, To Do) to better support the GTD approach.

The eProductivity software itself is a pair of application design templates for use with IBM Lotus Notes 6.x and later.[1] These templates are applied to the user's Mail database and Notebook database and are designed to improve usability and add new functionality.

David Allen was personally involved in the design, testing, and vetting of eProductivity.[2]

eProductivity is also the name of the company founded by Eric Mack for the purpose of marketing and selling the eProductivity software.

History

eProductivity was originally designed in 2000 by productivity consultant Eric Mack for his personal use as a software implementation of David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology. At the time, Mr. Mack served as the Chief Technologist at the David Allen Company.[3] Beginning in 2002, Mr. Mack began providing eProductivity to his consulting clients only as a tool for their internal use.

In 2004, Mr. Mack presented a seminar in Chicago on how to be more productive with IBM Lotus Notes, during which he presented eProductivity to his audience.[4] Due to overwhelming positive response from this seminar, Mr. Mack decided to explore a retail version of eProductivity (which required a complete re-engineering of the product).

He spent the next four years developing and testing the eProductivity software with David Allen. In early 2008, the first public beta tests began.

eProductivity was officially launched as a retail product at Lotusphere 2009.[5] Since then, it has continually been developed to take advantage of additional software and capabilities in IBM's lineup.

In May 2011, ICA released a "Stand-alone" version of eProductivity that does not modify the user's IBM Lotus Notes Mail file.[6]

Development remains ongoing as of 2014, and the company is now focused on adapting the core functionality of eProductivity to other platforms besides IBM Lotus Notes.

David Allen actively uses and recommends IBM Lotus Notes with eProductivity as his GTD implementation tool of choice.[7]

Operation and Use

The eProductivity templates are application design templates for IBM Lotus Notes. An application design template for IBM Lotus Notes works like a "skin" or interface for a database: it changes how the user sees and interacts with their data. Because eProductivity is an application design template, installing it does not affect any of the user's data (although, if the wrong template is applied to a database, it will affect visibility of data in that database until the template is removed).

The eProductivity Mail template is installed by replacing the design of a Mail database within IBM Lotus Notes. It may be uninstalled by replacing the design of the Mail file with the standard IBM Lotus Notes Mail template.

The eProductivity Reference template is installed by replacing the design of a Notebook database within IBM Lotus Notes. It may be uninstalled by replacing the design of the Reference file with the standard IBM Lotus Notes Notebook template.[8]

Development

Both eProductivity templates are currently in active development.[1]

Mail Template

The eProductivity Mail template may be applied to either the user's Lotus Notes Mail file or to a separate Mail database within Lotus Notes. Application to the user's Lotus Notes Mail file is known as an "Integrated" installation, while application to a separate Mail database is known as a "Stand-alone" installation.[9]

The Integrated installation includes several features that are not available with a Stand-alone installation, such as synchronization with mobile devices, integration with the user's IBM Lotus Notes Calendar, and the "What Can I Do Now?" wizard.[10]

Reference Template

The eProductivity Reference template is designed to be applied to the user's Lotus Notes Notebook database.

Recommendations and Endorsements

eProductivity is recommended by Kevin Cavanaugh, IBM Lotus VP of Messaging and Collaboration.[11]

It is also used and recommended by David Allen, productivity coach and consultant and creator of the Getting Things Done methodology.[7][12] eProductivity is the only software application for the IBM messaging and collaboration suite that is certified as "GTD Enabled" by the David Allen Co.[2][13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Mack, Eric. "eProductivity Version History". eProductivity. Eric Mack. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  2. 1 2 Allen, David. "David Allen: What does 'GTD enabled' mean? (from interview with David Allen)". Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  3. ↑ Mack, Eric. "Eric Mack's LinkedIn profile: Experience". LinkedIn.com. LinkedIn.com. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  4. ↑ Brill, Ed. "Eric Mack in action". EdBrill.com. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  5. ↑ "ICA announces eProductivity, a Personal Productivity Application for IBM Lotus Notes, Based on David Allen's 'Getting Things Done' ('GTD') Methodology". PRWEB.com. PRWEB. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  6. ↑ "New eProductivity Stand-alone App Lets Users Personalize Their IBM Lotus Notes® Experience, Making Lotus Notes Likeable". PRWeb.com. PRWeb. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  7. 1 2 Allen, David. "David Allen: What eProductivity has done for me (from interview with David Allen)". Eric Mack. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  8. ↑ IBM's Lotus Notes help site
  9. ↑ Mack, Eric. "Products: Stand-alone vs. Integrated". Eric Mack. Retrieved 2015-05-08.
  10. ↑ Mack, Eric. "Feature comparison: all eProductivity versions". Eric Mack. Retrieved 2015-05-08.
  11. ↑ Cavanaugh, Kevin. "Lotus Knows How to Get Things Done". Lotusphere 2010 Conference. Eric Mack. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  12. ↑ Christopher Null. "Work Smarter in Windows: 55 Great Productivity Tricks". PCWorld article. PCWorld.com. Retrieved 2015-05-08.
  13. ↑ "Common Tools & Software: List Manager Add-ons". Getting Things Done. David Allen Co. Retrieved 2014-05-29.

External links

See also

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