The world is changing. We can feel the trends ourselves. More information, more logic, more competition, more complexity, more rules, more context, more speed, more demanding clients. But how is project management changing?

From the 1940s to the 2000s, the following methodologies were developed: Lean (1940s), Kanban (1940s), CPM/CCM (1950s), Waterfall (1970s), PMBOK (1980s), Six Sigma (1986), PRINCE2 (1989), Scrum (1995), Agile (2001), PRiSM (2007). In our experience, we’ve worked with nearly all of them, with ups and downs, including their variations and hybrids. Some of them we apply and highly value. And yet, after 15 years in project and operational management, we know firsthand what project managers, product leads, and team leads still cry about. They cry out for greater precision, better coordination, clearer information, smoother collaboration and reliable timelines.

It took us time to realize a seemingly simple truth — which we’ll share in a moment. Projects, like companies — are essentially resources aimed at achieving goals. These resources are time, people, money and information. But resources themselves do not equal results. The real value of resources lies in their connections and interactions – that’s the cornerstone of achieving goals. That is the idea of Context.
That is the idea of Context.

5 principles of Context

  • Consolidate people, tasks and information around context
  • Increase coordination and precision through local planning
  • Systematize teamwork changes, edits, and interactions
  • Build a culture of context-driven decisions and insights
  • Plan your time by combining strategy and context

Consolidate people, tasks and information – around context

A new concept in PM

Traditional project-management stands on five basic concepts: Task, Assignee, Stage, Goal, and Plan. Context method introduces a sixth concept — the Chain – a group of tasks or meetings aimed at completing an assignment. Chain is a workspace that exists along with tasks, as a more сompound job-to-do or workflow. Its purpose is to bring together resources: people, tasks, communication, and context — to maximize their interaction and impact. Within the project management system, Chains, like tasks, can reside within stages, milestones, lists, boards, Gantt charts; they can have tags and types, and can be related to each other and to other tasks.

Context-Driven Project Management

Today, hybrid approaches are widely used in PM blending adaptability and structure. Work is becoming more dynamic yet projects still require order. Context is a hybrid method that combines flexible and precise approaches, developing the idea of context-driven management.

The context-driven approach is based on four principles:

  • Consolidation – everything that belongs together as context, is unified
  • Structure – task relations are structured, according to conditions
  • Context – acting from the context, keeping the context, using the context
  • Time – alongside project-level, local planning is carried out




In Context, just like in traditional methods, a project is divided into phases or milestones where tasks are executed. However, inside phases, in addition to organizing tasks through lists, boards, statuses and groups, another way of organization is introduced – the Chains. Depending on the context, tasks are arranged into various structures — from linear to dynamic and complex ones (see Principle 2 for more).

For example:

  • Client feedback followed by a series of task edits
  • A set of tasks linked by meaning or topic
  • Work on a mockup through a chain of actions and approvals
  • A complex assignment with a scenario involving multiple assignees

Thus, Context introduces a new kind of organization and flexibility in projects that starts from the tasks themselves. If Waterfall is acting precisely, Agile is acting adaptively, then Context is acting contextually.

Context connected

Every team member is constantly switching contexts. That costs time — searching for data, re-focusing, immersion, extra communication. To pick up quickly and perform effectively, one needs complete, connected information — a comprehensive context.
Chains assemble that context. Applied work information — related data, history and communications — is consolidated into a single space that’s available exactly where performers/assignees need it. Each team member sees their task in the context of the assignment/goal, related tasks, and relevant information. Chains act as local hubs where participants exchange and use information.

Communication is a key part of context. In Context, chat, audio/video calls, and calendar are integrated in every task and assignment. All interactions stay tied to their source. Chats inside tasks or assignments are integrated with the work messenger. In practice, these functions are either natively built into the project management system or integrated into it. The goal is to ensure maximum context availability.

In Context, related tasks and discussions are linked together into Chains. Both scheduled and dynamic communications (meetings, A/V calls) exist within the chain of events as part of the context. For example:

  • a series of tasks leads up to a meeting
  • working on a document unfolds a series of tasks, meetings, and approvals
  • after a meeting, related tasks or follow-up meetings continue within the same Chain

Chain examples:


What to do?

1. Use chains as an additional (middle?) layer of task organization
2. Consolidate resources and context around local goals
3. Group related tasks and discussions into chains
4. Integrate and manage communication within context

Increase coordination and precision
– through local planning

In Context, alongside the traditional project planning approach, local planning is used — Chain and Timeview. The first is based on relations, the second one – on time.

Chain planning

This is a method of locally organizing assignments as workspaces, where tasks and interactions are integrated into an action plan. Such organization helps participants develop an understanding of the logical connections between tasks and the purpose/their role behind their work. Work becomes more meaningful, collaborative, and aligned.

Use cases for chains depend on the conditions of the assignments:

Sequence.  Is a chain of tasks, meetings and approvals. It can be planned in advance while maintaining flexibility and allowing for add-ons. For example: document approval, where discussion and confirmation occur step-by-step with different participants.

Bundle.  Is a group of tasks, meetings and approvals where the primary factor is the contextual connection between tasks, rather than their sequence. For example: event preparation, competitor analysis, market research, parallel testing, etc.

Dynamic chain.  Is a sequence of work edits, add-ons, versions, iterations and approvals that extend or evolve the original task, meeting, or assignment (more in Section 3). For example: after a task is completed, testing, discussion and edits follow.

Subproject.  Is a complex assignment with basic project properties: goal, duration, phases, plan, tasks, deadlines and participants. For example: client accounting, marketing campaign, competitor analysis, landing page launch, training.

Workflow.  Is a scenario of actions with “if-then” conditions and triggers. It is used in processes with a standard set of steps. For example: a customer request for a product or service — a task chain is created for the relevant department, and the scenario adapts based on the request type and data.

Branch.  Is a deviation or offshoot from a task or meeting (see more in Section 3). For example, a task may require additional actions from other participants, or something goes off track — a delay, an issue, or extra questions.

A common practice in Context is the use of Chain-templates — frequent cases and assignments where an action plan is important, are saved as frameworks and scenarios. For example: testing, onboarding, handling feedback, requests, etc.

In Context, it is important to avoid over-management — when more time is spent on organizing tasks rather than on completing them. When needed, a single task is created, or the task continues within a dynamic Chain, or a chain of tasks and meets is created.

Chains help managers coordinate the team because they essentially serve as a workspace for assignees and coordination hubs.

Timeview planning

In most cases, planning tools are the manager’s prerogative. In Context, however, time is also managed by performers through Timeview. It is a method of local organization for tasks and meetings on a timeline that combines both precise and flexible planning. To draw a parallel, it works like a zoomed-in Gantt chart for each team member.

Tasks and meetings are scheduled by team members for a weekly period, either individually or together with a manager:

  • during the day, without a specific time – the higher the position, the higher the priority
  • with a start time, without end time
  • with both start and end time, when needed

The purpose of Timeview planning:

  • to visualize time as a measurable and limited resource
  • to match available time with workload and priorities
  • to provide assignees with a tool for time-management and self-organization
  • to share responsibility for deadlines and priorities with the team


What to do?

1. Organize tasks starting from the local level
2. Apply various relations depending on the scenarios
3. Combine adaptability and precision
4. Work on tasks on a timeview
5. Foster a culture of time-management within the team

Systematize teamwork changes, edits, and interactions

Dynamic chains

Many tasks in a project – cannot be completed by a single assignee and require the involvement of others: the team, the client, the manager, other departments or external actors. This leads to additional tasks, meetings, approvals and calls. During meetings, related tasks are often created or follow-up meetings are scheduled..

Working on a task or assignment is often a journey during which operational edits, additions, discussions, versions and iterations occur. In practice, however, these changes are not systematized — communications are fragmented, information is scattered, dependencies and responsibilities are unclear and the process history gets lost. In Context work processes are linked in chains, maintaining integrity. All changes preserve context and become structured.

For example:

  • a client makes changes to a task — a new task is linked to the previous ones. All participants
    stay in context
  • after a meeting, related tasks continue within the chain. Process integrity is maintained
  • an additional task is assigned to another department — deadlines, statuses, and assignees are tracked within the Chain

Deviations from plan

During the work plan deviations, blockers, unforeseen events, bug fixes, unusual situations emerge. Context visualises/treats them as branches. When needed, an individual task or meet can spawn – a single task or an entire chain of linked tasks, discussions, approvals. Deviations from plans become more visible, analyzable, manageable and systematic.

For example:

  • a task isn’t completed on time due to blockers — lack of data and the need for approvals. This is visualized in a branch of additional tasks and interactions
  • an account manager guides a client through a standard scenario, but along the way receives non-standard requests for another department — these tasks and interactions are handled in a branch
  • one of the assignees makes a mistake and delays the assignment. The issue is addressed within a branch

What to do?

1. Link changes and edits to the original task or assignment
2. Group additional tasks, meetings, and calls into a single thread.
3. Use Chains to manage versions, variations, and approvals
4. Visualize deviations so they can be tracked easily.



End of Part One.

Principles 4 and 5 will be covered in upcoming articles.
Here’s a brief preview:

Foster a culture of context-driven
decisions and insights

This principle concerns Context-driven decisions & analytics.

Сontext-driven decisions (CDD)

Are decisions made based on real-time analysis of the current context. This approach takes into account complex factors, circumstances, goals, constraints, behavioral nuances, related data, situational dynamics, and empirical experience.

Key principles of CDD:

  • Environmental analysis — 6 inwork principles for assessing external and internal factors
  • Application of experience — Applying experience, considering the weight of the context
  • Adaptability — Choosing the option that maximizes benefit under specific conditions
  • Focus on values — Of the team, project, company, and market; considering subtle nuances such as culture, philosophy, and vision
  • Evaluation — Assessing decision outcomes and recording both positive and negative experiences.

Context-driven analytics(CDA)

Is an approach to data analysis where interpretation of results and decisions depend on the specific context, not just statistical patterns or straightforward insights. This approach considers the same factors as CDD and is used for analysis, by managers – for decision-making, by teams – for retrospectives and future planning.

Key principles of CDA:

  • Интеграция контекста — Alongside standard metrics, contextual ones are used: business, behavioral, temporal, event-based, technical, human, and operational
  • Учет контекста — Results account not only for what and how much, but also why, for whom, and under what conditions
  • Динамическая интерпретация — The same metrics can mean different things under different circumstances
  • Фокус на действия — Analysis should suggest solutions relevant to current capabilities and goals.

Context-driven metrics turn dry numbers into stories that enable accurate decisions. Context-driven analytics transforms data into meaningful actions but requires critical thinking and understanding of the “life beyond the dataset”.

To be continued..

Plan your time by combining
strategy and context

Time of a manager is a limited resource that, like the project itself, needs to be planned and prioritized. This especially applies to managers whose role goes beyond support and coordination and includes development: of the product, project, direction, and team.

This principle concerns Priority Planning — balancing context and strategy, reactivity and proactivity in work.

Key principles:

  • Combining zoom-out and zoom-in views on one’s time
  • Dividing calendar time into proactive and reactive slots
  • Priorities have relative weight to each other
  • Priorities are presented by percentages and working hours
  • Priority slots are reviewed weekly

Key points:

  • Reducing chaos — constant priority changes and loss of focus
  • Productivity — minimizing context switching
  • Reactivity — adapting to context, responding to conditions
  • Proactivity — managing context, creating conditions for strategy
  • Evaluation criteria — when to change strategy and priorities based on context

To be continued..