https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/microtasks-and-microproductivity/

Microsoft's Microproductivity Research Team Overview

Mobile devices offer people the opportunity to get useful tasks done during time previously thought to be unusable. Because cell phones have small screens, they’re useful for short, simple tasks. The researchers in this study designed a special app, Play Write, whose purpose is to make complex editing tasks more fragmented and achievable while working on mobile devices. Results suggested that the app made participants feel more productive and less stressed, and they completed more edits on a document using the app.

Multitasking with Play Write, a mobile microproductivity writing tool

 In this paper, authors explore how software might help programmers make productive use of their time while away from their workspace. It explores how to facilitate programmers’ mobile work practices and cross-device work as subjects express interest in work more grounded in their existing code tasks. The paper introduces Mercury, a mobile programming tool that auto-generates microtasks based on programmers’ existing code. 

Mercury: Empowering Programmers’ Mobile Work Practices with Microproductivity 

This article explores the usefulness of gamification on task-management applications in terms of motivation, engagement and productivity. 

 Deconstructing ‘Gamified’ Task-Management Applications 

Small jobs that requires a low level of skill and takes minimal time to complete. Microtasking is the process of splitting up a large job (macro-task) into smaller jobs.

Microtasks/ Microtasking

A small gap in time that occurs between other segments of occupied time during which microtasks can be completed

Micromoment

This article was written by the leader of the Microsoft Research team detailing concepts and developments needed to understand the domain of Microproductivity. It also presented the conclusions of a short study conducted by the team (not explained in detailed), and its practical implications. 

The future of Microproductivity 

- A Brief Perspective on Microtask Crowdsourcing Workflows for Interface Design
- Skill Development Framework for Micro-Tasking


Further Literature

The completion and aggregation of microtasks. Involves motivating people to complete microtasks, designing where and when to embed microtasks, and managing attention.

Task Completion Definiton

The sourcing of tasks and microtasks to an actor to complete. For example, a microtask could be completed by the task owner, peers, the crowd, or automation.

Task Sourcing Definition

The act of decomposing tasks into smaller microtasks that leverage micromoments (specific, strategic moments that occur during a person's day).

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Boston College

Macalester College

- Macro-productivity
- Micro-productivity
- Multitasking productivity

Focuses of Productivity in Industrial-Organizational Psychology

The term multitasking (or time sharing) was first used to describe the sharing of computing processor capacity amongst a number of distinct jobs (e.g., Denning (1971)). In the workplace today, human multitasking is a natural response to the increased demand from a growing number of competing activities. 

Multitasking

Microproductivity

Macrotasking refers to complex jobs that cannot be effectively broken down into simpler tasks. These may take a significant amount of time to complete.

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