# Projects Guide

## What a Project Is

A project is a named body of work with multiple steps, dependencies, and a lifecycle. Unlike standalone tasks, a project has child work items that can depend on each other, a health signal that tracks progress, and lifecycle phases (planning, active, blocked, verifying, complete, abandoned).

Projects are ideal when the user has work involving multiple people, sequential steps, or deliverables — a kitchen refit, a client engagement, a product launch.

## Creating a Project

Tell Maxy naturally:

- "Create a project for Mrs. Chen's kitchen refit — strip the old kitchen, plumbing first fix, electrical first fix, install units, then tiling and finishing"
- "Set up a project for the bathroom renovation, standard tier, due by end of June"
- "Start a project: boiler install for Sarah Thompson, quick job, just order parts, install, and test"

Maxy creates the project and all work items in one step. Dependencies between steps (e.g., "install units after plumbing and electrical") are set up automatically based on the order and relationships you describe.

Each project has a tier that reflects its complexity:
- **Quick** — straightforward, few steps (e.g., boiler install)
- **Standard** — moderate complexity, multiple phases (e.g., kitchen refit)
- **Full** — significant scope, many dependencies (e.g., new build project)

## Checking Project Status

Ask naturally:

- "What are my projects?"
- "How's the kitchen refit going?"
- "Show me the Davies bathroom project"
- "What should I focus on?"

Maxy shows project health at a glance:
- **Green** — on track, no issues
- **Amber** — warning signs (overdue task or blocker)
- **Red** — at risk (multiple overdue, critical blocker, or stale)

When you start a new conversation, Maxy automatically shows active project summaries so you know where things stand without asking.

## Updating a Project

Tell Maxy when things change:

- "Move the kitchen refit to the active phase"
- "The materials for the kitchen refit are delayed by a week"
- "Update the Davies bathroom target date to July 15th"
- "Change the boiler install to a standard tier — it's more complex than we thought"

Maxy records phase changes and issues as part of the project's history, creating an audit trail.

## Completing a Project

Tell Maxy:

- "Mark the boiler install as done"
- "Complete the kitchen refit project"

If any work items are still pending, Maxy will let you know and ask how to handle them — cancel, defer, or keep working on them.

## Abandoning a Project

If a project is no longer needed:

- "Abandon the Davies bathroom — client cancelled"
- "Stop the kitchen refit project"

Maxy records the reason and marks the project as abandoned.

## Projects vs. Tasks

Use a **task** for standalone work — a single action, a reminder, a follow-up. Use a **project** when the work has multiple steps that depend on each other, a client or stakeholder, and a lifecycle that progresses through phases.

When you describe multi-step work, Maxy will ask if you'd like to structure it as a project. Over time, it learns your preference and stops asking.
