--- name: project-tracker description: "Creates a project management database in Notion with tasks, statuses, owners, due dates, and priorities, pre-populated from a project brief or scope document. Use when a user needs to set up project tracking for a new engagement, wants to replace spreadsheet-based task management, or needs a lightweight PM system without paid software." allowed-tools: Read Write Glob mcp__claude_ai_Notion__notion-create-database mcp__claude_ai_Notion__notion-create-pages mcp__claude_ai_Notion__notion-search mcp__claude_ai_Notion__notion-fetch metadata: author: AI Black Magic version: "1.0" --- # Project Tracker ## When to Use This Skill Use this skill when you need to: - Create a project task database in Notion from a project brief, scope document, or verbal description - Replace a spreadsheet, whiteboard, or sticky-note system for tracking project tasks - Set up task tracking for a new client engagement, product launch, or internal initiative - Build a lightweight project management system without paying for Asana, Monday, or ClickUp - Pre-populate a task board with phases, owners, due dates, and priorities from a project plan **DO NOT** use this skill for: - Client or contact relationship tracking (use a client-crm skill instead) - Kanban-only boards with no task metadata (just use a plain Notion board) - Enterprise portfolio management across dozens of projects (too complex for a single database) - Time tracking or invoicing (different schema and tooling needed) - Recurring task management or habit tracking (this is for finite project scopes) --- ## Quick Reference: Project Tracker Features | Feature | Details | |---------|---------| | Properties | 9 fields per task record | | Status stages | 5 (Not Started through Blocked) | | Priority levels | 4 (Urgent, High, Medium, Low) | | Database views | 5 pre-built filtered views | | Seeding | Bulk import from project brief, scope doc, or task list | | Usage guide | Common operations documented for the user | ## Quick Reference: Database Schema | Property | Type | Purpose | Default/Options | |----------|------|---------|-----------------| | Task Name | Title | Short, action-oriented task description | Required | | Status | Select | Current state of the task | Not Started | | Priority | Select | Urgency and importance level | Medium | | Owner | Rich text | Person responsible for the task | Empty | | Due Date | Date | Deadline for task completion | Empty | | Project Phase | Select | Which phase of the project this task belongs to | See options below | | Description | Rich text | Detailed requirements, acceptance criteria, or notes | Empty | | Dependencies | Rich text | Other tasks that must complete before this one can start | Empty | | Tags | Multi-select | Categories for filtering and grouping | See options below | ### Status Options ``` Not Started --> In Progress --> In Review --> Complete --> Blocked ``` | Status | Meaning | Action Required | |--------|---------|-----------------| | Not Started | Task is defined but work has not begun | Assign owner and due date if missing | | In Progress | Actively being worked on | Owner updates Description with progress notes | | In Review | Work is done, awaiting approval or feedback | Reviewer provides feedback within 2 business days | | Complete | Task is finished and approved | No further action needed | | Blocked | Cannot proceed due to a dependency or issue | Log the blocker in Description, escalate to project lead | ### Priority Options | Priority | Color | When to Use | |----------|-------|-------------| | Urgent | Red | Blocks other tasks or has a deadline within 48 hours | | High | Orange | Critical path item, needed this week | | Medium | Yellow | Standard task, due within the current phase | | Low | Gray | Nice-to-have, can slip without impacting the project | ### Default Project Phase Options Phases are customized per project. If the user does not specify phases, use these defaults: | Phase | Purpose | |-------|---------| | Planning | Research, requirements gathering, scoping | | Design | Wireframes, mockups, architecture, strategy | | Build | Development, writing, creation, production | | Review | Testing, QA, feedback, revisions | | Launch | Deployment, go-live, publishing, delivery | ### Default Tag Options `milestone`, `client-facing`, `internal`, `content`, `design`, `development`, `admin`, `research`, `meeting`, `deliverable` --- ## Core Workflow EVERY PROJECT TRACKER STARTS BY GATHERING THE PROJECT DETAILS AND CREATING THE DATABASE WITH THE FULL SCHEMA BEFORE ADDING ANY TASKS -- NEVER ADD PAGES TO A DATABASE THAT IS MISSING PROPERTIES. ### Phase 1: Gather Project Details Collect these details from the user before building anything: 1. **Project name** -- what is this project called 2. **Notion parent page** -- where should the tracker database live (page name or URL) 3. **Project phases** -- custom phase names, or accept the 5 defaults (Planning, Design, Build, Review, Launch) 4. **Team members** -- list of people who will own tasks (names only; these go in the Owner field) 5. **Timeline** -- overall start date, end date, or phase-level deadlines 6. **Project brief or task list** -- a scope document, brief, bullet list, or verbal description of what needs to get done If the user provides only items 1 and 2, proceed with all defaults and generate tasks from context. Ask only about missing critical details. **Brief template for vague requests:** ``` I'll build your project tracker in Notion. Quick answers needed: 1. What is the project name? 2. Which Notion page should I create the tracker under? 3. What are the project phases? (default: Planning, Design, Build, Review, Launch) 4. Who are the team members? (names for task ownership) 5. What is the timeline? (start date, end date, or key deadlines) 6. Do you have a project brief, scope doc, or task list I should use to pre-populate tasks? ``` ### Phase 2: Create the Database in Notion 1. Call `notion-search` with the page name or keywords the user provided to locate the parent page 2. Confirm the parent page with the user if multiple matches exist 3. Call `notion-create-database` with the parent page ID and full schema: **Database title:** `[Project Name] Tracker` **Properties to create:** ``` Task Name -> title Status -> select options: Not Started, In Progress, In Review, Complete, Blocked colors: gray, blue, purple, green, red Priority -> select options: Urgent, High, Medium, Low colors: red, orange, yellow, gray Owner -> rich_text Due Date -> date Project Phase -> select options: [user's custom phases OR defaults: Planning, Design, Build, Review, Launch] colors: blue, purple, orange, green, pink Description -> rich_text Dependencies -> rich_text Tags -> multi_select options: milestone, client-facing, internal, content, design, development, admin, research, meeting, deliverable colors: red, blue, gray, pink, purple, green, brown, yellow, orange, default ``` 4. Verify the database was created by calling `notion-fetch` with the returned database ID 5. Confirm creation to the user: ``` Project tracker created: "[Project Name] Tracker" Database ID: db_xyz789 Properties configured: - Task Name (title) - Status (5 stages: Not Started > In Progress > In Review > Complete > Blocked) - Priority (4 levels: Urgent, High, Medium, Low) - Owner (text) - Due Date (date) - Project Phase ([number] phases) - Description (rich text) - Dependencies (rich text) - Tags (10 default tags) ``` **IF THE PARENT PAGE IS NOT FOUND:** - Ask the user for the exact page title or a URL - Try `notion-search` again with the corrected term - If still not found, ask the user to share the page with the Notion integration - **After 3 failed searches, stop and explain:** "I cannot find that page. Please verify the page exists and that the Notion integration has access to it. Check Settings > Connections in Notion." **IF DATABASE CREATION FAILS:** - Check the error message for permission issues - Verify the parent page ID by calling `notion-fetch` on it - Retry once with the same parameters - **If it fails again:** "Database creation failed. This usually means the Notion integration does not have permission to create content on that page. Go to the parent page in Notion, click the three-dot menu, go to Connections, and ensure the integration has 'Can edit' access." ### Phase 3: Pre-Populate Tasks from Project Brief 1. Parse the user's project brief, scope document, or task list into discrete tasks 2. For each task, map the data to the schema: - **Task Name** -- short, action-oriented (start with a verb: "Design homepage wireframe", "Write onboarding email sequence") - **Status** -- default to "Not Started" for all new tasks - **Priority** -- infer from context; milestone items and deadline-sensitive tasks get "High" or "Urgent"; default to "Medium" - **Owner** -- assign based on user instructions or skill/role matching; leave empty if no team info provided - **Due Date** -- calculate from timeline if provided; distribute tasks across phases evenly if only start/end dates given - **Project Phase** -- assign based on task nature and project flow - **Description** -- extract relevant details, acceptance criteria, or specifications from the brief - **Dependencies** -- note if a task explicitly depends on another task (e.g., "Design must complete before Build begins") - **Tags** -- infer from task content (e.g., client deliverable = `client-facing` + `deliverable`, research task = `research`) 3. Call `notion-create-pages` to add all tasks to the database 4. Report seeding results: ``` Tasks imported: 20 of 20 successful PLANNING (4 tasks): Define project requirements — Medium, Sarah, Due: Mar 10 Audit existing website analytics — High, Marcus, Due: Mar 12 Stakeholder kickoff meeting — Urgent, Sarah, Due: Mar 7 Compile brand asset inventory — Low, Unassigned, Due: Mar 14 DESIGN (5 tasks): [listed with owner, priority, due date] BUILD (7 tasks): [listed with owner, priority, due date] REVIEW (2 tasks): [listed with owner, priority, due date] LAUNCH (2 tasks): [listed with owner, priority, due date] Total: 20 tasks | Assigned: 16 | Unassigned: 4 | Milestones: 3 ``` **IF THE BRIEF IS VAGUE OR INCOMPLETE:** - Generate reasonable tasks based on the project type and phases - Present the generated task list to the user for approval BEFORE creating pages: ``` I generated 18 tasks from your brief. Here is the breakdown by phase: PLANNING (3 tasks): 1. Define target audience and goals — Medium 2. Audit competitor websites — Medium 3. Gather brand assets and copy — High Want me to proceed, or would you like to add, remove, or modify any tasks? ``` - **NEVER create tasks without confirmation when the data is inferred rather than explicit** **IF BATCH CREATION PARTIALLY FAILS:** - Report which tasks succeeded and which failed - Retry each failed task individually with `notion-create-pages` - If individual retries fail, provide the task details formatted for manual entry ### Phase 4: Set Up Views and Confirm After the database and tasks are in place, guide the user on setting up filtered views. **Notion MCP does not support creating views programmatically**, so provide exact instructions. Present these 5 views for the user to create manually: ``` RECOMMENDED VIEWS (create these in Notion): 1. ALL TASKS (Table view) - View type: Table - Sort: Due Date (ascending) - No filter - Purpose: Full task list ordered by deadline 2. MY TASKS (Table view) - View type: Table - Filter: Owner contains [your name] - Sort: Due Date (ascending), then Priority (Urgent first) - Purpose: Personal task list for each team member 3. THIS WEEK (Table view) - View type: Table - Filter: Due Date is within the next 7 days AND Status is not "Complete" - Sort: Priority (Urgent first), then Due Date (ascending) - Purpose: Weekly sprint view showing what needs attention now 4. BY PHASE (Board view) - View type: Board - Group by: Project Phase - Filter: Status is not "Complete" - Sort: Priority (Urgent first) - Purpose: See active tasks organized by project phase 5. BLOCKED ITEMS (Table view) - View type: Table - Filter: Status is "Blocked" - Sort: Priority (Urgent first) - Purpose: Escalation list — resolve blockers before they cascade ``` Deliver a final summary including: database name and ID, task count by phase with date ranges, assigned vs. unassigned count, milestone count, and 3-4 concrete next steps (create views, assign unassigned tasks, review weekly, check blocked items daily). --- ## Example 1: Website Redesign Project **User request:** "We are redesigning our company website. 4 phases: Discovery, Design, Development, QA/Launch. Team is Sarah (PM), Marcus (designer), Priya (developer), and James (copywriter). Timeline is March 3 to April 25. My Notion page is called 'Active Projects'. Here is our scope..." **Execution:** 1. **Gather:** Project name "Website Redesign", parent page "Active Projects", 4 custom phases, 4 team members, 8-week timeline, scope document provided 2. **Search:** `notion-search` for "Active Projects" -> found `pg_active456`, confirmed 3. **Create:** `notion-create-database` with parent `pg_active456`, title "Website Redesign Tracker", custom phases (Discovery, Design, Development, QA/Launch) -> `db_redesign789` 4. **Seed 20 tasks:** ``` DISCOVERY (5 tasks, Mar 3-10): Stakeholder kickoff meeting — Urgent, Sarah, milestone Audit current site analytics — High, Marcus Competitor analysis (5 sites) — Medium, James Define sitemap and page hierarchy — High, Sarah Compile brand guidelines and assets — Medium, James DESIGN (6 tasks, Mar 14-24): Create wireframes for 8 key pages — High, Marcus Design homepage mockup — Urgent, Marcus, milestone Design inner page templates — High, Marcus Write homepage copy — High, James Write service page copy (4 pages) — Medium, James Client design review and approval — High, Sarah, client-facing DEVELOPMENT (6 tasks, Mar 25 - Apr 7): Set up staging environment — High, Priya Build homepage — Urgent, Priya Build inner page templates — High, Priya Integrate contact form and CRM — Medium, Priya Mobile responsive QA pass — High, Priya Content migration (blog posts) — Medium, James QA/LAUNCH (3 tasks, Apr 11-25): Full QA testing across browsers — High, Priya Client UAT and final approval — Urgent, Sarah, milestone, client-facing DNS switch and go-live — Urgent, Priya, milestone Total: 20 tasks | Assigned: 20 | Milestones: 4 | Client-facing: 2 ``` 5. **Deliver:** View instructions + final summary with phase breakdown and next steps --- ## Example 2: Product Launch Project **User request:** "I am launching a new online course in 6 weeks. Phases are Pre-Launch, Launch Week, and Post-Launch. It is just me doing everything. My Notion workspace has a page called 'Course Business'. I have a rough outline of what needs to happen." **Execution:** 1. **Gather:** Project name "Online Course Launch", parent page "Course Business", 3 custom phases, solo operator, 6-week timeline, rough outline provided 2. **Search:** `notion-search` for "Course Business" -> found `pg_course321`, confirmed 3. **Create:** `notion-create-database` with parent `pg_course321`, title "Online Course Launch Tracker", custom phases (Pre-Launch, Launch Week, Post-Launch) -> `db_launch654` 4. **Seed 15 tasks:** ``` PRE-LAUNCH (9 tasks, Week 1-4): Finalize course curriculum outline — Urgent, You, milestone Record video lessons (8 modules) — High, You Edit and upload videos to platform — High, You Write sales page copy — High, You, client-facing Design course thumbnail and graphics — Medium, You, design Set up payment and checkout flow — High, You Build email waitlist sequence (5 emails) — High, You, content Create 3 social media teaser posts — Medium, You, content Set up affiliate tracking links — Low, You LAUNCH WEEK (4 tasks, Week 5): Send launch email to waitlist — Urgent, You, milestone Publish sales page and open cart — Urgent, You, milestone Post daily social media content (5 days) — High, You, content Run live Q&A or webinar — High, You, client-facing POST-LAUNCH (2 tasks, Week 6): Send follow-up email to non-buyers — Medium, You, content Collect testimonials from first students — High, You, milestone, client-facing Total: 15 tasks | Assigned: 15 | Milestones: 4 | Content: 4 ``` 5. **Deliver:** View instructions (with solopreneur tip: skip "My Tasks" view, use "All Tasks" and "This Week" instead) + final summary with phase breakdown and milestone checkpoints --- ## Pre-Delivery Checklist Run this checklist before delivering the tracker to the user. **DO NOT SKIP ANY ITEM.** | Check | What to Verify | How | |-------|----------------|-----| | Database exists | Database was created and is accessible | Call `notion-fetch` with database ID | | All 9 properties present | Every property from the schema is configured | Verify in the `notion-fetch` response | | Status options correct | All 5 statuses exist as select options | Check select options in database schema | | Priority options correct | All 4 priorities exist as select options | Check select options in database schema | | Project phases correct | All custom or default phases exist as select options | Check select options in database schema | | Tags configured | All 10 default tags (or custom set) exist as multi-select options | Check multi-select options in database schema | | Due Date configured | Due Date is a date type property | Verify property type in schema | | Tasks seeded | All tasks were created successfully | Count created pages vs. expected | | No duplicate tasks | Same task was not added twice during seeding | Check for duplicate task names | | Owners assigned | Tasks have owners where team info was provided | Verify Owner field on seeded pages | | Due dates set | Tasks have due dates where timeline was provided | Verify Date values on seeded pages | | Milestones tagged | Key deliverables are tagged with "milestone" | Verify Tags on milestone tasks | | View instructions delivered | User received setup instructions for all 5 views | Confirm in delivery message | | Parent page correct | Database lives under the page the user requested | Verify parent in `notion-fetch` response | ``` Pre-Delivery Checklist: [x] Database created and accessible [x] All 9 properties configured [x] Status options correct (5 stages) [x] Priority options correct (4 levels) [x] Project phases correct (custom or default) [x] Tags configured (10 default or custom) [x] Due Date property configured [x] All tasks seeded successfully [x] No duplicate tasks [x] Owners assigned where applicable [x] Due dates set from timeline [x] Milestones tagged [x] View setup instructions delivered [x] Database under correct parent page ``` --- ## Recovery and Troubleshooting ### Notion Search Returns No Results If `notion-search` cannot find the target parent page: 1. Ask the user for the exact page title (case-sensitive) 2. Try searching with a shorter keyword (e.g., "Projects" instead of "Active Projects Dashboard") 3. Ask the user to confirm the page exists and is not in a private section 4. **If 3 searches fail:** "I cannot locate that page. Please verify the page title and ensure the Notion integration has access. Check Settings > Connections in Notion, find the integration, and confirm the page is shared with it." ### Database Creation Fails If `notion-create-database` returns an error: 1. Verify the parent page ID by calling `notion-fetch` on it 2. Check for permission errors in the response -- the integration may lack write access 3. Retry once with the same parameters 4. **If it fails again:** "Database creation failed due to a permissions issue. Please go to the parent page in Notion, click the three-dot menu, go to Connections, and ensure the integration has 'Can edit' access." ### Task Seeding Partially Fails If some tasks fail to create: 1. Report which tasks succeeded and which failed 2. Retry each failed task individually with `notion-create-pages` 3. If individual retries fail, check if a required property is missing or malformed 4. **If retries continue to fail:** Provide the task details formatted for manual entry: ``` Could not import these tasks automatically: Set up staging environment — High, Priya, Due: Mar 25 To add manually: open the tracker database in Notion, click "+ New", and enter the details above. ``` ### Notion API Rate Limits If you receive rate limit errors during bulk seeding: 1. Pause for 10 seconds between batches 2. Reduce batch size to 5 tasks per `notion-create-pages` call 3. Continue until all tasks are imported 4. **DO NOT skip tasks due to rate limits** -- slow down and retry ### User Wants to Modify the Schema Later **Notion MCP does not support modifying existing database schemas.** Instruct the user: - To add a property: open the tracker, click "+" in the header row, choose type, name it - To modify a property: click the column header, select "Edit property", change type/name/options ### User Wants to Add More Tasks Later 1. Call `notion-fetch` to confirm the database ID and schema 2. Parse the new tasks following the same mapping rules in Phase 3 3. Call `notion-create-pages` to add the new tasks 4. Report the additions and updated totals ### Duplicate Detection Flag potential duplicates before creating pages (e.g., "Write homepage copy" and "Draft homepage content" -- same task?). Present them to the user for confirmation. **NEVER create duplicate task records** -- always confirm first. --- ## Anti-Patterns - **DO NOT** create the database without the full property schema -- adding properties after pages exist causes data alignment issues - **DO NOT** invent task details not present in the brief -- if the brief is vague, present generated tasks for approval first - **DO NOT** skip the parent page confirmation -- creating a tracker under the wrong page is difficult to undo - **DO NOT** assign owners that the user did not mention -- leave the Owner field empty for unassigned tasks - **DO NOT** deliver without the view setup instructions -- the tracker is only valuable when the user can filter and sort tasks - **DO NOT** set all tasks to "Urgent" or "High" -- a project where everything is urgent has no prioritization at all - **DO NOT** create views programmatically -- Notion MCP does not support this; provide manual instructions instead - **DO NOT** promise automated reminders, notifications, or status updates -- this is a database, not a project management app with automations