Taskmanagers

Taskmanagers are software tools used to monitor, control, and organize tasks. The term can refer to utilities that manage computer processes on an operating system as well as to applications that track work items in a project-management context. In both senses, taskmanagers provide visibility into what is active, what resources are consumed, and how tasks relate to one another, enabling users to start, pause, resume, or terminate tasks as needed.

In operating systems, task managers list running processes, services, and threads, along with resource usage such as CPU and memory, disk I/O, and network activity. They offer controls to end or suspend processes, adjust priorities, view detailed process information, and monitor system performance. They are essential for diagnosing slowdowns, crashes, or security issues and are often accessible from multiple user accounts with varying privilege levels.

In project-management contexts, task managers organize work items into tasks or tickets, assign owners, set due dates and priorities, track progress, dependencies, and time spent. They support collaboration, notes, file attachments, and dashboards that visualize status and workload, often using kanban boards, gantt charts, or sprint planning views to coordinate teams and timelines.

Common examples of OS-level task managers include Windows Task Manager, macOS Activity Monitor, and Linux tools such as top and htop; there are also cross-platform monitor utilities like Glances. For project management, dedicated task-management applications such as Jira, Asana, and Trello are frequently described as task managers.

Security considerations include the potential to terminate critical processes or expose sensitive information through process details. Use of task managers typically requires appropriate privileges, and unfamiliar activity may indicate malware or misconfiguration. The tool selected should match the scope and permissions of the tasks being managed.