In this scenario, Robert Barathian (a father) is trying to get his children to do his chores reliably. He decides to use the Household Dashboard to make this happen.
He starts out by creating a child named Joffrey. Here the parent has the option to create some tasks Joffrey usually has to do. The parent can also choose from some predetermined tasks. If we ask for the age of the child, we could populate the sample tasks with age-appropriate chores. (For example, don't suggest doing the dishes to a 3 year old).
Task assignment, variation #1
Once a record of the child exists, the parent can assign a task with a deadline. The list of tasks is prepopulated with what was entered in the creation screen, and the parent only has to select the task and deadline in order to assign. Tasks could have a point value associated with them (not pictured), for the parent to set up a system of rewards. The date is a slider with common deadline times. If the deadline is far away, the parent can specify a specific date. The parent has the ability to create any new type of tasks for the child to do.
Task assignment, variation #2
An alternative way of assigning tasks is via drag + drop. This is useful where there are multiple children in the house, or when the parent wants a whole-house view of the chores. In this interface, a pool of choices is made available for the parent to drag + drop into a child's slot. The weakness of this design is that it's not easy to assign specific deadlines to tasks. Trying to do this would probably involve a popup.
Task assignment, variation #3
In case of a tiny mobile screen (a 240x320 screen, for example), parents would be able to assign tasks using a simple list control, with a somewhat complex itemrenderer. Each item would work as a disclosure panel, enabling the parent to set additional details for the task. Due "today" and "tomorrow" buttons are available for convenience, but parents can also set a specific date using a popup date spinner.
Finally, this is an example of how a child would see their tasks. The child's chores are grouped by day, and each row shows the number of points a task is worth. Once a task is done, the child can press the "Done" button and collect their points, or can decide to punt on the task by pressing the "Later" button, reducing the number of points for that task.
