{
  "schema": "vedokrok.public-item.v1",
  "release_id": "MHC-RPUB-20260920-75ad787a",
  "url": "/knowledge/batch-by-setup-state-not-only-by-task-label",
  "id": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-9057",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "title": "Batch by setup state, not only by task label",
  "summary": "The useful batch is the one that avoids rebuilding the same state.",
  "kind": "heuristic",
  "body": "Group work when tasks share a meaningful setup: the same application, repository, physical location, people, permissions, equipment or mental rule set. 'Admin' is often too broad; five tasks called admin may require five different contexts. Start with the repeated setup you want to avoid, then choose a batch small enough that waiting or fatigue does not become the new cost. Task-switching research supports treating switches as real work, but it does not justify batching everything into large blocks.",
  "limits": [
    "Do not batch merely to reduce the number of calendar blocks. Urgency, dependency, fatigue and customer delay can outweigh setup savings."
  ],
  "topics": [
    "union-task-batching-and-context-control"
  ],
  "intents": [],
  "source_ids": [
    "RS-F8C1488AFEE2A312"
  ],
  "evidence": [
    {
      "claim": "An integrative review reports performance costs in many dual-task and task-switching conditions compared with appropriate single-task controls.",
      "source_id": "RS-F8C1488AFEE2A312",
      "role": "supports",
      "note": "Switching can be necessary and adaptive; the review does not imply that uninterrupted work or large batches are always optimal.",
      "locator": "Abstract"
    }
  ],
  "use_when": [
    "Several small tasks require repeated setup such as opening the same system, entering the same workspace, making similar calls or preparing the same tools."
  ],
  "avoid_when": [
    "Do not batch merely to reduce the number of calendar blocks. Urgency, dependency, fatigue and customer delay can outweigh setup savings."
  ],
  "example": "Reviewing several tickets in the same system can share filters, terminology and permissions; mixing a ticket, a call, a purchase and a code review under 'small tasks' does not.",
  "check": "Every member of the batch shares a named setup cost, and the batch has a reasoned end condition.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "RS-F8C1488AFEE2A312",
      "title": "Cognitive structure, flexibility, and plasticity in human multitasking—An integrative review of dual-task and task-switching research",
      "url": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29517261/"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "from": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-9057",
      "to": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-1252",
      "type": "useful_with",
      "url": "/knowledge/treat-a-rule-switch-as-a-setup-cost"
    }
  ],
  "collections": [
    {
      "id": "RC-C46D60854E0EAA15",
      "title": "Batch repeated work without turning batching into a rule",
      "url": "/collections/batch-repeated-work-without-turning-batching-into-a-rule"
    }
  ]
}