Module 1.1: Welcome to TaskFlow
Reference Guide
- Time to Complete: 10-15 minutes
- Prerequisites: Codex app installed and signed in, course folder open in the Codex app
Start this lesson interactively: Type
/start 1 1in the Codex app to begin the guided lesson.
Overview
This first lesson introduces TaskFlow — the fictional company you’ll work for throughout the course — and explains how the course is structured. Every exercise uses realistic PM work (PRDs, user research, data analysis, strategy) set inside TaskFlow, so you’re learning Codex by doing the job, not by reading toy examples.
Key takeaway: You don’t need to know how to code or memorize commands. You talk to Codex in plain English, and it does the work. The whole course happens inside the Codex app.
Meet TaskFlow
TaskFlow is a project management SaaS — think “Asana meets Jira,” built specifically for remote-first teams.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| What it is | Async-first project management for distributed teams |
| Stage | Series B startup, $20M raised, 50 employees |
| Traction | $2.5M ARR, 10,000 active users, growing fast |
| Founded | 2021 |
| Competes with | Asana, Linear, Monday.com |
Your role: Senior Product Manager, owning activation and onboarding. You’re responsible for getting new users to their first moment of value and keeping them coming back.
Your Three User Personas
These personas guide every product decision you make in the course:
- Sarah — Enterprise Admin. IT administrator at a 500-person company. Cares about SSO, security controls, audit logs, and compliance.
- Mike — IC Engineer. Individual contributor on a distributed team. Wants speed, keyboard shortcuts, and GitHub integration. “If it takes more than 3 clicks, I’m not doing it.”
- Alex — Team Lead. Engineering manager. Needs team visibility, workload balance, and reporting without micromanaging.
How the Course Works
The course has two complementary parts:
- Interactive lessons (what you’re doing now). Each lesson is started by typing a command into Codex — for example,
/start 1 2begins the next lesson. Codex then guides you step-by-step, and you actually do the work. - Reference guides (pages like this one). Standalone documentation you can return to anytime for a quick lookup.
What you’ll learn
- Module 1 — Fundamentals: Files, visualization, parallel agents, custom sub-agents, and project memory.
- Module 2 — Advanced PM Work: Writing PRDs, analyzing data, and developing product strategy.
- Module 3 — Vibe Coding: Building and deploying a real web app from scratch.
Time commitment
- Each lesson: 15-30 minutes
- Full course: roughly 6-8 hours, fully self-paced
You can take breaks anytime, do one lesson a day, or binge a whole module. Sequential order is recommended because lessons build on each other.
What You Need (and Don’t)
You need:
- The Codex app with a ChatGPT account (you already have this)
- A willingness to try things — you learn by doing
You don’t need:
- Coding skills — this is for PMs, not engineers
- Technical knowledge — you just talk to Codex in plain English; it runs any commands behind the scenes
- Your own documents — all files are pre-created for you
A note on permissions: As Codex works, it occasionally runs commands behind the scenes to read files or set things up. You may see permission prompts. It’s safe to approve them — clicking “Yes, and don’t ask again” makes the rest of the course smoother.
What’s Next
Next up is Module 1.2: Visualizing Files — setting up a visual workspace so you can see your files in real time while Codex works.
Start it by typing /start 1 2 in the Codex app, or read the reference guide: