[PvK]

It depends on whether the minister applies to specific planets or not. For construction, yes you have to say which ones. I think there is an option which will turn them all on or off at once.

Actually pretty neat because you can turn them all on but then take the few most important ones for yourself. If you're playing single-player, you can also tinker with the AI build files to get effects all over the empire.

Or you can do what I've enjoyed a lot, and only run one or two things and let the AI do everything else. For example, you can just design the ships, or just decide on research, or just command one fleet. It also means the game flies by, because there is so little to do every turn compared to managing everything every turn.

PvK