I’m using https://linear.app . It plans “cycles” for you based on how much you accomplish.
What’s the secret to get past the Typeform and actually try this? Or should I seek out an invite link from a peer
Ask HN: Solo devs, how do you plan your development?
11–20 of 190 posts
Re: Ask HN: Solo devs, how do you plan your development?
#12As a solo game dev, I've tried a number of various project management tools that I use in my DevOps day job... from Trello to Planner to Jira to Azure DevOps. I like Azure DevOps work items the best, but the reality is that for a solo developer, I've found all of these tools create far too much overhead (so that I spend more time managing the project rather than making actual progress on it).
So for practical use... I tend to write my ToDo list on a whiteboard near my workstation.
When I complete items from the whiteboard, I move them into an Excel spreadsheet where I can add greater detail about the resolution/solution.
When I'm ready to release a version update, I take the notes scribbled into that Excel sheet and turn them into properly formatted update notes.
Re: Ask HN: Solo devs, how do you plan your development?
#13It doesn't really matter. You can write todos down in a piece of paper and still wouldn't matter, because you are alone, everything is in your head mostly and you can go as fast as you like. There is no need to overcomplicate things with complex tooling.
Re: Ask HN: Solo devs, how do you plan your development?
#14I have a file called todo.txt, with the current tasks at the top, and everything else below that. It is in version control. As I finish stuff, I delete it out of the file. I add new stuff towards the top if I want to do it soon, towards the bottom if I want to save it for later. For things which are just ideas, I have a second file called brainstorm.txt.
Similar to that, but I try to group the tasks into upcoming releases. It's quite an effective way of forcing myself to do the unglamorous fixes along with the whizzbang new features.
Re: Ask HN: Solo devs, how do you plan your development?
#15Also using Trello and especially their checklists. Each 'iteration' has a checklist and as I'm done I check it off. I guess they are like issues in an issue tracker with less fuss.
Since I have all the 'iteration' there I also have a 'Future' iteration. As I'm approaching some self-imposed deadline I remove/add tasks from the current iteration to Future.
If I didn't do anything in quite some time I have the tasks right there waiting for me and I can pick one.
This mode of work for solo projects is quite good imho. Used it for openbeans.org / coolbeans.xyz, for mastodon.ro and for another project which doesn't have a website anymore (YaMeter).
Re: Ask HN: Solo devs, how do you plan your development?
#16I've been doing Trello.
Instead of a "Done" list, I make one with my next version number (e.g. 4.1).
Then, after I release 4.1, I move that list to a "Releases" board and replace it on the work board with 4.2.
Re: Ask HN: Solo devs, how do you plan your development?
#17After Jira (on demand), Asana, GoPlan App (which was quite good a long time), Trello, OTRS, RedMine and several others, i landed now, hopefully finally(?), at https://www.clubhouse.io
I like Jira at work if its self hosted, but on demand its that damn slow, its more or less unusable (every page load 10-20 sec. etc.).
Clubhouse is especially good since its free for very small teams while not limiting the number of projects/workspaces. And its mainly an SPA, so it feels really quick & responsive.
Re: Ask HN: Solo devs, how do you plan your development?
#18Personally I use the Notes app available on the MacOS / iOS platforms. I organize it with a folder per project. I love it because it is simple, supports checkboxes, formatting, freeform drawings via iPad+Pencil, syncs across all my devices, allows password locking certain notes (though I don't really use this - I use 1Password to hold sensitive info via its Secure Notes feature) and is even available via the iCloud website if needed.
Within that folder I keep one note that acts as the ToDo list / Work Log that contains all the work items plus dates of completion. The rest of the notes are ad hoc and usually contain stuff like "Meeting notes - - ", "Follow ups", "Questions/Clarifications for later", and so on.
Re: Ask HN: Solo devs, how do you plan your development?
#19Personal Kanban: http://personalkanban.com/pk/personal-kanban-101/
Try the book.
After the book, you’ll be better equipped to scale from 2 or 3 devs to 20 or 30 devs while remaining low overhead, because you’ll understand the essence of iterative and collaborative development versus what’s been watered down and ceremonialized into Agile/SCRUM.
Re: Ask HN: Solo devs, how do you plan your development?
#20I have a file called todo.txt, with the current tasks at the top, and everything else below that. It is in version control. As I finish stuff, I delete it out of the file. I add new stuff towards the top if I want to do it soon, towards the bottom if I want to save it for later. For things which are just ideas, I have a second file called brainstorm.txt.
Literally exactly what I do. I also wake up at 3 am with an idea and put it as a reminder on my calendar.