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Ask HN: Solo devs, how do you plan your development?

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Re: Ask HN: Solo devs, how do you plan your development?

#31

Post by zabana »

jaequery wrote: post #28

I’ve tried almost every tools out there but for some reason the one that makes me the most productive is just a plain old pen and a notebook. It is what keeps me in line and focused. I don’t even write much useful stuffs on it but it keeps me actively engaged on my tasks. So I just have it next to me at all times. I don’t even look at previous pages so I tend to write what I need to be doing that day.

Same for me. I feel like all these tools just get in your way and you end up spending more time writing cards and todo items than actually crossing them off the list.

Re: Ask HN: Solo devs, how do you plan your development?

#32

Post by franciscop »

A major problem I've seen with Engineers following a TODO-like tasks is that you get lost in the small things and lose focus of the bigger picture.

While they are useful, I also try not to forget things that are vastly outside of the list like regular user testing, talking about it with other fellow engineers (dev testing?), try to make a workable MVP and sell it early, etc.

Re: Ask HN: Solo devs, how do you plan your development?

#33

Post by JohnFen »

I use Bugzilla to track both bugs and other wrok-to-be-done. When I close an issue in BZ, I also add a reference to which version control check-in addressed it.

Using Bugzilla as a general issue tracker makes it easier to prioritize both bug fixing and feature changes, as well as keeping a database of what work I've done, and when.

Re: Ask HN: Solo devs, how do you plan your development?

#34

Post by tjchear »

I use Google Docs. It's accessible from my laptop and phone and anywhere I go. It also has offline mode and auto-syncs when I reconnect to the Internet. Here's my format:

#Todos

- todo1

- todo2

#Dec 2019

Mon 2019/12/30

- Done

- Assessment

- Next

Sun 2019/12/29

...

I also have a big picture sheet for tracking multiple tasks at a high level. Each column is a project, and each cell is a milestone/task currently being worked on for that project. They are color-coded. If yellow, they're being worked on. If red, they're blocked by others. If green, they're done.

Re: Ask HN: Solo devs, how do you plan your development?

#37

Post by dejv »

I use two paper notebooks per project: one for planning/architecture/schematics which is used for more long form writing.

Second notebook is for todo items (like add name validation for model Item). When I finish something I cross it out. I usually scan past two or three pages, so many things are left in void. Thats actually a good thing, if something is important I just write it again on fresh page + I occasionally go through wider history to check if something important was not left behind.

+ I keep Notes app open all the times with note per project. Here I keep list similar to the Todo notebook but it contains things that have to be done. Once I am done with task I delete the line.

Basically paper notebooks are for development of fresh features and Notes is for bugs and fixes of production code.

Re: Ask HN: Solo devs, how do you plan your development?

#38

Post by maratd »

There are two levels of organization. Time level (which projects when, meetings, sprints, time allocation) and project level (user stories).

For the time level stuff, I use Google Calendar. This allows me to plan development work for the various projects around any meetings that end up on my calendar.

For the project level stuff, I use JIRA in kanban format with Blocked, Backlog, In Progress, For Review, Done.

I've been doing it this way for more than a decade ...

> Works ok but I feel I can do better, like adding a progress % or something to get a better overview of my tasks.

JIRA will give you a burn-down chart automatically, but honestly, that stuff is worthless.

One piece of advice. Do not kick back user stories unless there was a defect in the work. If you want to add something or do something differently, make a new story and mark that one as done. It kills morale to see the same stuff over and over again, makes it look like you're not making progress.

Re: Ask HN: Solo devs, how do you plan your development?

#39

Post by SkyPuncher »

I've used PivotalTracker in the past, but it's basically what you do with Trello. IMO, if you need to track progress %, your tasks aren't broken down enough.

My process looks like this:

* Ideation Box - informal idea description

* Icebox - Long term value, that a may or may never get to

* Backlog - Short to mid term items that I want to build

* Needs Design - when I've commit to do something, but it needs a mockup

* Ready for Development

* In Progress

* Done

* Staging

* Production

Depending on the project and my whims when I start, I might keep that all in one board or split it into two section (just after backlog).

Re: Ask HN: Solo devs, how do you plan your development?

#40

Post by keyP »

Whiteboard - For me, tangible writing helps with creativity and thought processing and a whiteboard saves on paper if it's not going to be a permanent thing (and even if it is, a simple photo of the board for retention).

Google Keep for quick notes on the go with a permanent pinned tabbed in my browser for quick access

Trello for day to day development management but not as detailed as I would in my work, simply as I don't need it to be. Speed is an advantage for solo projects and small teams so adding unneccessary processes reduces that advantage IME.

Specialised comments within Visual Studio to allow me to write comments and easily find them again without disrupting my flow (I believe IntelliJ and other IDE's may have analogous features) https://keyboardp.com/post/40190774577/using-task-list-token...

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