Using Trello for Project Management

I decided to write about some web app that I've been using for some time for the past three months. Trello. It's a very unconventional way of managing projects. And I gotta say I love it.

At first, it seems to be a bit empty or plain, but it's just until you start thinking about the possibilities that this emptiness is able to bring to you. There's no mold you have to fit in, no rule, nothing about any conventions, no scrum, no agile, just a very good looking playground.

You can check it out at trello.com

The following text explains how I personally decided to use Trello for my project management. This isn't how everyone should use it, because I use it for software development. You may use it to organize a personal task, art projects, vacations, reminders, etc.

I hope it helps anyone getting started with this wonderful tool!

Lists

Use lists to define states containers. Every list is for a component (card) state of development. It can be as simple as Todo, Doing, Done.

I also added a Backburner list, that way I can track what's to be done next and what's to be done later.

This is how you can follow basic agile software development concepts.

Cards

Use cards to define components. So if you have to work on a Page module then this is the component and the name of the card.

With every card, there can be any number of Checklists called on what part of the component it is for. So for our Page module, there would be checklists for Page management, Page comments, Page layout, etc.

Such list would look like:
Page management

• List
• Add/Edit form
• Delete
• Drag & Drop page re-ordering

You can also use a checklist called Bugs if you need to use Trello for bug tracking as well. (Or maybe even create a list for them)

That way the same card is used for the whole development process, any related pictures or documents can be attached to that card for further references. And once it is over, the card can be archived.

Labels

Use cards to define tasks. What it is needed to be done, what kind of work it is. Development, Analysis, Design

So if a card needs to be analyzed and designed, there will be those two labels on it. Once it is analyzed, the label would be removed.

Members

Self-explanatory. Cards' members should be those who have to work on that card.

That's it for today, go check it out, it's free, it's very powerful and it has an amazing community! Ah and it runs on a loved platform that is Node.js ;-)

/tommy