pm-as-code
Productivity
project management
SHOW HN2017
122points
64comments
#345of 2,242 in 2017
Top 16%of 2017 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
14 positive, 7 neutral or asking, 0 mixed, 5 critical, out of 26 comments about the project. Thread score +0.31.
Idea: 9 for, 2 againstDocs: 3 for, 0 againstDesign: 0 for, 2 againstExecution: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Dependency graphs are a useful way to plan complex projects better than task lists.
From 4 comments
What a great idea. I really struggle to plan sprints and projects just using lists. Also MS Project etc are just far too complicated for my small projects. I actually resorted to…
jurasource on HNThis is great, thanks for sharing. I stumbled across this idea myself since no todo manager really represented complex dependencies of tasks - the "list" format is just so…
chrisbro on HNGreat write-up! I tried something similar for modelling out the Snowplow release dependency chain (https://github.com/snowplow/) - I gave up and started looking at SaaS…
alexatkeplar on HNPragmatic approach, I like that and am willing to play with it. Combining it with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_path_method could yield interesting results.
jk4930 on HN
Well written and makes Graphviz approachable.
From 3 comments
Thanks for writing the post. Although I've heard of graphviz (and dot) before, I didn't take the time to read up on them since the docs were so dense. Thanks for making this…
devnonymous on HNReally interesting and well written post. Certainly has started some cogs turning in my mind. Just a note, I think there is some text missing or leftover at the end of the…
realsneil on HNCool post, really enjoyed it!
akras14 on HN
Objections
Overkill for simple projects; a checklist is enough.
From 2 comments
Most of these graphs don't seem to have too many connections. Wouldn't a checklist layout be much better?
FLUX-YOU on HNSeems really overkill
joshsyn on HN
Storing task status in a Graphviz file causes version control conflicts.
From 2 comments
I am not sure a GraphViz digraph is the way to go. If you want to keep track of what is done and what is remaining eventually you will need to update that file. This will quickly…
partycoder on HNVersion control conflicts in this case don't necessarily map to disagreement. Imagine 2 team members that are in agreement add leaf 2 nodes. That would trigger a version control…
partycoder on HN
The toy example implies dependencies that do not exist.
From 1 comment
Thank you, very interesting example, but I don't necessarily see the added value in the graph form, for this particular example - it implies dependencies where there are none -…
xchaotic on HN
Requests
Support durations and critical path calculation.
From 2 comments
This is just a PERT chart, right? [1] Only difference is you don't appear to have any durations on the tasks. If you added that you would be able to calculate your critical path.…
gadders on HNPragmatic approach, I like that and am willing to play with it. Combining it with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_path_method could yield interesting results.
jk4930 on HN
Export to or from other formats such as OmniGraffle, Gantt or issue trackers.
From 3 comments
Can I export it to code?
zwischenzug on HNnice one. Dot (both the layout engine and the graph DSL) is used in OmniGraffle, so you can import the dot files like you made into OG and edit them further, either manually or…
doug1001 on HNGantt charts also represent dependencies among tasks. They add more information as well: time estimation, milestones, asignees, etc. Gantt charts receive some criticism since…
partycoder on HN
A deeper Graphviz guide for casual users.
From 2 comments
I'd be interested although I already know it, it would be handy to have an approachable guide for others to point to.
Shoothe on HNI'd be interested in a graphviz post from the POV of the casual user. Great post by the way!
jesse_m on HN
Questions
Can it export to code or other tools?
From 2 comments
Can it export to code?
zwischenzug on HNCan I export it to code?
zwischenzug on HN
Alternatives named
Taskwarrior with Graphviz (taskgv)
From 2 comments
Perhaps someone will find this old-ish project of mine[1] useful. It automatically generates graphs using Graphviz based on Taskwarrior queries, which makes it considerably…
shushcat on HNThis reminds me of an experiment I had going a year or so ago. Same basic idea, but far more automated: I'd been using taskwarrior for years, and had gotten into the habit of…
Izkata on HN
DropTask
From 1 comment
This is great, thanks for sharing. I stumbled across this idea myself since no todo manager really represented complex dependencies of tasks - the "list" format is just so…
chrisbro on HN
FreeMind / Freeplane
From 2 comments
a great gui editor for similar tree-node structures is freemind a lot quicker than code dsl -> git -> graphviz and freemind also has search, edit, history, links, export as HTML…
tezza on HNA more active fork https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeplane
maturz on HN
PlantUML
From 1 comment
plantuml is also text based and supports many types of diagrams: http://plantuml.com/gantt-diagram
DEADB17 on HN
Mermaid
From 1 comment
Check out mermaid.
zwischenzug on HN