May 20, 2004
Manage Your Projects with Movable Type - Part II
Last time I walked through the steps for setting up Movable Type as a project management system. Today, I'll show you how to use the different "features" (aka. hacks) when logging entries about your project and some tips on how I use this system to keep my sanity.
Using the Project Log
Keep in mind, this is just a project log on mini-steroids. Use it and abuse it. Log any and all pertinent information regarding your projects. The more you have in the log, the less you have to remember and the more powerful the tool becomes.
Milestones/Categories
For your sake, and the sake of your clients and team members, you should have some project milestones. It gives everyone a sense of the scope and path for any project. I tend to keep my milestones simple because most people I work with are not familiar with web design, or any design process for that matter. I mentioned these last time, but here are my simple milestones:
- Strategy
- Structure
- Visual
- Build
- Launch
I use the Category Description field to attach dates to these milestones (see image). The system will look for this field when it rebuilds the homepage, and will only show it if you've put something in there.
But what if your project is more exploratory and isn't on a set process? Make up some categories of your own. It makes it much easier for you and anyone else to find info on your weblog if you group your entries by topic.
Entries
The heart and soul of your project log is the content you keep in it. I firmly believe that you should log as much information in your weblog as possible. Just get in the habit of typing up notes from a meeting, when certain design documents are completed, approvals, and whatever else you think is pertinent. If you use it semi-religiously, this weblog will save your hide one day when you least expect it (it's saved mine many times).
Be sure to set the category for each entry because its easy to forget.
Attaching Project Files and Links
I've also added a bit of code that allows you to pull out files and links attached to each milestone and date them (a cheap way to CV). To use this, type up an entry then use the Upload File feature or simply FTP it to your server. Once its uploaded (where you put it is up to you, but it makes sense to at least keeping it in the project folder it pertains to), select the Show HTML option. Then copy the link markup and paste it into the Entry Excerpt box. Hit Save and your done.
The scripting in MT will pull in the link and the date from the entry and display it next to the milestone/category on the project homepage. Quick and dirty versioning.
To make the log truly version your files, you will need add the date to the filename that you upload (e.g. "strategy_document_05-20-04.doc"). That will prevent overwriting the existing file, and give you and anyone else looking at the log a good picture of progress through each version.
Don't forget to use this function to call out links to prototypes and drafts of your website in progress too!
What This System Won't Do For You
This system is not far from a glorified hack and is pretty lightweight. As a consequence it won't allow for the following (unless someone can devise a way to hack it in):
- Authentication
- It will authenticate authors, but not users. If you need to put your log behind a password the easiest answer is an .htaccess file. If you are looking for something more robust, maybe someone can find a way to pull this system into WordPress or Textpattern. Some people have even worked out a way to use phpbb's authentication in conjunction with MT.
- Gantt Charts
- I'm sure someone could devise a way to do this with PNG or something, but until that time the only progress indicator is the Project Map on the left hand side.
- Time Tracking
- Again, its a simple system. Timekeeping can get pretty complex and down to the quarter hour or less. I use other tools (such as my day timer) to keep track of my time on projects. Not all that glamorous, but it works.
Next Time
In the third (and final) part of this series I'll show how I use a little bit of SQL and PHP to put in a simple index page on all of the project logs.
- Posted in:
- Design Tools, Working on the Inside
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