launchpad-dev team mailing list archive

[Maris Fogels <maris.fogels@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi everyone,


A large part of user interface design is inspiration, so I would like to share 
with you a project planning tool that has what I think is a very well-designed 
user interface.  It is a Jolt Award-winning free service called Pivotal Tracker.

From their site: "Tracker is a free, award winning, agile project management 
tool that enables real time collaboration around a shared, prioritized backlog." 
 The tool follows SCRUM in a way very similar to how we were doing it.  (See 
http://www.pivotaltracker.com/learnmore if you want details.)

This short video shows all of the user interface features in action.  It is only 
3:26 long, and worth a few moments to watch:

  http://bit.ly/L4QES


Some things I noted:

  * This is opinionated software: the workflow is built into the tool.  It uses 
intelligent defaults, but it is also configurable.

  * The next step for a work item is always a big, colourful button.  Very fast 
and simple to use.

  * The tool seamlessly recalculates completion dates and velocities for you as 
you reorganize items.  Automation at its best.

  * The in-list expandable tickets are a nice way to hide the many ticket 
options like Status, Category, Attachments, and Progress until you need them, 
either to update something or to correct a mistake. (visible at 2:50 in the video)

  * The "View" drop-down menu makes for nice universal navigation (visible at 
2:25 in the video).

  * The "Actions" drop-down menu is a nice idea that makes bulk updates easy 
(and makes the web application usable on the iPhone, where you do not have drag 
and drop).

  * Clever how the push-buttons in the top-left let you create your own one, 
two, three, or four column layout.

  * Great use of colour, fonts, icons, and so forth.


If you want to see more, such as the personal dashboard, there is also an 
"Advanced features" video available at http://www.pivotaltracker.com/learnmore

Look to what works!


Maris