

Ask HN: How do you keep the state information of the projects you're working on? - tripplez

Let me clear what is state information of a project:<p>* Any information that have to remembered or written and then retrieved when one resume its work on a project (for example, on the next morning when arrives at work, or at the evening when start to work on the side project).<p>* For example, when you open the project/solution how, where and in what form do you keep the information what to do next, the context information of the current task in order to resume the work on it. The project/task management systems are not designed to handle things on this level of detail so I can't use some existing as a base for my projects. I have tried to accommodate a software like FreeMind (mind mapping) or ThinkingRock (Getting Things Done), but it just doesn't work.<p>* What I need (and I think plenty of conscious developers will be happy about similar system) is something that can be used to hold information in form similar to a logbook. I have read some articles about developer/programmer logbooks and the general idea of the engineer logbook, but since then I'm still failing to implement something that suits my needs.<p>* The system can be used not only for pure development, but also for more academic projects that involve more R&#38;D although there are commercial projects with even more R&#38;D portion (reading and trying things from multiple books, articles and papers).<p>* The information about the progress of the project have to recorder somehow in order to look for references, code, reasoning for certain decisions, notes, etc.<p>Do you know some software that can do the job...or I have to start writing it by myself ;-)<p>Thanks in advance
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RiderOfGiraffes
I use a wiki. As I dump thoughts onto it I generate documentation, "ToDo"
lists, possible new features, critiques of existing features, problems I have
to solve, solutions to problems I have solved, and links to other ideas and
projects.

Then I have a script that pulls the "To Do" and "Problems" sections into a
prioritized work-list, and I'm off and running.

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laika4000
Been meaning to try this, but haven't gotten around to it:
<http://people.msoe.edu/~bovorasr/>

S/w to create your own logbooks.

