

Using Github issues to track house repairs - aaronpk
https://github.com/frabcus/house

======
sethg
I once suggested to my wife that we use the RT bug-tracking system to keep
track of household chores. And then, I said, we could create an RT account for
each of the kids, and buy each of the kids an iPad Mini, with the Safari
homepage set to the RT page, so that as soon as they opened their browsers,
they could see what chores they had to do, and easily report on their
progress!

For some reason, she was not convinced.

~~~
tnorthcutt
RT?

~~~
fsckin
Request Tracker. I used it for a few years for tracking IT requests and it is
solid for general request... tracking. Lots of plugins, very mature.

<http://www.bestpractical.com/rt/>

------
MatthewPhillips
I'd suggest not adding stuff like "Front door lock stopped working" or "No one
to watch the house while we're on vacation next week".

------
guptaneil
Is there any particular reason you are using GitHub issues instead of a more
traditional todo list app?

I'd be worried about strangers opening issues about my house...

~~~
kmfrk
GitHub's Issues system is pretty undervalued as a workflow/project management
system. Especially once you learn to use milestones regularly.

It also lets you tack on collaborators to share the blame and responsibility.
:)

Of course, you could well argue that it's a problem that it doesn't have the
push, alert, and geofencing capabilities that make to-do services great to
have.

~~~
helpermethod
So true. I use it to track every detail of my personal projects and never had
the feeling that anything was missing.

------
PuerkitoBio
That's funny, though I think something like Trello is more appropriate for
this.

~~~
reledi
Trello is definitely better suited for something like this. Heck, Kitchen
Remodeling is even used as an example on their Tour page:
<https://trello.com/tour>.

The reasons for using GH Issues that frabcus mentioned, such as simplicity,
setup time, being public, etc. are all covered by Trello as well. In my
opinion, GH Issues shines when used with an actual software project, otherwise
you're better off using something else.

------
nlh
On a related note, it's funny that "issue tracking" is somewhat constrained to
software development (or, put another way, the software development domain has
some of the better tools for the task) when it's really applicable across
industries.

Several years ago I put together a very-slightly-modified version of Trac
(<http://trac.edgewall.org>) to keep track of maintenance issues with a
vehicle fleet. It's worked nearly flawlessly for years and serves the purpose
extremely well.

Are there any commercial projects that have taken this approach? "Software-
style issue tracking for brick-and-mortar businesses"

~~~
jt2190

      > it's funny that "issue tracking" is somewhat constrained 
      > to software development
    

In other industries they're just called something else, "help tickets", "work
orders", etc.

------
eliben
This is why I love BitBucket's unlimited free private repositories.

------
swapnilt
I'd just prefer a pen and paper :-|

------
mjtognetti
You should take a look at <http://www.redbeacon.com/my-home/> Its a tool built
specifically for tracking household repairs and projects. Plus, Redbeacon can
connect you with home service pros (plumbers, handymen, etc) if you need help
with any of your tasks.

disclaimer - I'm an engineer at Redbeacon. Many of the team members use our My
Home tool for all kinds of projects around the house.

------
gregpilling
I recently began using a support ticket system (OS ticket) for similar
reasons. Everytime I find something that needs maintenance around my house or
building, I email support and it makes a ticket, which is then routed to the
right employee to fix it. My welder does most of the building repairs, and he
gets contractors for bigger projects. Now I can just look at the notes on the
support ticket to see what has happened.

------
thefreeman
I think this is cute but I would be worried about trolls unless you have it
locked down somehow.

~~~
frabcus
Really not an issue. I haven't had any, and have been using it for a year!

~~~
cdrxndr
Well it took significant willpower not to submit a pull request for a
screened-in porch and a water slide ...

------
gercheq
I think it's better to use a tool that is more than a simple todo list. It
should be specific to your home and it should learn what your home needs.
<http://redbeacon.com/my-home>

------
ragmondo
if his place looks nicer than mine, I'm going to clone it. Cue the "You
wouldn't steal a car" brigade....

------
chmike
Using a free account for that type of application is an abuse of Github. Free
accounts are for open source projects. Get yourself a payed account for that.

~~~
simonbrown
I don't think free public repositories are gift to the open source community,
but freemium system designed to get people to convert to paid accounts with
additional features. This project doesn't require the additional features.

~~~
aspir
Actually, there are no extra features with GH's paid plans, from what I
remember. Paying enables private repositories, and all of the good stuff is
still available for open source projects.

