Running a Project: From Brainstorming to Timesheets

1. Choosing Your Project Architecture: Pro vs. Corp Workspaces

Before launching a project, select the collaboration model that fits your team's size, budget, and governance requirements:

Option A: The Pro Tier Approach (Lightweight Direct Sharing)

If you are on the Pro Tier, you do not need an enterprise contract to collaborate. You can run projects immediately:

1. Create a dedicated Matrix for your project (e.g., "🚀 Website Relaunch").
2. Click [ 👥 Share Matrix ] in the header.
3. Enter the email addresses of up to 20 collaborators (designers, copywriters, or client stakeholders).
4. Select their permission level (Editor or Viewer).
5. Instant Collaboration: Your team members can view cards, mark tasks complete, leave comments, and log hours without complicated onboarding.

Option B: The Project & Enterprise Tier Approach (Corp Governance)

When running larger organizational initiatives with multiple workstreams:

1. The Corp Container: Corp Admins create an organization umbrella with pooled seats.
2. Dedicated Projects: Create a formal Project container (e.g., "Project Phoenix: ERP Migration").
3. Project-Linked Matrices (sharingMode: 'project'): All matrices assigned to the project are automatically visible to authorized project members.
4. Delegated Project Admins: Empower squad leads to invite members and manage matrices without granting them full company-wide administrative rights.
5. Compliance Audit Trails: Track every task deletion, status change, and role elevation in a tamper-evident audit log.

2. The 5-Stage Project Delivery Lifecycle

Regardless of your tier, every successful project follows five operational stages:

flowchart TD
    S1["📋 1. CHARTER & SPECS
Tier 3 Scope Document & Roles"] --> S2["⚡ 2. STAGING & BACKLOG
Planning Studio LHS Source Pool"]
    S2 --> S3["⏱️ 3. CAPACITY & SPRINTS
Hour Budget & Sprint Target"]
    S3 --> S4["🎯 4. EXECUTION & QA
Q1–Q4 Allocation, Subtasks & Checklists"]
    S4 --> S5["📊 5. AUDIT & ROLLOVER
Timesheets, Invoicing & 1-Click Rollover"]

    style S1 fill:#eff6ff,stroke:#3b82f6,stroke-width:1.5px,color:#1e40af
    style S2 fill:#f5f3ff,stroke:#8b5cf6,stroke-width:1.5px,color:#5b21b6
    style S3 fill:#fefce8,stroke:#eab308,stroke-width:1.5px,color:#854d0e
    style S4 fill:#ecfdf5,stroke:#10b981,stroke-width:1.5px,color:#065f46
    style S5 fill:#f8fafc,stroke:#64748b,stroke-width:1.5px,color:#334155

3. Stage 1: Initiation, Scope & Project Charter (Tier 3 Documents)

Never start a project with raw, unorganized tasks scattered in a backlog. Anchor the initiative with a Tier 3 Document:

1. In your project matrix, open the Documents Tab.
2. Click [ + New Document ] and title it: "Project Charter: [Project Name]".
3. Standardize on the following core sections:
   • Summary & Objectives: What does success look like?
   • Scope of Work (In-Scope vs. Out-of-Scope): Explicitly list what you are not building to avoid scope creep.
   • Project Roles: Who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed?
   • Milestone Schedule: Key release targets and deadlines.
4. Keep this document linked to the board so any team member or client can review project principles at any time.

4. Stage 2 & 3: Backlog Staging & Sprint Planning (Planning Studio)

Traditional project tools force you to groom backlogs through endless ticket tables. DoneIsGood’s Planning Studio (min-width: 1024px) provides a distraction-free, dual-pane desktop command center:

flowchart TD
    subgraph Studio["⚡ PLANNING STUDIO: Sprint Staging & Hour Budgeting"]
        direction TB
        subgraph LHS["LEFT PANE: Master Project Backlog"]
            direction TB
            BDSrc["Source: Client Alpha Backlog"]
            TasksList["☑️ Staged Tasks: Database migration • Stripe webhooks • API docs"]
            BatchBtn["Batch Actions: [ ⏱️ Set 2h ] [ ➡️ Move to Sprint ]"]
            BDSrc --> TasksList --> BatchBtn
        end

        LHS --> Divider["↕️ RESIZABLE DIVIDER (Drag & Drop or Batch Move)"]
        Divider --> RHS

        subgraph RHS["RIGHT PANE: Sprint 4 Container"]
            direction TB
            SGoal["🎯 Sprint Goal: Complete Auth & Stripe API (34h / 40h Budget)"]
            subgraph SprintQuads["Sprint Matrix Allocation"]
                direction TB
                SQ1["🔥 Q1: DO FIRST (6.0h • 1 task)"]
                SQ2["🌱 Q2: SCHEDULE (22.0h • 4 tasks)"]
                SQ3["🤝 Q3: DELEGATE (5.0h • 2 tasks)"]
                SQ4["💭 Q4: SOMEDAY (1.0h • 1 task)"]
                SQ1 --- SQ2 --- SQ3 --- SQ4
            end
            SGoal --> SprintQuads
        end
    end

    style Studio fill:#f8fafc,stroke:#cbd5e1,stroke-width:2px,color:#0f172a
    style LHS fill:#ffffff,stroke:#e2e8f0,stroke-width:1.5px
    style Divider fill:#eef2ff,stroke:#818cf8,stroke-width:1.5px,stroke-dasharray: 4 4
    style RHS fill:#ffffff,stroke:#e2e8f0,stroke-width:1.5px
    style SprintQuads fill:transparent,stroke:none
    style SQ1 fill:#fff1f2,stroke:#fecdd3,color:#9f1239
    style SQ2 fill:#eff6ff,stroke:#bfdbfe,color:#1e40af
    style SQ3 fill:#fefce8,stroke:#fef08a,color:#854d0e
    style SQ4 fill:#f8fafc,stroke:#e2e8f0,color:#475569

How to Run a High-Impact Sprint Planning Session:

1. Open Planning Studio: Click the ⚡ icon in the navigation bar.
2. Set the Panes: Set the Left Pane to your "Project Backlog" and the Right Pane to your "Active Sprint Matrix".
3. Configure the Sprint: Click [ ⚙️ Sprint Config ] on the right:
   • Sprint Goal: State a crisp, singular outcome (e.g. "Ship Stripe subscription billing and invoice webhooks").
   • Date Boundaries: Define a 1-to-2 week window.
   • Focus Capacity Budget: Set the total target hours available for the sprint (for example, 40 hours for a solo developer, or 120 hours for a small team).
4. Rapid Estimation: Click the ⏱️ pill on task cards to assign duration estimates (15m, 30m, 1h, 2h, 4h, 8h).
5. Drag-and-Drop Allocation:
   • Q1 (Do First): Hard dependencies, deployment blockers, and critical path items.
   • Q2 (Schedule): Core strategic deliverables that move the needle.
   • Q3 (Delegate / Batch): Administrative syncs, documentation, minor config tweaks.
   • Q4 (Someday): Nice-to-have features that can wait if time runs tight.
6. Watch the Capacity Gauge: The live progress meter ensures you never schedule more hours than your team can sustainably execute.
7. Elaborate, Assign & Schedule in the Destination Matrix: Keep the project backlog clean and fast. Once tasks cross the split divider into the destination sprint matrix, team leads and builders elaborate the execution details:
   • Individual Assignment: Assign unambiguous accountability to specific team members or external contractors.
   • Scheduling: Set explicit target due dates or calendar blocks that sync directly to Google Calendar.
   • Elaboration (Notes & Steps): Convert high-level tasks into actionable delivery checklists using Tier 1 Steps (⚡ Generate Steps), and document technical specs, API endpoints, or repository links in Tier 2 Notes.
   • Tagging: Apply tags (#backend, #design, #qa, #client-signoff) for rapid multi-dimensional filtering.

5. Stage 4: Execution, Sub-Steps & Quality Assurance

Once the sprint launches, teams move into the daily execution flow:

• Clear Definitions of Done: Never assign a task titled "Fix payment bug". Use Tier 1 Steps so every acceptance criterion is verifiable.
• Assignee Ownership: Assign tasks to specific collaborators so everyone knows who holds the ball.
• Activity & Comments: Team members leave updates directly inside the task card, keeping technical discussions attached to the deliverable rather than lost in chat channels.

6. Stage 5: Timekeeping, Timesheet Exports & Sprint Rollover

A project is only as healthy as its time accounting. DoneIsGood features built-in Time Recording directly tied to tasks:

Logging Billable & Non-Billable Hours

• Live Stopwatch: Click the play icon on any task card when beginning work. When finished, stopping the timer automatically records the duration.
• 1-Click Completion Prompt: Whenever a task is marked complete, DoneIsGood prompts: "Log time spent on this task?" with intelligent suggestions matching your initial estimate.
• Category Tagging: Assign categories to time entries (Development, UI Design, Client Meeting, Code Review, QA).

Exporting Client Invoices & Timesheets

1. Open the Time Recording dashboard.
2. Filter by the Project Matrix and current date range.
3. Click [ Download CSV ] or [ Export JSON ].
4. Import directly into Xero, QuickBooks, FreshBooks, or attach as a transparent appendix to your client invoice.

1-Click Sprint Rollover & Archiving

When your sprint deadline arrives:

1. Re-open Planning Studio.
2. Click [ 🏁 Review & Rollover ] on the sprint matrix.
3. DoneIsGood inspects your board:
   • Incomplete Tasks: Automatically migrates unfinished tasks back into the project backlog (or rolls them forward into Sprint 5).
   • Archive Sprint Matrix: Freezes the completed sprint matrix, preserving its time logs and completion history indefinitely without cluttering active menus.

7. Project Management Best Practices & Summary

Related Guides & Deep Dives

• Planning Studio & Agile Sprints: Full technical walkthrough of dual-pane triage, split dividers, and capacity budgeting.
• Corp & Project Admin: Governance, multi-project workspaces, pooled licensing, and audit logging.
• Time Recording & Timesheets: Eliminate time leakage, configure categories, and export audit-ready reports.
• Collaboration & Projects: Foundational team sharing, member permissions, and async task comments.