Craig Fitzpatrick talked about Devshop

Delivering a project on time
tried to make a web app that behaves like a desktop tool

could dog food two weeks ago after a year and a half of development
-- but it's not truly dog fooding yet: was just for testing

scheduling in the app:
-- am I on schedule?
-- is the project on schedule?

lists have edit in place
blinks on edit accepted by the server [ed. nice!]

task list with integrated Gantt chart
task list shows
-- red bars for tasks behind the pace
-- green bars if ahead
-- blue for completed %

in place editing for % finished
-- ed. that's great for speed of editing, allows people to keep %'ages up to date

tips and help at the bottom of the page in a collapsed div

views of project: by component, person, "my schedule"

assertion (ed. assumption): you can only be booked on one task at a time

actions on left depends on what type of task is selected

"experience of veterans has been built into the project"
created new project with a wizard
-- "killer factors"
-- start by hardening the project plan
-- estimate vacation time, etc
-- estimate distraction time
-- team's time estimation error %
-- estimate the time of the Quality Assurance phase
This creates an empty project shell with no tasks...

Question by me: based on XP? no
-- more based on general software practices, not for a specific process/methodology
-- product is PM-centric right now
-- is going to get advice to make developer screens

Some projects organize weekly on paper...
-- what's new since I last logged in? kind of like an inbox
-- there's a log for the last 30 days
-- notifications if any of your tasks change

Project Summary
-- nice bar with %'s for: complete, schedule hardening index, estimation error, distraction rate
-- each of these can be broken down...
-- time estimation: graph of trend for estimation numbers, to see if it's getting better
-- bar graphs for: time against the clock, # of requirements filled

Feature detail dialog (popup)
-- edit all of the feature properties
-- tabs for details for the feature: notes, requirements, designs, approval, dependencies, history
-- tips again on this dialog when you click on a specific field/property
-- tips also contain the user's time estimation error so they can make better estimates!
-- ed. that's pretty sweet

Question: when can people start using it?
A: he's hoping around September

Usually requirements and schedule are separate, Devshop integrates them
-- so changes in requirements can lead to changes in schedule
-- it's easier to keep requirements and schedule in sync
-- approval steps: requirements, design, time estimation
-- then you can answer "how sure are you about the schedule?", which is the schedule hardening index
-- schedule hardening is pinning down specific estimates for tasks
-- history: every change for that task

My tasks: summary for the user that's logged in for that project
My stats: complete, time estimation error, distraction rate for me
below that: more specific data on these, how they are calculated
The Team: how's the team progressing?
-- lots of different tables of information, including data in relation to other projects (ie. conflicts)

Q: how do you watch different projects from different departments? compare common attributes between projects? (Portfolio management)
A: that's beyond the scope so far

Q: is there an easy way for developers to update their status on tasks?
A: it's very PM-centric now, but he'll be working on that
-- doesn't like tools that send tons of email
-- not talking about hour counting, so the developers wouldn't have to update very often

Q: can it be hosted locally?
A: he does plan to offer a downloadable version
-- a lot of people are concerned about security over the 'net
-- questioner example: sensitive government contracts

Q: cost?
A: monthly and per seat
-- right now it's for PM's
-- free trial period
-- cheaper for the developers (later)
-- you can put in a lot of users (for scheduling), but they can't log in until you pay for their accounts

Q: what about data lock-in?
A: intention is to have "rich export"
-- probably XML and CSV
-- would like to do MS Project files

Q: downloadable version structure? (for local hosting)
A: setup new server in IIS, copy the folder and setup the database schema
-- database? doesn't know if there's anything written a specific database type right now, thinks it should work

Q: how long has it taken?
A: idea is 2 years and 2 months old
-- started coding after 6 months
-- got mad with Microsoft Project
-- wanted to fix a few things he felt were wrong with it
-- idea that "all you need is a Gantt chart" is flawed
-- first six months: looked at the market, validated the idea
-- did some initial data prototyping tool in Excel
-- tried out ideas, went back to his audience regularly
-- working full time plus more
-- really concerned about scalability up front

my notes:
-- very dialog based ... unusual for a webapp.
-- Are they modal? sometimes there are several layers of dialogs on top of each other [ed. not a fan]
-- lots of collapsing divs with titles [ed. I like these]
-- conflict: importance on time estimation rate, yet the minimum task length is 1 day
-- so a 1 day overage is 50% error ... the granularity makes the error rate less reliable?