Using Trello
How to organize team's workflow

WHAT IS TRELLO?

Trello is a web-based list making program for teams, based on a Kanban style design. In short, it helps your team to coordinate on tasks and workflow. Trello and similar programs (Jira, Github Projects) are commonly used in the industry.

Below you can find examples of Trello boards from previous student projects, Mr. M's design for Astraeus, and a major commercial game studio.

Jarva's Trello (Steven Studios / C++), 2022

IQ Ball's Trello (Cool Math Games / AP Java, 2022)

Astraeus Trello (Mr . M / AP Java, 2022)

Back 4 Blood Trello (Turtlerock Studios, 2021)

ELEMENTS OF A BOARD

Lists

  • You divide up your board into lists

  • A list consists of a series of cards.

  • Examples:

      • To Do

      • In Progress

Cards

  • A card represents a single task.

  • Should be ~1-3 hours of work

  • Examples:

    • Add Push Block

    • Player Animation

Labels

  • Each card can have one or more labels to designate nature of the task.

  • Examples:

    • Code

    • Bugs

FORMAT REQUIREMENTS

Background Image

  • Set a cool background image for your board.

  • You can change this at any time.

  • Concept art or images from your game are great!

Lists

  • Include four lists with at least the following lists from left to right:

    • LONG-TERM

    • TO DO

    • IN PROGRESS

    • COMPLETED

Labels

  • Every card must have a label with the assigned color. You must use these colors for each category

    • Design - Green

    • Media - Red

    • Bugs - Purple

    • Code - Blue

Assign Card To Members

  • Each card that is in the In Progress or Completed category must have at least one member assigned to it. it depends on your team's organizational structure if you want to assign Long-Term and To Do tasks.

Can I Add More Stuff?

  • Yes - but check with Mr. M to make sure you have a good reason. Some examples of student variations are:

    • Adding more labels for categories that your particular project uses commonly, like "Physics" or splitting media into "Art" and "Sound"

    • Adding extra lists to divide up completed tasks by checkpoint

AUTOMATION && ADVANCED FEATURES

The Power Of Trello

  • These are all basic features of Trello, and you aren't required to do anything beyond this.

  • You can add due dates to cards which provide reminders to your members, including automated emails.

  • You can make cards automatically shift categories over time.

    • For example, "Long-Term" can become "To Do" as a deadline approaches.

    • As another example, you can make completed tasks delete over time to avoid clutter.

  • For more information, take a look at the Official Trello Documentation.