Created using: PHP, MySQL, CodeIgniter, Bootstrap CSS 1.0

GitHub: https://github.com/jaspervalero/GameBase

GameBase JasperValero.com

This is a script I wrote for integrating GitHub issues with PivotalTracker. It allows a panel to be created in PivotalTracker that will allow issues and bugs to be imported from GitHub. I was part of a group of students who were evaluating PivotalTracker for a project and we were disappointed with its lack of GitHub integration. We wanted to be able to pull in issues that were submitted to the projects repo but it was not currently supported.

In about an hour I researched the PivotalTracker API and GitHub API documentation, and threw together a script for testing. It worked like a charm the first try and the whole team was happy to be able to move on with the project. I then went back and refactored some of the code so that anyone could use the script by just changing a few variables and settings. I then open sourced it via GitHub.

Created Using: PHP, Aptana Studio 3

GitHub: https://github.com/jaspervalero/GitSwitch

GitSwitch JasperValero.com

We had one month to take an app from initial concept, through wires, mocks and finally deploy it as an Adobe AIR application. In addition to the main application we also had to create a custom video player, promotional video and a custom install badge and integrate them into a promotional landing page for the app. The culmination of my work for this project can be found at the site below, and the code can be viewed in the GitHub repo.

Created Using: ActionScript, Adobe AIR, Flash Builder 4.5, Photoshop CS5, Illustrator CS5, ColourLovers.com API

URL: http://jaspervalero.com/estilocsspromo

GitHub: https://github.com/jaspervalero/EstiloCSS

EstiloCSS JasperValero.com

Created Using: HTML5, CSS3, Photoshop CS5

FusionMedia Gallery JasperValero.com

While reading through the documentation I discovered that Yahoo was in the process of deprecating zipcode queries to their API. Instead they would only allow calls using what they refer to as a Where On Earth ID (WOEID). At the time of the project zip codes still worked, but I wanted to ensure that my application would be up and running long after the project and the course were over. That is why I wrote a utility class which converts zip codes into WOEIDs using YQL. You can find a copy of this class on GitHub: https://gist.github.com/1915546

Created using: ActionScript 3.0, Flash CS5, Yahoo Weather API

I am happy to say that my app is working even to this day. Try it for yourself using the link below.

URL: http://jaspervalero.com/projects/weather/

Weather App JasperValero.com

The course uses Ruby on Rails for the assignments, which was another added benefit for me. I recently taught myself Ruby and the Rails framework and I am working on improving my skills. Any excuse to get more experience with them is good enough for me at this point.

Another interesting aspect of the course is that the textbook, Engineering Long-Lasting Software: An Agile Approach Using SaaS and Cloud Computing, Alpha Edition, is actually written by the two instructors running the course. The text itself is in alpha, and it definitely needs some work yet, but the information is current and fresh and their passion is very apparent.

I always know I’m going to learn a lot when the people teaching me are fully vested into what they are teaching. If they’re excited about it rubs off on the students. I’m really looking forward to gaining a lot of insight and knowledge from it. It just started and it isn’t too late to sign up. It is a short 5 week course, with another part being offered in Fall 2012. Check it out at www.saas-class.org.

SaaS Course JasperValero.com

Over the last couple of years I’ve tried out several different time tracking, project management, and goal tracking systems. However, I continued to bump my head against lack of features or overcomplicated interfaces. That was until I attended a web Q&A session with two of the guys at Think Around Corners, Gregory Cox (@thinkocorners) and Mark James Progano (@mprogano).

During the session I learned a lot of valuable insights and tips about the creative process and the web development industry. One of the best things they shared was the project management software they use in their daily workflow. They told us about Asana, which is a free, full-featured project management system. That is what I really want to talk about today. I want to share my own experience with the software and how I setup the Asana workspace for my final project for the Web Design and Development program at Full Sail University.

Yesterday I had the chance to catch up with Jerry Jones, the course director for the final project courses. I had a very specific question that I wanted to ask him, but I walked away with much more than the answer. He provided me with invaluable insight into what the project requirements and the expected workflow were. I found out that students can actually start working on their project prior to entering the two final project courses. If you start beforehand you can turn in what you’ve completed at the beginning of the first course and then you have more time to focus on the actual development of your web application.

So I didn’t waste any time. I spent an hour last night setting up a workspace in Asana. I am actually quite happy with the system that I came up with using the features provided by the software. That is why I wanted to share it with the world.

Before I get into it, I should let you know that we have a specific workflow that we’re taught at Full Sail, which mirrors the workflow discussed in Web ReDesign 2.0: Workflow that Works (2nd Edition) by Kelly Goto. I definitely recommend adding it to your collection of reference books. It breaks the lifetime of a project into 5 major phases:

• Phase 1: Define The Project
• Phase 2: Develop Site Structure
• Phase 3: Design Visual Interface
• Phase 4: Build & Integrate
• Phase 5: Launch & Beyond

So in my Asana workspace I setup my projects, categories and tasks exactly as laid out in the book. Doing this helped me make most of the setup a lot quicker and cut the decision making process for how I wanted to organize things in half. After a few small changes, additions and tweaks I’m up and running.

The hierarchy inside of Asana works like this:

Workspaces > Projects > Categories > Tasks

Using clever naming conventions and other visual cues I expanded my hierarchy to look like this:

Workspaces > Master Projects > Phases > Projects > Categories > Tasks > Sub-tasks > Minor Tasks

Take a minute to study the above image. On the left you will see the workspace, master projects, phases and the projects associated with each phase. On the right you will see the categories, tasks, sub-tasks and minor tasks.

So let’s go over the naming conventions I used on the left. The workspace is a built in component of the hierarchy provided in Asana, so it has its own visual appearance and place in the interface. For my project, I’ve named the workspace “Final Project | WDDBS”. Next I have my master projects, which are uppercase text enclosed with “*” on each side and an added description or focus in brackets “[ ]“. Phases are presented in uppercase and the phase number in brackets. Projects are prefixed with the phase number and use normal case for the titles.

On the right you will see that I have used a combination of Asana’s built in categories and my own asterisk “*” and indentation system. Categories are seen in a box which is a built in feature of Asana. You can create them by typing a new task and ending it with “:” and it will automatically be updated in the UI as you see in the image. For tasks I include one “*” next to the title. For sub-tasks I use two “**” and for minor tasks you’ll see four “****”. Now three asterisks might have seemed like the natural progression, but since I am also using indentation as a visual cue in my hierarchy I found doubling the number of stars each time works a lot better.

So that is the system I’ll be using for my final project. I may tweak it as I get more familiar with Asana, but I’ll make sure and keep you updated on my experiences and changes as I go. There is actually a lot more of the Asana features that I’ll be using, such as scheduling, notifications, notes, and document uploads. I won’t be covering them in this post though, as really to do it justice I would have to write several more posts.

Regardless of what workflow you use and what hierarchy you need, I hope that this article will assist you in generating your own ideas. For more info on how to get started in Asana make sure to check out the videos they include at the bottom of your interface after registering and logging into your account. Until next time, happy project managing!

Update: The numbers next to the sub-tasks and minor tasks are time estimates. I’ll cover time management in another post.

Project Management With Asana JasperValero.com

I’ve actually got something really good in the works now though. However, because of the high demand on my schedule with my upcoming final project (for the Web Design and Development program at Full Sail University), on top of my work and family life, most of my time right now is focused elsewhere. So the idea hit me, why not just get a blog up and start writing, and then lay the design over the top of it when it is finished?

I really want to share my thoughts and experiences as I begin work on my final project as well as some of the things I am working on at work and on the side. So this provides me a way of doing just that. You’ll just have to forgive the default template for the time being. Hopefully my insights, discussions and rants will be enough to keep you entertained.

Just Start Writing JasperValero.com