#task tracking

We all tend to do a lot of "paperwork" but it's all digital - a lot of web-based forms. In order to keep track of all of the tasks that need doing, we use task-tracking software like Jira, Trello, Hansoft, and the like in order to keep the project management up to date. Producers and leads create these tasks, assign them priorities, and then dole them out to the appropriate developers to complete.

Larger tasks like "Build the Ice Dungeon level" are assigned to the Ice Dungeon level owner. Obviously, the Ice Dungeon is too big for a single task, so we break it down into smaller sub-tasks like "Build the boss fight for the Ice Dungeon", "Build the layout for the Ice Dungeon", "Build the regular encounters for the Ice Dungeon", and so on. These sub-tasks are assigned to the relevant stakeholders and those sub-tasks can be broken down further into smaller and smaller subtasks. Each task is its own bundle of work that needs doing, with its own priority and state of progress. We do the work, we complete the task, we mark it as done, and move on to the next. QA validates the tasks as complete, then production closes them out and everyone moves on to their next respective task.

Team leads and producers collectively spend a lot of their time creating, assigning, tracking, and closing out these tasks. They spend a lot of their time in meetings figuring out what the tasks that are still needed, which tasks are more important, what the task requirements are, who will get assigned those tasks, what potential task blockers and dependencies might be, and tracking the speed at which the tasks are being completed (in order to figure out whether we're on target to hit our deadlines).

Besides the leads, some specific disciplines tend to do more paperwork - QA spends a huge amount of time filling out bug reports, designers have to write design documents, and production have to create most/all of the non-bug tasks to be tracked.

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Scoping is an ongoing process and not a particular phase of development that we finish. Even though we try to figure out what we can do early on, we still have to make scope adjustments as we follow the schedule. If higher priority tasks fall behind, it is only natural to cut lower priority tasks so we can redirect those resources to the higher priority tasks.

At most studios, we work in milestones. A milestone is a longer period of time where we have a set of targets to deliver. When the game is green lit, the general milestone schedule is agreed upon and high level goals are set. This process can take a few months while we figure out what the game is about. The establishment of the milestones is very important, because it provides a means of tracking the game's overall development progress. Independent studios that have contracts with a publisher usually get paid for each successful milestone - the funding is given when the project reaches the goals set for the milestone.

Early in the milestone, we usually have some planning meetings where the high-level goals are broken down into smaller tasks that get estimates from the developers in the trenches. If the tasks are too difficult to estimate by themselves, we break them down further until we get some consensus as to how expensive a task will be. Then, the producers take all those estimates, prioritize them, add them up, and compare to how much time we have in the schedule for the milestone. Starting from the highest priority and working their way down, they put as many of the tasks that we can do and will fit into the schedule in, and the other tasks that are either lower priority or have dependencies on the current tasks get put into the backlog. Then, as we progress through the milestone, they'll update the schedule as additional tasks get cut or added based on our progress and speed.

Sometimes tasks slip the schedule for unforeseen reasons - our estimates are off, the person who was working on the task left the company, the licensor vetoed the idea, there's a new thing that takes priority, etc. When this happens, we can sometimes push the task into the next milestone (we call this punting), as long as the overall milestone goals are still hit. If we can't hit the overall milestone goals, the milestone is delayed and the studio may not get paid until the milestone goals are reached. If we consistently miss milestones by too much and the project is in danger of getting cancelled.

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Game development is like most forms of project work:

The project leadership sets overall goals

These overall goals must be broken down into tasks

These tasks must be assigned to developers to complete

The completed tasks then allow work to be done on new tasks that were previously blocked

Repeat steps 2-3 until overall goals are considered complete (or rework the plan to account for new information/discoveries/goals)

Once enough goals are complete, you ship the game.

For a single dev or a duo, it isn't so bad - you keep a list of things you've done, and a to-do list of things you need to do but haven't done yet. Maybe you consider the dependencies of the tasks you still need to do, so you know that completing task A will allow you to get started on tasks B and D.

As the scope of the project increases, so (necessarily) does the size of the team needed to complete that work within the allotted time frame. This is where things can get tricky - there can be thousands of tasks being completed by dozens or even hundreds of different developers all collaborating. In order to keep work from being wasted (e.g. two or more developers solving the same problem) and prevent developers from being blocked (e.g. I can't create a new poison gas grenade if the weapon creation tool doesn't support creating grenades yet), we need some kind of task tracking software solution that allows us to manage our tasks. These are the common requirements of such a task-tracking software.

Create new tasks

Assign tasks to specific developers

Mark tasks as having a dependency on or relation to other tasks

Be able to mark the task as not started yet, in progress, completed, and verified

Assign a priority level to the task

Allow collaborators to add context to a task like comments, screenshots, diagrams, videos, etc.

With tracking software like this, a developer can be assigned a new task that provides a lot of context about the task, the stakeholders, the dependency, the priority, and so on. Most studios I've worked with have used Jira to track our tasks, but I've also seen studios use Hansoft or Trello instead. There are also other software suites like ClickUp, Asana, Backlog, and others. These can be used to track features being built, content being created, bugs that need fixing, or future tasks that should be done later. We can group them into milestones, we can search for specific subsets (e.g. all open bugs marked as priority A or higher) to see how we're doing, and so on and so forth. This becomes the primary tool of the production team to ensure that tasks are being created, assigned, worked on, and completed in a timely fashion, as well as gauge how much of the overall has reached completion. The larger the scope of the project, the more integral the tracking of the individual tasks becomes in order to make sure that important tasks aren't lost, that devs don't waste time doing the same tasks, and that dev time spent blocked is minimized.

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How Startups Can Easily Use Task Management Systems to Grow Quickly.

Growing a new company can be a thrill; however, it can also be challenging because of the number of new employees that are hired, projects that need to be handled, and how you maintain productivity with the amount of work you have to do. If you don't have anything organized properly, then even the most successful new companies will have a difficult time keeping up with everything they have to do as they grow quickly. That's why a task management system can really change how successful your company can be.

A task management system allows new businesses to operate smoothly, work better together, and stay aligned with the vision of their new business, which is important when it comes to growing effectively. Let's take a closer look at how task management systems help you grow your company faster.

What is a task management system?

A task management system is a Software Application that allows teams to be able to plan, assign, and track the progress of tasks in a timely fashion. It serves as the single location for all activities related to your projects to provide you transparency and accountability for all of your project-related work.

For new businesses that have limited resources and require quick turnaround time, using a task management system is very important because you are going to have to work much harder to accomplish what your company needs to do.

Streamlining Operations and Workflows

In the early stages of a business, the workflow is usually chaotic or disorganized. By using a task management system, a business can effectively structure, organize, and prioritize tasks or deliverables for each project. This can lead to:

Breaking a project into smaller tasks Prioritizing small tasks, including deadlines Creating processes for different project types

As a result, there will be a reduction in confusion, and projects will be delivered more smoothly, even as the size of your team increases

2.Increasing Collaboration Within Your Team

As a startup business grows, so does the complexity of communication. This can lead to confusion, delays, and even losses for a business. Therefore, it is essential for a business to ensure proper communication among employees. This can be achieved through the use of a task management system, which can allow team members to:

Participate in real-time Engage in discussion regarding tasks Communicate from a single source

As a result, collaboration among employees will ensure that everyone is on the same page, regardless of the size of your team or their physical location.

3.Increased Efficiency.

To achieve an effective start-up, it is important to maximize productivity in your company. By having well defined and organized tasks, you will be able to maximize your employee's productivity. A task management system will enable:

Your employees to be aware of their assigned tasks, deadlines, and to minimize the duplication of work. Task completion = more output. Therefore, your company will be a success.

4.Real-time Visibility.

To help your company grow and achieve success, it is critical to have real-time visibility of progress. A task management system will provide a company with the ability to track:

Task completion and employee productivity.

5.Improved Time Management

One of the most important assets for startups is time, and poor management of this asset can significantly affect the growth of a startup.

Task management systems can help in this area in the following ways:

Setting deadlines and reminders Prioritizing tasks Scheduling tasks for efficient use of time