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Ask HN: Best tool for mapping out a new software project?

by oliverjudge on 6/19/23, 1:18 PM with 4 comments

I usually find at the outset of a new project there seems to be a nest of spreadsheets for schema, photos of whiteboards for how everything clicks together and either wireframes or figma files for front end prototypes. Is there an all in one mapping tool for this kind of exercise or is the best way to either write it all down on paper or adhere to the above nest?

  • by nivertech on 6/19/23, 9:00 PM

    I don't think using a single tool for everything is feasible, but you can use it as a single starting point aggregating all other references.

    Here are some options:

    - "Project Name" bookmarks folder in your browser

    - GDoc

    - README in a git repo

    - Miro board

    - Obsidian Canvas/Notes vault backed by a git repo

    For a large project with non-tech collaborators, I think Miro board is the best option. For a solo project, or small project were everyone knows git, git repo + Obsidian vault in the /docs folder of the same git repo.

    You can also use Miro board to facilitate kick-start of a new project using various methods/frameworks such as Design Sprint, EventStorming, or Event Modeling.

    For Software Design I would use docs-as-code formats stored in the git repo, such as:

    - Markdown - GFM (GitHub Flavoured Markdown) for OSS, Obsidian Markdown if everyone on the team comfortable with Obsidian.

    - PlantUML or mermaid (use mermaid since it's natively supported in GitHub and Obsidian, fallback to PlantUML for more complex cases)

    - C4 Model + C3Model PlatUML (Architecture Design diagrams)

    - ADR (Architecture Design Records)

    - arc42 - Software Design Document templates in various formats (including GFM - GitHub Flavoured Markdown)

  • by mikewarot on 6/20/23, 6:30 AM

    Back in the day, I fired up Word 2000 and used the outline mode for those type of things. Then I switched to MoinMoin, then WikidPad. These days, text files and GIT to keep backups on GitHub

  • by silverline28 on 6/19/23, 6:00 PM

    I use mostly drawio which covers the most, from sequence diagrams, c4, database etc. Figma sometimes when things need to be more rich than a plain text.

  • by zn44 on 6/19/23, 1:47 PM

    i haven't used it yet but https://c4model.com/ might be relevant to what you're looking for.

    Personally I start with exploratory code and wiki for documentation (these days notion)