Activity: Managing a Software Project with GitHub Projects (Beta)

Objective

This activity provides student teams with hands-on experience in setting up and managing GitHub Projects (Beta) for a small software project. By the end, students will demonstrate their ability to:
✅ Create and configure a GitHub Project.
✅ Use Issues for task management.
✅ Assign tasks and track project progress.
✅ Collaborate using GitHub’s project management tools.

Activity Overview

Each student team will work on a toy software project (e.g., a simple calculator app, to-do list, or basic website). They will use GitHub Projects (Beta) to manage tasks, assign responsibilities, and track progress.

Prerequisites

  • A GitHub account.
  • A repository for the project (students can create a new one or use an existing one).
  • Basic knowledge of Git and GitHub.

Step 1: Set Up a GitHub Project

  1. Go to the project repository on GitHub.
  2. Click on the “Projects” tab.
  3. Click “New Project” and select “Table” or “Board” view (Board is similar to Kanban).
  4. Name the project (e.g., Team Alpha – To-Do List).
  5. Optionally, add a description and enable automation features (e.g., automatic status updates).

Step 2: Define and Add Issues

  1. In the “Issues” tab of the repository, click “New Issue” and create tasks such as:
    • “Set up project structure”
    • “Implement user interface”
    • “Write unit tests”
    • “Fix authentication bug”
  2. Assign team members to each issue.
  3. Label issues (e.g., bug, enhancement, documentation).

Step 3: Add Issues to the Project Board

  1. Open the GitHub Project.
  2. Click “+ Add Item” → “Add from repository”.
  3. Select existing Issues to add them to the project.
  4. Move tasks across columns (e.g., To Do, In Progress, Done).

Step 4: Track Progress and Collaborate

  1. Regularly update task status (drag and drop tasks across the board).
  2. Use comments in issues to discuss progress.
  3. Review the Insights & Graphs tab to track contributions.
  4. When a task is complete, close the issue and mark it “Done” in the Project.

Step 5: Reflect & Discuss

  1. What challenges did the team face?
  2. How did using GitHub Projects help with task management?
  3. How could automation improve the workflow?

Submission & Assessment

  • Submit the GitHub Project link to the instructor.
  • Demonstrate the workflow in a brief presentation or write a short reflection.

Success Criteria

✅ GitHub Project is set up with Issues added.
✅ Tasks are assigned and tracked.
✅ Team members collaborate through GitHub.
✅ The team demonstrates effective project management.

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