Software to Keep Track of: 1) Program Features, 2) Program Defects and 3) Ideas for New Programs

Question

Hi:

I'll have bursts of programming-related ideas that I wish to keep track of. Usually, there are two scenarios:

1. I'm using an open-source application, and there is something about it I'd like to change. This could be fixing a bug, improving a feature, or adding a new feature.

2. I have an idea for a useful program. This could be a program which implements functionality I can't find anywhere else, or it might be a pet project to learn something new (e.g., implement an address book using Google App Engine).

The features I'd like:

• Ubiquitous: allows me to record and access my thoughts no matter where I am (mobile access is not required)
• Rich formatting: lets me make complex tables and diagrams, lots of font colouring options, complex lists (in terms of levels and choice of bullets), etc.
• Friction-less & Full-featured: I'd like something which can very easily allow me to jot down my thoughts, but also allow me to more fully expand them later on
• Structured: Since most of my ideas revolve around specific projects, it would be nice to be able to group and link them together.

The first and fourth requirement would seem to suggest a web solution, although they usually don't fulfil the second and third requirement. I've been using RememberTheMilk's Firefox extension to just record the title of the idea (e.g., "change feature X to also do Y"), which is both ubiquitous and friction-less. Its semi-structured, as it allows tagging, but its not easy to see groups of ideas, and they can't link to each other. However, its formatting features are lacking. I really love the formatting capabilities and features of Word2007. It lets me easily format text any way I want, and I can include diagrams, charts, tables, etc. However, it clearly fails on the "ubiquitous" requirement.

I guess I'm looking for a combination of the two products. Any suggestions out there?

Answer 1

Google docs, rich text editing and you could search them pretty easily

JIRA might also work, though I don't think it dies rich text

Answer 2

FogBugz

FogBugz makes it simple to track your projects. It focuses your team on what needs to be done, and brings schedules back into reality.

FogBugz captures all your tasks, features, and customer requests in a central location, bringing clarity to your development effort

Answer 3

I use Evernote, it allows me to have lots of different notebooks, go into as much detail as I want plus attach files and it syncs across my iPhone and various other computers. It, also, supports tags making it quicker and easier to find things.