How do you keep track of multiple projects? How much documentation?

[futurebird]

My husband pointed out that I like to start projects more than I like to complete them. This was his rather kind way of nudging me to organize my work space so I spent some time this weekend grouping the items from each of my projects into boxes and organizing my tools.

I quickly realized that it was not just a matter of putting each project in its on box. You see, often I end up pausing on a project since I'm waiting for a part to come in the mail, or looking for documentation, or I just want to re-think the design. So, for each project I wrote a little note with the name of any missing parts, the areas I felt I needed to research and the next steps.

I think this will work for now, but I'd like to start a notebook for all of this. I have a notebook for project ideas, but I need more of a log book. How do you organize so that you can keep track of multiple projects?

[stmdude]

Don't really have that many projects that are on-going during a longer time. I do however have _plenty_ of indefinitely shelved projects, both at home, and at work.

So, what do I do with a project that I've stopped working on?

First off, if it's a trivial project, it gets tossed.  Easy enough to create again, therefor the cost of documentation and storage exceeds the value of the project.

For everything else:
1. A plastic bin is aquired
2. All PCBs related to the project gets tossed in, assembled or not
3. Schematics, layouts and BOM are _printed_ and put in the bin
4. A USB stick with the digital versions are also put in the bin (small USB sticks are _cheap_). If there's source-code involved, it gets put on the stick as well, together with compiled versions.
5. A rudimentary explaination of what the design does and what (if any) issues there were with the design, and how it should be addressed if the project is re-started.
6. A silica-gel pouch is put in the bin to keep moisture at a reasonable level
7. Done

Maybe a bit overkill, but it's pretty darn future-proof.

A few other tips. Silkscreen on your PCBs, indicating the project name and PCB revision is very helpful if you're iterating a project.
Put some time into cleaning up your schematics, so that you have a chance of understanding it when you go back to the project.

[Joule Thief]

Next month I'll clock in 60 years on this earth, and about 45 years involved in electronics both professionally and on a hobby level.
 
Not too many years ago, I was considered a "quick study" and had no difficulty keeping several projects in play at the same time. Work, home, cars, all in my head as to what the last step was and the next step would be.

These days, ANY project I start gets it own $1.99 composition notebook labeled and placed on the shelf.

[jeroen79]

If you want to keep a log on paper then you could use a binder and loose sheets.
That way you can easily add pages to a project without needing a seperate notebook for each.

And keep a log for things that you ordered or have to order and link each item to a project.

[rstofer]

I keep my project files on my NAS.  But that doesn't produce a clear picture because it often misses my scribbled notes.

My wife has a document scanner that will scan letter size pages and produce a PDF.  I am beginning to think this will be my next gadget.  I can finally get all of the clutter off my desk.  Just scan it, store it and recycle the paper.  If I need it again, I can just print it.

All of the boards and parts wind up in some kind of storage but I don't have anything approaching systematic.  I need to work on that.

[suicidaleggroll]

I don't do "physical" notes (eg: notebook or pieces of paper).  They can't be indexed/searched, they're difficult to keep track of, damage easily, and aren't accessible from remote locations.  I do everything on the computer, including note-taking.  The notes cover everything from current status and future goals to how things work, why certain parts were selected, problems I've encountered, changes I want to make in future revs, etc.

Each project gets its own CVS project where all schematics, layout files, gerbers, firmware, supporting software, and notes live.  When a board is fabbed, I make a snapshot copy of the entire hardware directory (schematics, layout, gerbers, BOM, and notes) for that version so it's all saved even when the primary files continue being updated for later revs.  All hardware goes in a box/bag for the project when it's cleaned up, and the CVS repo is mirrored across multiple systems, drives, and physical locations for redundancy.

This approach is easily maintainable, easily scaleable, and allows me to work on or reference any of the design files or notes from any project, at any time, from any computer, in any location.  Any changes I make are uploaded to the central server whenever I get an internet connection, and are then easily distributed to any working copies of the project on any other machine with a single command.  It's also about as close as I can get to complete data security.  Even if my house burns down, nothing is lost except the physical boards/parts.  CVS also provides version control, which allows me to drop back to previous versions of any file if I screw something up.

[basinstreetdesign]

I learned about halfway through my career that keeping a notebook on all aspects of a project was invaluable.  And that habit has persisted even into retirement.  I keep a binder of loose-leaf pages with sections labelled for Architecture, Design (and usually a section for every major hardware block of the design), PCB design and fab, debugging log, SW/FW, mechanical design, special datasheets, parts invoices, etc.  Where this habit shines is that I try to write what I did during every day that I am working on it.  And EVERYTHING is dated.  This allows me to look back several weeks/months to answer questions like "Why did I make THAT decision?" or "How did I solve that problem?".

Every project gets such a binder with notes, printouts, simulation results, whatever.

I also have a box that all of the bench hardware and special tools developed for the project can go if it is shelved for a while.

Of course my computer is similarly organized with nested directory folders for all of the files pertinent to those binder sections needed to keep the project organized.  Photos of the projects progress may go into here as well.

A spin-off benefit of this system is that if I want to re-use any HW or SW material in another project or publish the design/build process in a place such as instructables.com all of the material I need is already organized and waiting for me.

I've been using this system for about 25 years and I still love it.  Too bad if anybody thinks its a waste of time.  Once in my consulting company a legal issue arose and we had to go back 3 years to answer just such a question as posed above.  Having that dated evidence saved our asses.

[lwatts666]

I use an approach that is a hybrid of some already suggested:

Anything Physical - Hardware, parts, partial assemblies, test jigs, etc. get put into a labeled plastic crate. Much like stmdude does.

Reference material, datasheets, design calculations, schematics, PCB layouts, software, test code, final code, etc. are put into a GIT repository, Much like suicidaleggroll's CVS.

Anything that is/might be re-usable (eg code library, sub-assembly, etc.) gets its own GIT Repository which is included as a GIT sub-module where required in a bigger project.

Audit trail and documentation is key to being able to restart a project quickly and without unnecessary rework. I keep a 'Project_Management' document that details chronological events, decisions, information reference sources, purchases, failures, etc. Re-reading this brings me up-to-date quickly.

[vk6zgo]

I just leave everything lying around any old how.
I can sort it out when I get to it!

The downside of this is when some hero takes it upon themselves to tidy my bench.

[charlespax]

I put everything in Github. I file an issue for pretty much every idea I have or issue I am working on. I have a repository where I put various ideas instead of a physical notebook. I do have a physical notebook I use for transient thoughts and thoughts before they are processed into Github. For physical things I usually just write the repository name on a bag and jam everything inside. Plastic bins look nice, but their constant volume mean you're pretty much always wasting some kind of space.

[German_EE]

The girlfriend buys lots of shoes and I get the boxes, they're just the right size. Each project gets its own box and there are a series of Post It notes on the front showing what parts are missing and what's on order from Mouser. Every Friday I have a workshop tidy up and everything gets put back in the right box.

As for documentation, I have a notebook that's used for projects and each one starts ten pages on from the previous one, I build lots of small projects so ten pages is always enough. Everything goes in there from schematic diagrams and front panel layouts to ideas for improvements. Only one project, my ham radio transceiver, has a book of its own as it's so damn complex and I'm always making changes.

One final thing, I try not to have too many projects on the go at the same time. Two is ideal and I view three as the limit or the workbench will start to look too untidy. Most of the projects are just collections of parts sitting in a box on the shelf, someday their time will come and once in a while I will find something interesting at a flea market that's just right for a design.

[rstofer]

I have just started looking at note type programs such as Microsoft's OneNote and EverNote.  These programs run on a multitude of devices from cell phones to PC and everything in the middle.  PC, MAC, Android, cell phones, everything!

Data is stored in the cloud and, for my projects, this is good enough.  These note taking programs allow files to be included or attached to 'notebooks'.  One notebook per project.  I can include PDFs of schematics and mark them up if I wish.  I can either include or attach program listings.  Photos are handled similarly.  What's cools is the part where as soon as I mark up a document on one device, it is replicated at all other devices as soon as they log on.  Nearly instantaneous if they are already logged on.

No matter where I go, I can log on and get to my notebooks.  Pretty nice...

No, I don't know how to do revision control.  OneNote does support a history for pages and retains versions.  There are rules for deleting obsolete pages which are user selectable.

Next time out, I'm going to use one of the note taking programs.

[Kjelt]

I use svn (subversion) for all digital files.
I check in regularly and note what i have done.
The beauty is you can revert to any stage whenever you want, for software this is essential but it also saved me with pcb design where i was not happy with the last 50 traces i routed so could skip back and start over.
Physical storage except for components is still an unorganized mess unfortunately, i have no clue where some device i stored two years ago exactly can be found. Sometimes it takes 2 minutes so etimes a couple of hours or worse i give up. Still want to reorganize that but i already have so little time for the hobby

[Red Squirrel]

I  have a documents folder on my home network server with a bunch of other stuff, one folder in there is "projects" and I make a folder in there for each project, whether it's an electronics project, home renovation projects, etc.   Idealy, I should rename the folder "stuff that will never be completed"  but "projects" is shorter. 

I also have a documentation folder, if a project is completed, then any documentation goes in there.  Stuff like wiring layouts for home automation stuff, etc.

I've been thinking of organizing my stuff better though, I have reference material kinda all over the place, project stuff, misc files, etc...  I might even just make a local wiki to organize everything in.

As for physically organizing them, I have very limited workbench space now, I really need to build myself a new computer desk, so part of it would also act as a large flat work bench.  What I'm thinking of doing is I could have sheets of plywood that fit on the desk, and I'd be able to slide it off, and store it under in a rail system.  The plywood would basically contain a laid out project and I could swap them around if I need to switch projects or simply need the desk space for something temporary.   

[SL4P]

As soon as any project reaches any state of implementation, I start a living document that will become the 'user / tech reference manual' if it ever gets finished.  Saved with an updated file name every date there are changes.
This includes many sections as noted above, along with errata and to-do sections.
Same with source code and photos or external / web references.
Source code also has a revision history that shows changes implemented with each compiled 'release'.
At major milestones, these all get bundled into a new dated zip folder, and kept until everything is complete.

[Kjelt]

This reminds me three years ago I started saving the entire project documentation, schematics etc on a flash drive and put that flash drive into the product. Seemed like a good idea until I read somewhere that flash usb drives memory does not last that long (somewhere around 10 years) and that you have to rewrite it just like old eproms 
So I quit that. It would be nice if there was affordabele archiving hardware.
On the other hand most of my projects use micrcontrollers whose program memory will disappear in 30 to 40 years. This is going to become a serious issue for museums and old vintage electronic collectors this century.

[MrSlack]

Firstly, don't use a computer. They are fine for archival or storing copies but taking notes etc, even on a good tablet in OneNote is a horrible drudge.

I use cheap A5 Silvine 5mm squared exercise books for all project work. That and good old fashioned Bic biros. I'll do something, scribble it on bits of blank A4 with a mechanical pencil, then write it up later in the notebook in pen. Each project has a title. There is an index at the front to the first page of each project. Every page is numbered. When you context switch, draw a line across the page under the last thing you did, write the date, title. If this is a continuation of an older project, find the last page of the project and write "CONT ##" where ## is the new page. Books are numbered in order with start+end date on them as well. When/if I finish a project, I scan the whole thing in on the computer and stitch it into a PDF.

Regarding tangible things, large ziplock freezer bags work well with a big sticky label with the projet title on it. Chuck it in a box and forget about it. If it's trivial, throw it in the bin. I don't even bother recovering parts these days.

Regarding files etc, they don't take up physical space so they are archived with the rest of my stuff such as photos etc on encrypted USB stick that lives on me, Amazon S3 (via duplicity) and on a DLT tape once every six months or so.

I've got 18 notebooks filled now in about 20 years. I've completed about 40 projects and left perhaps a 100 to rot.

[tron9000]

Glad its not just me this happens too..got some many projects on the go or want to do I don't know where to start sometimes. It's got to a point now where I've banned myself from starting projects and trying to clear the backlog. Still its taking a while..free time is rare these days!

I'm in the little bit of everything camp. Keep my notes in a note book and book mark relevant topics and projects with a post-it note with what that book mark is on. When a year passes or I start a new notebook I place the start and finish date on it and put it on my shelves. Any projects I've put down I store in whatever box I can find and it'll fit in and scribble on it what's inside.

Any digital stuff gets saved in a sensibly named folder and then split into subfolders of different versions for build files (schmatics, CAD files, Etc.) and documentation. Every month I back-up the files off the computer onto a external hard drive, just in case.

I find using blog pages like blogspot is a good place to write a sort of diary of how your projects getting on, so if you do put one down, you can easily pick it back up by having a read, and also you're sharing your findings with other folk, which is a nice thing to do.

In terms of bench space - I've started storing my projects on a set of book shelves I managed to get out of a library (very sturdy!) and only taking one project off at a time, doing whatever I need to do, then tidying it away afterwards. Seems to be working!

There is some very useful tips here that I'll be taking on-board myself