Managing Project Settings

Configure your Farline AI projects with the right settings for accurate forecasts and clear visualizations.

Project-Level Settings

Project Name

The name displayed in the project selector and charts.

Definition:

name: Website Redesign Project

Via Chat:

You: "Rename the project to 'Mobile App Launch'"

Tips:

Use descriptive names
Keep under 50 characters
Include version or phase if managing multiple related projects

Unit of Measurement

Defines what "size" means in your project.

Definition:

unit: story points

Common units:

story points - Agile relative sizing (default)
days - Time-based estimates
hours - Granular time tracking
t-shirt - Simplified sizing (S/M/L converted to numbers)

Via Chat:

You: "Change the unit to days instead of story points"

Important: Use the same unit consistently across all work items in a project

Start Date

When the project begins.

Definition:

start_date: '2025-01-15'

Default: Current date if not specified

Via Chat:

You: "Set the start date to January 15, 2025"

Format: YYYY-MM-DD

Use cases:

Future projects that haven't started
Historical projects (for record-keeping)
"What if we started earlier/later?"

Scenario Settings

Each scenario can have its own configuration.

Scenario Name

Identifies different "what if" analyses.

Definition:

scenarios:
  - name: Baseline Plan
    workstreams: [...]

  - name: With More Engineers
    workstreams: [...]

  - name: MVP Only
    workstreams: [...]

Tips:

Use clear, descriptive names
Indicate what's different ("Baseline", "Fast Track", "Reduced Scope")
Keep under 30 characters

Scenario Description (Optional)

Explain what this scenario represents.

Definition:

scenarios:
  - name: Fast Track
    description: "Assumes we hire 3 additional engineers in Week 2"
    workstreams: [...]

Purpose: Document assumptions and differences between scenarios

Workstream Settings

Configure teams and their working parameters.

Capacity

How much work the team completes per week.

Definition:

workstreams:
  - name: Engineering
    capacity: 15

Calculation methods:

Historical velocity: Use past sprint data
Team size × individual velocity: 5 people × 3 points each = 15
Available hours: 5 people × 30 hours/week = 150 hours (if unit is hours)

Via Chat:

You: "Increase the Engineering capacity to 20"

Tips:

Be realistic, not optimistic
Account for meetings, overhead, context-switching
Use decimal values if needed (e.g., 7.5)

Start Delay

Delay before workstream begins, in weeks.

Definition:

workstreams:
  - name: QA Team
    capacity: 8
    start_delay: 2

Meaning: QA Team doesn't start work until Week 2

Use cases:

New hires not yet onboarded
Teams not available immediately
Phased rollouts
Budget constraints delaying team formation

Concurrency Limit

Maximum work items in progress simultaneously.

Definition:

workstreams:
  - name: Design
    capacity: 10
    concurrency_limit: 2

Meaning: Design team works on max 2 items at once, even if capacity allows more

When to use:

Limit context-switching
Model WIP (Work In Progress) limits
Represent focus constraints

Default: No limit (capacity determines parallelism)

Work Item Settings

Size

Amount of work, in project units.

Definition:

work_items:
  - id: user-auth
    name: User Authentication
    size: 25

Tips:

Use consistent scale across all items
Include testing, review, deployment
Add buffer for unknowns (multiply by 1.2-1.5x)

Dependencies

Work items that must complete first.

Definition:

work_items:
  - id: frontend-ui
    name: Build Frontend UI
    size: 30
    dependencies:
      - api-endpoints
      - design-system

Rules:

Reference by ID, not name
Can depend on items in other workstreams
Creates sequential ordering

Group (Optional)

Organize related work items.

Definition:

work_items:
  - id: login
    name: User Login
    size: 10
    group: MVP Features

  - id: profile
    name: User Profile
    size: 15
    group: MVP Features

  - id: admin
    name: Admin Dashboard
    size: 20
    group: Phase 2

Purpose: Visual organization in charts

Milestone Settings

Mark important project dates.

Milestone Name

What this milestone represents.

Definition:

milestones:
  - name: MVP Complete
    depends_on:
      - core-features
      - basic-ui
      - auth-system

Tips:

Use clear, specific names
Indicate what's achieved ("Beta Ready", "Launch", "MVP")

Dependencies

Work items that must finish before milestone completes.

Definition:

milestones:
  - name: Public Launch
    depends_on:
      - all-features-complete
      - testing-done
      - deployment-ready

Milestone date: When ALL dependencies complete

Display Settings

Control how your project appears.

Chart Type

Choose visualization format.

Options:

Mermaid Gantt (default): Text-based, exportable to Confluence/Notion
DayPilot: Interactive timeline with drag-and-drop

Via UI: Toggle between chart types in the interface

Use Mermaid for: Documentation, sharing, version control Use DayPilot for: Interactive exploration, presentations

Theme

Light or dark mode.

Via UI: Toggle in top-right corner

Preference: Saved per user, applies to all projects

Export and Import Settings

Export Format

When exporting, choose format:

Options:

Session ZIP: Includes chat history, project definition, and metadata
Project definition only: Just the project definition
JSON (all sessions): Backup of all your projects

Via UI: Menu → Export/Import → Choose format

Import Options

Bring in external project data.

Import from Jira:

Converts Jira epics to Farline AI work items
See "Importing From Jira" article for details

Import session ZIP:

Restores chat history and project data
Useful for backups or moving between devices

Common Configurations

Agile/Scrum Team

name: Agile Project
unit: story points
scenarios:
  - name: Baseline
    workstreams:
      - name: Scrum Team
        capacity: 30  # Team velocity
        work_items:
          - id: epic-1
            name: User Management
            size: 40
          - id: epic-2
            name: Reporting
            size: 35

Waterfall Project

name: Waterfall Project
unit: days
scenarios:
  - name: Baseline
    workstreams:
      - name: Requirements
        capacity: 5
        work_items:
          - id: requirements
            size: 10

      - name: Design
        capacity: 5
        start_delay: 2
        work_items:
          - id: design
            size: 15
            dependencies: [requirements]

      - name: Development
        capacity: 20
        start_delay: 5
        work_items:
          - id: build
            size: 60
            dependencies: [design]

Multi-Team Product Development

name: Product Launch
unit: story points
scenarios:
  - name: Baseline
    workstreams:
      - name: iOS Team
        capacity: 12
        work_items: [...]

      - name: Android Team
        capacity: 12
        work_items: [...]

      - name: Backend Team
        capacity: 15
        work_items: [...]

      - name: Design
        capacity: 6
        work_items: [...]

Changing Settings Mid-Project

Via AI Chat

Easiest method for most changes:

Examples:

You: "Increase the Frontend capacity to 18"
You: "Add a new work item for performance optimization"
You: "Change the project name to Q1 Website Refresh"
You: "Remove the API integration work item"

Via Project Definition Editor

For complex changes or batch updates:

Click into the project definition editor
Make your changes
Charts update automatically
Invalid definitions show error messages

Tips:

Use Ctrl+F (Cmd+F) to find items quickly
Check indentation (the definition format is whitespace-sensitive)
Save often (automatic, but good to verify)

Creating New Scenarios

To compare options without changing baseline:

Via Chat:

You: "Create a new scenario called 'Fast Track' with 5 more engineers"

Via Editor:

Copy entire scenario block
Paste below existing scenario
Rename and modify as needed

Validation and Errors

Farline AI validates your settings and shows errors.

Common Validation Errors

Missing required fields:

Error: Workstream "Frontend" is missing capacity

Fix: Add capacity value

Invalid dependencies:

Error: Work item "feature-b" depends on "feature-x" which doesn't exist

Fix: Correct dependency ID or add missing work item

Negative values:

Error: Work item size must be positive

Fix: Use size > 0

Invalid dates:

Error: Start date must be in format YYYY-MM-DD

Fix: Use correct date format

Warnings

Non-critical issues that might need attention:

Example:

Warning: Workstream "QA" has no work items

Action: Ignore if intentional, add work items if mistake

Best Practices

Start simple: Use default settings initially, customize as needed

Document changes: Use scenario descriptions to explain assumptions

Be consistent: Use same units, naming conventions across project

Validate with team: Settings should reflect reality, not wishful thinking

Version scenarios: Create new scenarios rather than overwriting baseline

Update regularly: Adjust capacity and sizes as you learn more

Export backups: Before major changes, export a session ZIP

Creating Your First Project - Set up a new project
Understanding Project Definition Structure - Complete project definition reference
Working with Work Items - Work item configuration
Managing Workstreams and Dependencies - Team settings
Backing Up Your Projects - Save and restore projects

Last updated: 2025-12-19

Managing Project Settings

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