Quick Start: 5-Minute Guide

Get your first project plan created in 5 minutes or less. This fast-track guide skips the details and gets you started immediately.

Your Goal

By the end of this guide, you'll have:

✅ A complete project plan with timeline
✅ Multiple teams (workstreams) working in parallel
✅ Work items with dependencies
✅ A visual Gantt chart showing when work will complete

Time required: 5 minutes

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You'll land on the main app with a chat interface ready to go.

Step 2: Describe Your Project (1 minute)

Chat with the AI to set up your project basics. Here's a template you can copy and paste:

I'm planning a [PROJECT TYPE] project called [PROJECT NAME].
We have [NUMBER] weeks to complete it.

Example:

I'm planning a website redesign project called Modern Website Refresh.
We have 10 weeks to complete it.

The AI will confirm and ask about your teams.

Step 3: Define Your Teams (1 minute)

Tell the AI about your workstreams (teams) and how many people are on each.

Template:

We have [NUMBER] teams:
- [TEAM NAME]: [NUMBER] people
- [TEAM NAME]: [NUMBER] people
- [TEAM NAME]: [NUMBER] people

Example:

We have 3 teams:
- Design: 2 people
- Engineering: 5 people
- QA: 2 people

Step 4: List the Work (1 minute)

Describe the major work items each team needs to do.

Template:

Design: [WORK ITEM], [WORK ITEM]
Engineering: [WORK ITEM], [WORK ITEM], [WORK ITEM]
QA: [WORK ITEM], [WORK ITEM]

Example:

Design: Create new design system, Design key pages
Engineering: Update frontend components, Rebuild navigation, Integrate CMS
QA: Write test plan, Run regression testing

Step 5: Add Dependencies (30 seconds)

Tell the AI which work must happen before other work.

Example:

Engineering should wait for the design system to be complete.
QA should wait for all engineering work to finish.

Step 6: Review Your Timeline (1 minute)

The AI generates your plan! Look at:

Project Definition Editor (left side):

Shows your project definition in text format
Edit directly if you want to make changes

Gantt Chart (right side):

Visual timeline of your project
Each team has its own swimlane
Work items are shown as bars on the timeline
Dependencies connect related work

Forecast (bottom):

Shows when your project will complete
Lists milestones and key dates

Step 7: Try a "What If" Scenario (1 minute)

Ask the AI to explore alternatives:

Try asking:

"What if we added 2 more engineers?"
"What if we skipped the CMS integration?"
"What if the design took 3 weeks instead of 2?"

The AI will create a new scenario showing the impact!

You're Done!

Congratulations! You've created your first project plan with Farline AI in under 5 minutes.

What You've Learned

✅ How to start a project with the AI chat ✅ How to define teams and work items ✅ How to add dependencies between work ✅ How to read a Gantt chart ✅ How to explore "what if" scenarios

Next Steps

Explore More:

Try editing the project definition directly to make changes
Create multiple scenarios to compare approaches
Export your charts to share with stakeholders
Import from Jira if you have existing projects

Learn More:

Creating Your First Project - Detailed walkthrough
Using the AI Chat to Build Projects - Master the chat interface
Understanding Project Definition Structure - Learn the project definition syntax
Visualizing Projects with Charts - Chart options and export

Troubleshooting

Chart looks too long? Ask the AI: "Can you make the teams bigger?" or "Can we work on more things in parallel?"

Work items in wrong order? Add dependencies: "X should wait for Y to complete"

Need to make changes? Just keep chatting! Say "Can you change..." or "What if we..."

Want to start over? Click the project dropdown → New Project

Tips for Success

Keep it simple: Your first project can be basic. Complexity comes later.
Think big chunks: Focus on features/epics, not individual tasks
Iterate fast: Ask the AI to adjust things until it looks right
Try scenarios: Use "what if" questions to explore options
Export early: Download your project before making big changes

Getting Started with Farline AI - Complete beginner's guide
Creating Your First Project - Step-by-step tutorial
Working with Work Items - Deep dive on work items
Managing Workstreams and Dependencies - Team and dependency strategies
Exporting and Importing Sessions - Save and share your work

Last updated: 2025-12-19

Quick Start: 5-Minute Guide

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