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 Excalidraw forecast 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 Plan (1 minute)

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

I'm planning a [PROJECT TYPE] project called [PROJECT NAME] starting on [START DATE]. 
I'm using [UNITS] as the unit for my teams and work items.

Example:

I'm planning a website redesign project called Modern Website Refresh starting on the 3rd of March 2026. 
I'm using people weeks and the unit for my teams and work items.

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:

The work items for each team are:
Design: [WORK ITEM] size [X], [WORK ITEM] size [Y]
Engineering: [WORK ITEM] size [X], [WORK ITEM] size [Y], [WORK ITEM] size [Z]
QA: [WORK ITEM] size [X], [WORK ITEM] size [Y]

Example:

The work items for each team are:
Design: Create new design system - size 6, Design key pages - size 10
Engineering: Update frontend components - size 12, Rebuild navigation - size 4, Integrate CMS - size 2
QA: Write test plan- size 1, Run regression testing - size 3

Step 5: Add Dependencies (30 seconds)

Tell the AI which work must happen before other work.

Example:

Engineering should wait for the1 design system to be complete.
Run regression testing should wait for all engineering work to finish.
Update frontend components can only start after rebuild navigation
Write test plan work item depends on the Design key pages work item

Step 6: Add Key Milestones (30 seconds)

Tell the AI which milestones you care about.

Example:

Create a milestone called "CMS Ready" when Integrate CMS is complete.
Create a milestone called "Ready to Launch" when Run Regression Testing is complete.

Step 7: Review Your Timeline (1 minute)

The AI project builder generates your project plan forecast! Look at:

Project Plan Definition Editor (left side):

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

Project Plan Forecast Chart (right side):

Visual Excalidraw-style timeline of your project plan
Each work item on its own row, grouped by workstream
Color-coded bars with duration labels
Milestones shown as diamond markers

Forecast (bottom):

Shows when your project plan will complete
Lists milestones and key dates

Step 8: Try a "What If" Scenario (1 minute)

Ask the AI to explore alternatives:

Try asking:

Duplicate the baseline scenario, call it "More Designers". 
Add 2 more people to the Design team of that scenario.

Duplicate the baseline scenario, call it "No CMS". 
Remove the CMS Integration work item and CMS Ready Milestone from that scenario.

Duplicate the "More Designers" scenario, call it "More Designers and No Design System".
Remove Create New Design System work item from the last Scenario.

The AI will create a new scenario showing the impact! If you try all three you will see 4 scenarios in total. You can also see in the Results tab an analysis of the effort/cost and elapsed time of all scenarios.

Step 9: Review Your Results (1 minute)

The Results tab will provide an executive overview of the best and worst case scenario, comparing costs and elapsed time.

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 project builder ✅ How to define teams and work items ✅ How to add dependencies between work ✅ How to read a project forecast chart ✅ How to explore "what if" scenarios

Next Steps

Explore More:

Try editing the project plan 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 Plan - Detailed walkthrough
Using the AI Project Builder - Master the AI project builder
Using the Advanced Editor - Learn the project plan definition syntax
Visualizing Projects with Charts - Chart options and export
Budgeting and Cost Analysis - Add unit costs and budgets to track spend across scenarios

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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