Operations Tools: Project Management, Documentation, Analytics, Forms

Create New Project

Navigate to GitHub profile or organization, click "Projects" tab, then "New project":

Select template:

• Board view (Kanban)
• Table view (spreadsheet)
• Roadmap view (timeline)

Recommended: Start with Board view for visual workflow management.

Name the project descriptively: "Product Development Q1 2025" or "Content Pipeline 2025".

Configure Columns

Default columns (To Do, In Progress, Done) work for simple workflows. Customize based on project type:

Product development columns:

• Backlog
• Ready
• In Progress
• Review
• Deployed

Content creation columns:

• Ideas
• Researching
• Drafting
• Editing
• Published

Learning projects:

• To Learn
• Learning
• Building
• Completed

Drag-drop cards between columns as work progresses.

Enable Automation

GitHub Projects supports workflow automation to reduce manual updates:

Built-in automations:

• Auto-archive cards moved to "Done"
• Auto-add new issues to project
• Auto-move based on PR status

Setup automation:

1. Click "..." menu in project header
2. Select "Workflows"
3. Enable desired automations:

# Example: Auto-add issues with label
- name: Auto-add issues
  filters:
    - label: "project:tech-stack"
  actions:
    - add-to-project
    - set-status: "To Do"

Automation saves hours of manual card management weekly.

Link Issues and Pull Requests

Connect GitHub issues and PRs directly to project cards:

Create card from issue:

• Open issue
• Right sidebar → "Projects"
• Select target project
• Issue appears as card automatically

Create card manually:

• Click "+" in project column
• Type description or paste issue URL
• Card links to issue/PR automatically

This creates bidirectional linking: update issue status, project card updates automatically.

Add Custom Fields

Enhance cards with metadata for better filtering and organization:

Useful custom fields:

• Priority (High/Medium/Low)
• Size (Small/Medium/Large)
• Type (Feature/Bug/Documentation)
• Sprint/Milestone
• Assignee

Add custom field:

1. Click "+" in table header
2. Select field type (Select, Text, Number, Date)
3. Configure options
4. Apply to cards

Custom fields enable advanced filtering and reporting views.

Create Documentation Workspace

Setup workspace structure:

Documentation
├── Research Notes
│   ├── AI Economics Literature
│   ├── Platform Theory Papers
│   └── Methodology References
├── Content Drafts
│   ├── Blog Posts (WIP)
│   ├── Tutorial Outlines
│   └── Guide Sections
├── Project Planning
│   ├── Roadmaps
│   ├── Feature Specs
│   └── Architecture Decisions
└── Learning Journal
    ├── Course Notes
    ├── Experiments
    └── Reflections

Page templates:

• Research Note (source, key findings, citations)
• Content Draft (outline, sections, revision history)
• Project Spec (problem, solution, implementation plan)

Use Databases for Organization

Notion databases enable structured content management:

Research database properties:

• Title (Text)
• Source (URL)
• Date Added (Date)
• Topic Tags (Multi-select)
• Reading Status (Select: To Read, Reading, Completed)
• Key Insights (Text)

Content pipeline database:

• Title (Text)
• Type (Select: Blog, Tutorial, Guide)
• Status (Select: Idea, Draft, Review, Published)
• Target Audience (Multi-select)
• Priority (Select: High, Medium, Low)

Filter, sort, and view content by any property.

Establish Publishing Workflow

Internal → External transition:

1. Draft in Notion: Write freely without public pressure
2. Refine and structure: Organize for external consumption
3. Copy to Wiki: Transfer polished content to GitHub Wiki
4. Archive in Notion: Mark as published, keep for reference

Workflow markers:

• 🔴 Not ready for public
• 🟡 Ready for review
• 🟢 Published to Wiki

This workflow maintains quality control before public release.

Enable Wiki for Repository

Activate Wiki:

1. Navigate to repository
2. Settings → Features section
3. Check "Wikis" checkbox
4. Click "Save changes"

Wiki tab appears in repository navigation automatically.

Create Wiki Pages

Add first page:

1. Click "Wiki" tab in repository
2. Click "Create the first page"
3. Title: "Home" (required landing page)
4. Write content in Markdown
5. Save page

Wiki markdown example:

# Project Documentation

Welcome to the official documentation for [Project Name].

## Quick Start

Get started in 5 minutes:

1. Install dependencies: `npm install`
2. Configure environment: Copy `.env.example` to `.env`
3. Run development server: `npm run dev`

## Documentation Sections

- [[Installation Guide]]
- [[Configuration Reference]]
- [[API Documentation]]
- [[Troubleshooting]]

## Contributing

See [[Contributing Guidelines]] for how to contribute to this documentation.

Internal wiki links: Use [[Page Title]] syntax to link between pages.

Organize Wiki Structure

Create documentation hierarchy:

Home page: Overview, quick links, getting started Setup guides: Installation, configuration, deployment Reference docs: API reference, configuration options Tutorials: Step-by-step guides, examples Troubleshooting: Common issues, solutions

Sidebar navigation: Create _Sidebar.md file with navigation links:

### Documentation

- [[Home]]
- [[Quick Start]]

### Guides

- [[Installation Guide]]
- [[Configuration Guide]]
- [[Deployment Guide]]

### Reference

- [[API Reference]]
- [[Configuration Reference]]

### Help

- [[Troubleshooting]]
- [[FAQ]]

Sidebar appears automatically on all wiki pages.

Maintain Wiki Quality

Documentation maintenance:

• Update with code changes (keep docs synchronized)
• Add examples for complex features
• Include screenshots for visual clarity
• Link to related GitHub issues and PRs

Version documentation: For projects with releases, create version-specific pages:

- [[v1.0 Documentation]]
- [[v2.0 Documentation]]
- [[v3.0 Documentation]] (current)

Track wiki changes: Wiki has full git history. View changes with git log in wiki repository.

Create Analytics Account and Property

Setup account:

1. Visit analytics.google.com
2. Click "Start measuring"
3. Account name: Your business/project name
4. Account settings: Enable all data sharing (recommended)
5. Click "Next"

Create property:

1. Property name: "Website Name - Production"
2. Reporting timezone: Your primary timezone
3. Currency: Your business currency
4. Click "Next"

Business details:

• Industry category (affects default reports)
• Business size
• Intended use (select all applicable)

Set Up Data Stream

Add data stream:

1. Platform: Web (for websites)
2. Website URL: https://yourdomain.com
3. Stream name: "Main Website"
4. Enhanced measurement: Enable all options
   • Page views
   • Scrolls
   • Outbound clicks
   • Site search
   • Video engagement
   • File downloads

Copy measurement ID: Format: G-XXXXXXXXXX

Save this ID for implementation step.

Install Tracking Code

Add to website HTML:

Insert before closing </head> tag on every page:

<!-- Google tag (gtag.js) -->
<script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXXXXX"></script>
<script>
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
  function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
  gtag('js', new Date());

  gtag('config', 'G-XXXXXXXXXX');
</script>

Replace G-XXXXXXXXXX with your measurement ID.

For Next.js projects:

Install official package:

npm install @next/third-parties

Add to app/layout.tsx:

import { GoogleAnalytics } from '@next/third-parties/google'

export default function RootLayout({
  children,
}: {
  children: React.ReactNode
}) {
  return (
    <html lang="en">
      <body>{children}</body>
      <GoogleAnalytics gaId="G-XXXXXXXXXX" />
    </html>
  )
}

Configure Events and Conversions

Custom event tracking:

Track important user actions:

// Track button clicks
gtag('event', 'button_click', {
  'button_name': 'Download Guide',
  'page_location': window.location.href
});

// Track form submissions
gtag('event', 'form_submit', {
  'form_name': 'Contact Form',
  'form_destination': '/thank-you'
});

// Track scroll depth
gtag('event', 'scroll_depth', {
  'percent_scrolled': 90
});

Mark events as conversions:

1. Admin → Events
2. Click toggle next to event name
3. "Mark as conversion"

Conversions appear in reports for optimization tracking.

Verify Installation

Check real-time reports:

1. Open Reports → Realtime
2. Open your website in new tab
3. Verify activity appears in realtime report
4. Check events are firing correctly

Debug with GA Debugger: Install Google Analytics Debugger Chrome extension for detailed event logging.

Design Form Structure

Create new form:

1. Visit forms.google.com
2. Click "Blank" or choose template
3. Add title and description

Question types:

• Short answer: Name, email (single line text)
• Paragraph: Feedback, suggestions (multi-line text)
• Multiple choice: Single selection from options
• Checkboxes: Multiple selections allowed
• Dropdown: Long list of single-select options
• Linear scale: Rating questions (1-5, 1-10)
• Multiple choice grid: Matrix questions

Form organization:

• Use sections to group related questions
• Add page breaks for multi-step forms
• Include progress bar for longer forms

Configure Form Settings

Settings panel (gear icon):

General settings:

• Collect email addresses (required for contact forms)
• Limit to 1 response per person (prevent spam)
• Allow response editing (after submission)
• See summary charts and text responses

Presentation settings:

• Show progress bar
• Shuffle question order (for surveys)
• Show link to submit another response
• Confirmation message customization

Quiz settings: (Enable for educational assessments)

• Make this a quiz
• Release grade immediately/later
• Allow respondent review

Setup Response Collection

Link responses to Google Sheets:

1. Click "Responses" tab
2. Click green Sheets icon
3. Create new spreadsheet or select existing
4. Responses populate automatically in real-time

Spreadsheet structure:

• Column A: Timestamp
• Columns B+: Question responses (one column per question)
• New row added for each form submission

Response notifications:

1. Responses tab → Three dots menu
2. "Get email notifications for new responses"
3. Receive email for every submission

Share and Embed Forms

Distribution methods:

Direct link: Click "Send" → Link icon → Copy URL Shorten with bit.ly or custom domain

Email invitation: Send → Email icon → Enter addresses Customize subject and message

Embed in website: Send → < > embed icon → Copy iframe code

<iframe
  src="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/FORM_ID/viewform?embedded=true"
  width="640"
  height="800"
  frameborder="0"
  marginheight="0"
  marginwidth="0">
  Loading…
</iframe>

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