Maniphest is Phabricator’s powerful and flexible issue tracking system, designed to handle tasks, bugs, and feature requests. It allows teams to organize, assign, and prioritize work within their development workflow. This sub-page offers a comprehensive guide to using Maniphest effectively.
Overview of Maniphest
At its core, Maniphest provides a centralized platform for tracking work items within Phabricator. It is adaptable to various project management methodologies, including Scrum, Kanban, and others, due to its customizable task attributes and workflows.
Features of Maniphest
Task Creation and Management: Easily create, modify, and track tasks and issues.
Custom Fields: Define custom fields to capture specific information relevant to your organization's workflow.
Workboards: Visualize tasks on workboards that support agile methodologies, with columns representing different states or priorities.
Batch Editing: Perform batch actions on multiple tasks, such as reassigning or updating statuses.
Advanced Search and Filtering: Locate tasks quickly with powerful search capabilities and custom filters.
Creating and Managing Tasks
Task Lifecycle
Task Creation: Users can create tasks through the Phabricator web interface or via email.
Task Assignment: Assign tasks to individuals or teams to clarify responsibility.
Status Updates: Update task statuses to reflect progress, from "Open" to "Resolved" or custom statuses.
Task Prioritization
Priorities: Set priorities to signal the importance and urgency of tasks.
Triaging: Use priority levels and other indicators during triage sessions to ensure critical issues are addressed promptly.
Workboards for Project Management
Maniphest's workboards are dynamic project management tools that reflect the team’s workflow.
Configuring Workboards
Columns: Set up columns to represent stages of work, such as "Backlog," "In Progress," and "Done."
Swimlanes: Organize tasks in swimlanes based on users, projects, or priorities.
Drag and Drop: Reprioritize tasks and change their status by dragging and dropping between columns.
Integration with Other Phabricator Tools
Maniphest integrates seamlessly with other Phabricator applications:
Differential and Diffusion: Link tasks to code reviews and commits for traceability.
Herald: Create custom rules to automate task management, like notifications or changing task status upon certain events.
Phrequent: Track time spent on tasks by starting and stopping a timer within Maniphest.
Best Practices in Task Management
Leveraging Maniphest effectively involves adopting best practices:
Consistent Task Structure: Standardize how tasks are reported and described to make them easy to understand and action.
Regular Review: Conduct regular backlog grooming and sprint planning sessions using workboards.
Clear Communication: Use task comments and mentions to keep communication about a task centralized and transparent.
Advanced Features
For teams with complex needs, Maniphest provides advanced features:
Subtasks and Dependencies: Track task relationships by creating subtasks or linking dependent tasks.
Milestones: Use milestones to mark significant achievements or phases within a project.
Reports and Analytics: Generate insights into project health and productivity with built-in reporting tools.
Conclusion
Maniphest is a critical component within Phabricator’s suite, streamlining the way teams track and manage tasks. With its adaptable framework, Maniphest accommodates various project management styles, allowing teams to stay organized and focused on delivering high-quality software.
The following pages will delve deeper into how Maniphest can be optimized for your development processes and how it complements the other tools within Phabricator to form a cohesive project management ecosystem.
