I have a software project - Crypto - that I want to finish, and have an idea when it will BE finished. I don't have index cards, but I do have post-it notes.
Okay, literally as I wrote this, half the post-it notes fell down. Maybe I'll get a bulletin board and index cards after all. ANYWAY, I'm going to try the following - each "scene" in the game has it's own card, and I will move them around as I progress. I get to be the primary tester on Crypto because it's been so goddamn long since I've played most of it.
So it'll go like this:
Spot 5, Far Right: Completely Untouched. Possibly Unfinished.
Maybe I don't have all the graphics done, and maybe I don't have all the conversations fleshed out. You can get through it... on a script.
Spot 4: All My Bugs Are Gone
I kept track of bugs when I originally ran through the scene. I have a list of them, and when I complete that list, it goes here.
Spot 3: Completely Tested By Me
What this means is that I was able to act as my own first beta tester for a scene, and it checks out. All scenery is implemented, and what I'd be adding is new stuff a tester found.
Spot 2: Tested by Lysander
When it is ready for Lysander to look at, it should be stable. He's going to try stuff I never thought of, and that will give me ideas. It'll be in this section as I work on it.
Spot 1: Tested by Others
Someone other than Lysander looked at it, and it had better be pretty solid at this point. I'll obviously add stuff if a new person tries something unanticipated, and fix all issues, etc.
Spot 1, Far Left: Looked At From Start to Finish, Should Be Ready
I'll probably end up starting myself and Lysander in areas where a scene begins. But what needs to happen is that someone looks at it from the very beginning of the game. You don't get many chances for this, so if someone is willing to do this, it's very important that I don't waste their time.
The post-it notes don't reflect any of that at the moment. I've got two scenes in Spot 1, one scene in spot 2, two scenes in spot 3 and the rest in spots 4 and 5. But I think it would be cool for me to upload pics when progress is made. I'll see about getting a corkboard for tomorrow.