Getting started with Tecknaro

Videos

If your looking for something specific check out the table of contents (pdf, 198KB) or video index (pdf, 85KB)

Introduction

What is Tecknaro? (4 minutes)

Dive In

Massive Immersion Introduction (4 minutes)

Video contents:

Talking about software 0:04

• Communicating to non-engineers 0:10
• Building consensus in a mental space 0:14
• Five things to learn from this video 0:38

Deconstructing the workspace0:53

• Notes 0:56
• Tables 1:06
• Tools 1:16
• Canvases 1:30

Drawing to describe systems1:35

Drawing to describe projects1:40

Not freeform drawing1:44

The Mingus1:58

• Drawing drives tables 2:10
• What does that mean 2:22

Notes2:52

• Adding notes or descibing in words 2:58
• Where can I add a note 3:00
• How long can a note be 3:03
• Notes take on the structure of drawings 3:06
• Notes make it an annotated drawing 3:10
• Coupled or decoupled canvases 3:42

Working collaboratively3:47

Workspace Basics (10 minutes)

Video contents:

Opening canvases 0:17

• The canvas list 0:19
• The load canvases tab 0:21

The database you draw 0:23

Two canvas types 0:34

• Systems 0:38
• Projects 0:39

Loading existing canvases 0:41

Creating new canvases 0:44

Using the canvas list 0:47

Mange canvases tab 1:27

• Unlocking a locked canvas 1:44

Share canvases tab 1:50

• Tecknaro data folder 2:10
  • Share canvases tab after new install 2:23
  • Default data folder in relative location 2:26
  • Additional data folders 2:46
  • Making a new data folder 2:53
  • Pointing to a new data folder 3:28
  • Copying/moving a data folder to another computer location 3:43

Opening a new canvas 3:54

The tools 4:12

• General tools 4:23
  • The selection tools 4:25
    • Using the selection tool 4:28
  • The pointer tool 5:18
  • The hand tool 5:32
    • Why no scroll bars 5:41
    • Navigating with the keyboard 5:55
    • Navigating with the middle mouse button 6:00
    • Keyboard shortcuts 6:07

Zoom 6:16

• Zoom center 6:20
• Zoom setting 6:23
• Zoom boundries 6:26
• Zoom with the keyboard 6:45

Opening and closing tool palettes 6:51

• From the main menu 6:53
• By right-clicking 6:59

When in doubt, right-click 7:04

• Context-sensitive right-click 7:14

Variations on saving 7:43

• Rename 7:46
• Saving alternate versions 7:56
• Loading alternate versions 8:20
• Making and alternate, the current version 8:41
• Using alternate version in collaboration with others 8:50
• Auto-backup 9:10

Project Canvas

Project Basics I (7 minutes)

Video contents:

Tool palettes 0:22

Project tools 0:29

Task Mingus tool 0:39

• Using the Task Mingus tool 0:52

Placing multiple tasks on the canvas 1:01

• Using Ctrl+Enter 1:04
• Copy/pasting tasks from another application 1:23

The Task Mingus 1:44

• What is a Task Mingus 1:45
• Task name 1:49
• Task status bar 1:56
• Status indicator 2:01
  • Changing task status 2:04
  • Statuses 2:36
• Percent complete indicator 2:46
  • Using percent complete indicator 2:50
• Collapse/expand button 3:30
• Task detail flag 3:40
  • Using the task detail flag3:50
  • Customizing the task detail flag 3:55
• Priority button 4:21
  • Using the priority button 4:28
• Schedule button 4:38
  • Using the schedule button; Setting schedules 4:41
  • Start and end date brackets in schedules 4:51
    • Green bar 4:54
    • White stripes in green bar 4:58
  • Setting duration 5:01
• Resource button 5:12
• Resource assignment window5:14
  • Adding resources 5:24
  • Opening the resource window 5:25
    • Adding a new company 5:29
    • Adding people 5:40
  • Displaying resources in the assignment window 5:50
  • Assigning a task to a resource 6:08
    • Showing who is assigned to a flag 6:18
• Show/hide arrow 6:23
  • Collapse to hide; expand to show 6:30

Project Basics II (8 minutes)

Video contents:

Task structure in projects 0:19

Task structure and hierarchy in Tecknaro 0:26

The taskset 0:29

• Making tasksets 0:34
• Inheriting task hierarchy from an external sources 1:04

The task table 1:17

• Invoking the task table 1:25
• Minimizing/restoring the table 1:31
• Alt-clicking tasks in the table 1:42
• Tables as navigation aid 1:48
• Table mingus synchronization 1:54

Status bar in tasksets 2:02

• Blue status and percent complete indicators 2:06
• Rollup values 2:10
  • How rollup status works 2:16
• Changing multiple statuses in a table 2:35

Uncertainty in rollup 3:08

• The question mark 3:20
• The octopus 3:37
  • What is an octopus 3:42
  • Working with an octopus 3:50

Forced rollup of duration value 4:11

• Forced rollup example 4:16
• Removing forced rollup 4:45

Todo lists 4:56

• Creating a todo list 5:12
• Working with a todo list 5:19
• Promoting a todo item to a task 5:41
• Adding notes to a todo list 5:47

Notes 5:53

• Adding a note 6:15
• About notes 6:18
• The N link 6:47
• Notes in the task table 6:54

Navigation using alt-click in tables 7:01

Sequences and Dependencies (5 minutes)

Video contents:

Project structure in Tecknaro 0:16

Dependencies in Tecknaro 0:47

Sequential (simple) dependencies 0:50

Sequences 0:55

• Making sequences 1:01

The sequence tool 1:04

Using the sequence tool 1:08

• The connectors 1:13
• Naming a sequence 1:17

The sequence menu 1:37

• The sequence table 1:50
• Toggling sequence lines on/off 1:58
• Selecting all the sequence members 2:10
• Removing a sequence member 2:13
• Breaking up a sequence 2:16
• Adding members in the middle of a sequence 2:22
• Removing a sequence member 2:37
• Using the sequence table to navigate to members 2:43
• Using the navigate sequence menu command 3:01
• Using the table to re‐order the sequence 3:08

Described (complex) dependencies 3:16

Using dependency to navigate to original 4:04

The dependencies table 4:11

Two sequences dependent on the same single task 4:31

Schedules and Resources (14 minutes)

Video contents:

Temporal dimensions of tasks 0:07

Three elements in task Mingus 0:14

• Detail flag 0:17
• Schedules 0:18
• Resource assignment window 0:20

Two states of tasks in time 0:39

• Tasks being estimated 0:42
• Tasks being performed and tracked 0:44
  • Transition between 0:46

Task detail flag 1:26

Task table 1:28

Distinguishing between estimating and tracking 1:31

Estimating duration 1:41

• Expressing values as ranges 1:53

Working with ranges and duration notes 1:59

• Adding a duration note 2:05

Setting start and end dates 2:19

• Certain and uncertain appearances 2:28

Decoupling duration from start and end dates 2:33

Expressing estimated start dates as a range 2:46

• Question mark showing uncertainty 2:59
  • Octopus flag 3:09

Expressing estimated end date as a range in task table 3:14

Setting real/actual start and end dates 3:27

• Gray versus black brackets in schedules 3:34

Describing tasks in certain terms 4:05

Describing tasks in uncertain terms 4:07

Pinning down windows 4:12

Assigning resources 4:29

• Loading resources to assignment window 4:35
• Bulk loading resources to the resource table 5:03
• Assign to resource 5:35
• Schedule menu update 5:37
• Using the assignment wand 5:50

Tasks accumulating as stacks in schedules 6:04

• Displaying task names in schedule stack 6:17
• Displaying individual resource schedule detail 6:35

Schedules in multi‐user collaborative environments 6:46

• Multi‐user multi‐schedule example 7:02
• Resource schedule detail in multi‐user example 7:40
  • Over‐allocation bar 7:45

Opening a closed project from a resource’s schedule 8:06

• Wormholing 8:14

Different views of time 9:16

• Resource assignment perspective 9:20
• Project structure perspective 9:25
  • "all tasks" view in schedule 9:28

The multi‐schedule view 9:54

• Loading resources into multi‐scheduler 10:02

Working with ranges to show project risk 11:29

• Example 11:38

Showing duration uncertain tasks in resource schedule 12:14

Showing date uncertain tasks in resource schedule 12:44

Assigning a task to multiple people 13:03

• Augmenting uncertainty with notes 13:19

Assigning to teams 13:24

• Making a team 13:30
• Assign to team 13:52

Systems Canvas

Systems Basics (13 minutes)

Video contents:

In this video 0:07

Systems tool palette 0:19

• Four sections 0:26
  • Systems tools 0:29
  • Software tools 0:30
  • Annotation tools 0:31
  • Hardware tools 0:32

Systems tools 0:37

• Systems Mingus tool 0:39
• Location Mingus tool 0:40
• Connector tool 0:41
• Annotation row selection tool 0:42

Systems Mingus tool 0:48

• Representing systems 0:51
• Default systems type 0:53
• Changing the systems type 0:57
• Multi‐purpose systems 1:04
  • Example1:07
• Virtual systems 1:20
• Changing the systems Mingus tool to make different systems types 1:23
• Naming a system1:30

Representing software, hardware, and relationships 1:36

• Two main containers 1:42
• Software container subdivisions 1:45
  • Software we build 1:47
  • Software we use 1:49
  • The operating system 1:53
  • A fixed set of containers 1:57

The location tool 2:04

• Systems live in locations 2:07
• Showing virtual locations 2:15
• Virtual entities and virtual systems 2:24

The connection tool 2:32

• Connecting to show relationships and dependencies 2:35

Annotation row selection tool 2:49

• Selecting rows in annotation Mingus tables 3:00

Software tools 3:10

Software Minguses 3:12

• What they are 3:15
• Where they live 3:19
• What they do 3:23
• A simple taxonomy for software 3:28
• Software Mingus examples 3:46
  • Copy/pasting multiple systems names from an outside source 3:49
• Software Minguses adding first layer of detail to a system 4:25

Annotation tools 4:32

• What they do 4:35
• Three annotation types 4:39

Inner annotations 4:46

• What they are 4:48
• Where they live 4:51
  • Example 4:55
  • Adding load information to a server 4:55
  • Adding user account types to a matrix 5:09
  • Copy/pasting tab delimited text 5:19
  • Copy/pasting data from existing spreadsheets 5:26
    • Example 5:31
• Inner annotations add another layer of detail to our system 6:06

Interface annotations 6:12

• Where they live 6:15
• They are incoming or outgoing 6:20
  • Displaying how software components communicate 6:23
    • Example 6:29
  • Calling or providing services 6:33
  • Making connections by drag and drop 6:50
  • Displaying the relationship between a call and a provide 7:00
    • Example 7:22
  • Yet another layer of detail in our system 8:08

OS annotations 8:18

• Where they live 8:20
• What they do 8:26
  • Example 8:32
• Adding annotations to the OS 8:34
  • Adding network addresses 8:42
  • Adding a storage mount point 8:50
  • Drag and dropping to establish connections 8:53
  • Establishing storage requirement roll‐up 9:16
• Another layer of detail 9:35

Hardware 9:40

• A simple taxonomy for hardware 9:46
• Placing descriptions of software in a hardware context 9:51
• Internal hardware Minguses 10:02
  • Where they live 10:03
• General hardware 10:11
• Network infrastructure 10:23
• What does it do 10:29
  • Example 10:36
• Choosing your level detail 10:40
  • Declaring memory assets 10:44
  • Declaring storage assets 10:53
• Getting into detail 11:00
  • Adding motherboard 11:03
  • Declaring the CPU 11:07
  • Adding slots 11:11
  • Adding memory to slots 11:26
• Displaying driver dependencies at the OS level 11:54
• Raid example 12:06
• Connecting to OS annotations12:14
• Adding networking components 12:47
  • Adding network hub 12:54
  • Connecting a network card to a hub 12:58

Relationships and Dependencies (21 minutes)

Video contents:

In this video0:08

• The racks0:38
• Connection points1:09

Lower right rack1:21

• Version indicator1:36
  • Actual versus declared parameter values1:47
• Expires on2:29
  • Exporting systems tables3:06
• Don't‐install list3:22
• Incompatibility list3:56
• Can't‐run‐without list4:35

Declaring relationships with connector tool5:11

• License button6:24
• Declaring disk & ram requirements6:54

Upper right rack9:02

• Should‐be‐identical dependencies9:04
• Is‐used‐by dependencies9:24
• Needs me dependencies12:06
• Hardware emulation dependencies12:22

Annotation mingus racks12:43

• My‐dependent‐hardware connection12:54
• My‐dependent‐software connection13:08
• My‐dependent‐protocols13:28
  • Simple hardware emulation example13:36
  • Hardware emulation example II14:03
  • Hardware emulation example III15:06
  • Declaring OS ram & disk requirements15:40

Hardware racks15:57

• Iʹm‐plugged‐into dependency16:01
• Hardware upper right rack16:29
  • My driver connection16:33
  • My connected hardware connection16:41
  • My mount points16:54
  • My network addresses16:59
  • Exceptions17:09
• Hardware driver dependencies17:28

Interface annotation racks18:25

• Interface connection arrow18:47
• API19:00
  • Example19:06
• Protocol19:12
  • Example19:18
  • API vs. Protocol19:24
• Service19:45
• API version indicator19:54
• API supported services20:00
• Protocol version indicator20:07
• Protocol supported services20:11
• Protocol my‐network‐addresses connection20:13
  • Example20:22
• Services version indicator20:29
• Runs‐over connection20:31
  • Example20:37
• Virtual systems connections20:45
  • Is rendered from connection20:53
  • Virtual machine connector21:02
    • Example21:23

Cross-Canvas Features

PreTasks (6 minutes)

Video contents:

In this video0:08

Minguses describing projects0:24

Minguses describing systems0:28

The intersect of systems and projects0:31

What pretasks do0:35

• User authentication example0:54
• Adding a pretask1:07

The pretask table1:12

• A hierarchic representation of all canvas elements1:15

The T Link1:33

• Unrendered pretasks1:39
• Adding more pretasks1:48

Thinking of tasks while drawing systems2:04

Rendering pretasks as tasks in a project canvas2:22

Opening a linked system from inside its related tasks2:57

Rendering pretasks as to‐do items3:00

Inter‐canvas synchronization and updates3:24

Wormholing to tasks from the related systems canvas table3:58

One‐to‐many/many‐to‐one relationships between systems and tasks4:19

Linking existing project tasks to pretasks in a new systems canvas4:28

Linking existing project to-do items to pretasks in a new systems canvas4:51

Pretask links behavior within alternate versions4:53

Creating project templates based on systems descriptions5:11

Using pretasks as a project/systems blueprint5:38

Managing Uncertainty (6 minutes)

Video contents:

Many references to uncertainty0:08

• Distinguishing between estimated and actual0:11
• Question marks in task minguses0:15
• The octopus0:18
• Ranges0:20
• Visual differences between certain and uncertain durations0:24

Projects as the accumulation of certainty and the reduction of uncertainty0:31

Uncertain not blank0:38

Gathering certainty as workflow0:43

In this video0:49

• Suggesting alternatives0:50
• Drawing attention to differences of opinion0:51
• Creating dependencies to reduce uncertainty0:54
Creating tasks to reduce uncertainty0:57
• Connection uncertainties1:00

Managing differing opinions about project attributes1:11

• Suggest an alternative view1:18
• Uncertainty as a dark frame around a value1:25
• Adding notes to explain disagreements1:51
• Seeing who made the differing suggestion1:57
• Displaying alternative suggestions in the table view2:12
• Drawing attention to differences of opinion2:21
• Creating a dependency to resolve disagreements2:31
• Resolving a disagreement2:55
• The disagreement report3:05

Uncertainty and disagreements in systems3:10

• Simple disagreements3:16
• Disagreements inside rack parameters3:22
• Disagreements inside annotation tables3:26

Other uncertainty types3:30

• Maybe it’s this/maybe it’s that3:36
• Dotted connection lines4:04
• Simultaneously showing certain and uncertain connections in the same connector4:08

Interface connection uncertainty4:38

• Example4:41

Creating a pretask to solve an uncertainty5:10

Declaring uncertain connections5:18

Cheat Sheets (pdfs)

IMPORTANT: These cheat sheets assume that you have seen the videos. They are supposed to compliment the videos, be quick reminders of the videos and in some cases, discuss things the videos didn't, but they are NOT a substitute for the videos.

General Canvas Behavior

• Working with Alternative Versions (pdf, 50K)
• Printing in Tecknaro (pdf, 400K)
• WebLinks (pdf, 120K)

Project Canvas

• Task Mingus I (pdf, 442K)

Systems Canvas

• Systems Tools I (pdf, 600K)