Creating Projects
The create flow, the built-in templates, choosing a project key, and the agents linked at creation
Creating a project in Elixion, the platform for Engineering Intelligence™, is a short dialog rather than a wizard. This page covers each step, and the one decision that is permanent: the project key.
Opening the create dialog
Either:
- Projects in the sidebar, then New project, or
- the + tile at the bottom of the workspace rail.
Both create a project. The rail's dialog is the shorter of the two.
Step 1: Category
The dialog opens on three choices.
- Personal: your own work. No team, no integrations, no sprints.
- Business: a team project.
- From template: start from one of the built-in templates.
Step 2: Template, if you chose one
Four templates ship. A template sets the project type, the methodology, the cadence and the board columns, and nothing else.
| Template | Methodology | Columns | |----------|-------------|---------| | Scrum team | Scrum, two-week sprints, monthly releases | Backlog, To do, In progress, In review, Testing, Done | | Kanban board | Kanban, continuous flow, no sprint length | Backlog, In progress, In review, Done | | Bug tracking | Kanban | Reported, Triaged, In progress, Fixed, Verified | | Personal tasks | Personal | To do, Doing, Done |
Bug tracking's columns are named for what happens to a bug; underneath they map onto the same statuses every board uses.
The column list is not the whole board. Kanban board, Bug tracking and Personal tasks map fewer than the seven statuses. A status a template leaves unmapped is listed under Not shown on board in Project Settings > Board, so its issues keep their status and still show in List view and search.
Choosing a template answers the type question, so the dialog goes straight to naming.
Step 3: Name, key and description
- Project Name is required, and can be 1 to 255 characters.
- Description is optional.
- Key is described below.
A business project also asks for a Methodology (Scrum, Kanban, Hybrid), a Sprint Length in weeks and a Release Frequency in weeks.
Choosing a project key
The key prefixes every issue number and appears in every issue URL, and it cannot be changed after the project exists. The form is built around that.
It fills itself in. As you type a name, the Key field previews what will
be derived from it. The derivation reads the letters of the name: initials of
the first few words, or the opening letters of the first word, giving a key of
3 or 4 characters. A name with fewer than three letters, such as "Q3", derives
from its letters and digits instead. A name with no usable letters falls back
to PRJ.
You can override it. Type your own and the field stops deriving. The rule for a key you choose is 2 to 10 characters, uppercase letters and digits, and the first character must be a letter. Input is upper-cased and filtered as you type. Use suggested puts the derived key back.
It is checked while you type. Keys are unique across the whole platform, so one can be taken by a project you cannot see. The field tells you:
| What you see | What it means |
|--------------|---------------|
| Derived from the name; type a name to see it. | No name yet |
| 2 to 10 letters or digits, starting with a letter. | The key you typed does not fit the rule |
| PAY is already used by another project. | Taken. Free alternatives appear as clickable chips under Free: |
| Could not check this key now; it will be checked when the project is created. | The check could not run. Creation still validates it |
| Issues will be numbered PAY-1, PAY-2… The key cannot be changed later. | The key is valid and free |
Create Project stays disabled while the key is invalid or taken.
The suggestions offered are other readings of the same name, not the same key with a number stuck on the end.
Step 4: Agents
A business project offers an Agents step. The built-in role agents are selected by default, which is what stops a new project starting with an empty assignee list. Deselect any you do not want, and add your own custom agents.
You can change this later from Project Settings > Agents.
Step 5: Visibility
A checkbox reads Make this project public. A public project can be viewed by any member of your organization, whether or not they are a member of the project. It is not visible outside your organization. Leave it unchecked for a project that only its members should see.
Click Create Project.
After creating
The project is seeded with a board. Unless a template said otherwise, that is six columns: Backlog, To Do, In Progress, In Review, Testing and Done, with Deferred under Not shown on board.
Sensible next steps:
- Adjust the board in Project Settings > Board: rename, merge, reorder, set work-in-progress limits, and choose which statuses are not shown on the board.
- Add people in Project Settings > Team. Assignable roles are Project owner, Project manager, Product manager, Scrum master, Developer, Backend engineer, QA engineer, Designer, UI/UX engineer and Viewer.
- Connect a repository in Project Settings > Integrations.
- Fill the backlog, then plan a sprint.
Importing from Jira
Elixion imports from a live Jira instance rather than from an export file. You supply the Jira URL and credentials, Elixion tests the connection, lists the projects it can see, and imports the one you pick.
There is no CSV import for projects or issues, and GitHub issues are synced per project on an already-connected repository rather than imported as a new project. See GitHub Integration.
Troubleshooting
The key is already used. Keys are unique platform-wide. Pick one of the Free: chips the field offers, or type another.
Create Project is greyed out. The name is empty, or the key is invalid or taken. The hint under the Key field says which.
The project has no sprints. Its methodology is Kanban or Personal, and those plan continuously. Change the methodology in Project Settings > General if you want a cadence.
Next: Project Settings.