Linear for Project Management — Developer Experience
Recently, for one of my client projects, I had an opportunity to use Linear. Here are my quick thoughts.
For as long as I can remember, I have used Trello for project management. I use Trello almost every day for managing my client projects, and even hobby projects personal life. Trello has that dull early 2010s look, obviously, but, it’s functional.
Linear though, seems like it was built in the last few years, and obviously has that modern look. The layout can be a little confusing for an old timer such as myself but, a few hours of usage, I was able to draw upon my experience with Trello (and similar tools that I have used like AirTable, GitHub Projects and Azure Boards) and start using it productively.
It has that dark background which I don’t like, but a lot of things are living in that ‘dark’ mode lately, so, I suppose, it’s alright and I got used to it.
You can create issues (like cards on trello), link them up as subissues as such. There is GitHub integration and integrations to pretty much any other developer service you might be using. Card creation is not as generous as Trello though. You will hit the free limit very early on, and will soon be forced to upgrade to a premium plan.
Everything else looks smooth, fast and elegant. for instance, discussions and comments appear instantly and naturally. I like that. Team Management and Issue Management is confusing, but, that’s probably because of my over exposure to Trello. I got used to the UI eventually, but, it’s still a little confusing. However, that’s probably on me, rather than the Linear App.
Ultimately, it’s a good project management utility. I only now just started so I have only this much to write about. Hopefully, I will have more to say after a few months of usage.
I work as a coding tutor. You can hire me on Upwork, Fiverr and Codementor. You can also book a session on calendly, and visit my website. Also, video tutorials on my YouTube Channel.
