Getting Started and User Guide

Getting Started & User Guide

Quickstart Philosophy: Zero setup, zero installation, zero build toolchain. ProjectPulse runs immediately in any modern browser directly from the local file system or a static web server.

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🚀 Running ProjectPulse

Option 1: Direct File Execution (Recommended for Fast Local Use)

Simply double-click projectpulse.html or open it directly in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari:

# macOS
open projectpulse.html

# Linux
xdg-open projectpulse.html

# Windows
start projectpulse.html

Option 2: Local HTTP Server

If you prefer running through a local web server (e.g., to test service workers or cross-origin features):

# Using Node.js npx
npx serve .

# Using Python 3
python3 -m http.server 8000

Then navigate to http://localhost:8000/projectpulse.html.

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🎨 Themes & Customization

ProjectPulse features 20 professionally curated visual themes with support for instant Light/Dark mode toggling and high-performance glassmorphism.

Available Themes

1. Midnight Slate (Default dark engineering theme)
2. Aurora Borealis (Vibrant deep teal & purple)
3. Nordic Frost (Clean cold blue-grey minimalism)
4. Cyberpunk Neon (High-contrast tactical dark)
5. Solarized Light / Dark (Low-glare reading palette)
6. Emerald Forest (Rich organic green gradients)
7. Monochrome Swiss (Strict typographic black-and-white)
8. Tokyo Night (Soft indigo aesthetic)
9. ...and 12 additional calibrated palettes tailored for executive board presentations and night-shift governance.

Themes can be switched at any time using the theme switcher dropdown located in the sidebar or application header. Theme preferences are stored in localStorage['pp-theme'] and persist across browser reloads.

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⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet

Key Combination	Action	Description
Ctrl / Cmd + K	Command Palette	Instant fuzzy search across tasks, defects, RAID items, and navigation views.
Ctrl / Cmd + S	Save / Sync	Manually trigger state flush to local storage and IndexedDB.
Ctrl / Cmd + Z	Undo	Revert the last state mutation using the in-memory snapshot ring buffer.
Ctrl / Cmd + Y	Redo	Re-apply the last reverted mutation.
Ctrl / Cmd + E	Export Excel	Trigger immediate multi-sheet .xlsx workbook generation.
Esc	Close Modal	Dismiss active detail panels, dialogs, or dropdown overlays.
?	Help & Docs	Open keyboard shortcuts and documentation drawer.

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📋 Step-by-Step Delivery Runbook

flowchart TD
    S1["1. Calibration & Team Setup\n(Define roster, effort units, budget)"] --> S2["2. WBS & Task Modeling\n(Tasks, estimates, dependencies)"]
    S2 --> S3["3. Gantt Scheduling\n(Critical path & baseline lock)"]
    S3 --> S4["4. Risk & Defect Governance\n(RAID triage & QA tracking)"]
    S4 --> S5["5. Deliveries Packaging (PDN)\n(Milestones & release sign-off)"]
    S5 --> S6["6. Executive Reporting\n(One-click board decks & Excel export)"]

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1. Calibration & Team Setup

• Open Settings from the left navigation bar.
• Configure project start dates, standard working days per week, and effort units (Hours, Days, Months).
• Populate the Team Capacity Roster with full-time equivalents (FTE), hourly cost baselines, and primary functional roles.

2. WBS & Task Modeling

• Navigate to the Tasks view.
• Structure tasks using parent-child hierarchies.
• Assign complexity points (Fibonacci scaling: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13) or duration hours.
• Utilize inline cell editing for rapid data entry without opening popups.

3. Gantt Scheduling & Critical Path

• Open the Gantt & Timeline view.
• Drag dependency links between task bars to establish Finish-to-Start or Start-to-Start relationships.
• Toggle Critical Path view to highlight zero-slack delivery sequences in red.
• Set a Baseline Snapshot to track slippage against the initial commitment.

4. Risk & Defect Governance

• Log issues and potential risks in the RAID Register.
• Quantify risks using the 5×5 Probability vs. Impact matrix.
• Assign risk owners and mitigation due dates.
• Link QA bugs directly to parent tasks in the Defects view.

5. Deliveries Packaging (PDN)

• Group completed features into formalized releases in the Deliveries & Deployment view.
• Conduct smoke tests and document architectural sign-offs.
• Generate standard Project Delivery Notes (PDN) for client approval.

6. Executive Reporting & Export

• Open the Reports & Board Packs tab.
• Generate one-click executive summaries, weekly stakeholder dashboards, or filtered Excel exports.