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The Effective Project Tool
Manage your workflow efficiently. From idea to result.
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Rocket Project User Manual
Everything you need to know to manage your projects with Rocket Project.
User Manual
Left Menu Features
Program Overview
Why
See the full structure of your program at a glance. Understand how Initiatives break down into Epics, and Epics into Stories, without switching between pages.
What You See
A collapsible tree view of your entire program hierarchy: Program → Initiatives → Epics → Stories. Each level shows a count of its children. Items without a parent are shown under a "No parent yet" section.
How to Use
- Click chevrons to expand or collapse levels.
- Use the view-mode toggles at the top ("Initiatives", "+ Epics", "+ Stories") to control how deep the tree goes.
- Click any item title to navigate to its detail page.
Status Dashboard
Why
Quickly assess progress across your entire program. Instead of navigating each Epic, see all statuses in one visual overview.
What You See
Cards grouped by Initiative, each containing Epic progress bars. Every Epic card shows statistics (e.g. "12 stories: 4 open, 5 in progress, 3 done") and a color-coded bar where each segment represents a Story.
How to Use
- Hover over a bar segment to see the Story title and its status.
- Click a segment to go directly to that Story.
- Use this page in stand-ups or reviews to discuss overall progress.
Current Sprint
Why
Focus on what the team is delivering right now. See all Stories in the active sprint, grouped by Epic and status.
What You See
The active sprint's name and summary stats at the top. Below, Stories are grouped by their parent Epic, then sorted into three status columns: Open, In Progress, and Done. Each Epic section shows its description and value statement for context. Your own Stories (where you are the responsible person) are highlighted.
How to Use
- Use this page as your daily sprint board.
- Click a Story to see its details and Tasks.
- If no sprint is active, you'll see a prompt to go to Sprint Management.
My Tasks
Why
Your personal to-do list. See all Tasks assigned to you in one place, without navigating into each Story individually.
What You See
Two sections: Your Stories (Stories where you are the responsible person, with all their Tasks) and Your Tasks on Other Stories (Tasks assigned to you on Stories owned by someone else). Tasks from other team members on your Stories are highlighted in orange so you can track dependencies.
How to Use
- Click the checkbox to toggle a Task between "open" and "done".
- Click the pencil icon to edit a Task description or reassign it inline.
- This page uses live updates — changes appear immediately without a page reload.
Initiatives
Why
Initiatives are the big goals of your program. They represent significant achievements or milestones — the "big picture" items that everything else works toward.
What You See
A table listing all Initiatives in the current program with their title, status, and actions. The status of an Initiative is calculated automatically from the statuses of its child Epics.
How to Use
- Click "+ New Initiative" to create one.
- Click a row to see the Initiative's detail page with its Epics.
- From the detail page, use "+ New Epic" to create an Epic under this Initiative.
Example: For a website project, your Initiatives might be "Launch marketing site", "Build user dashboard", and "Set up analytics".
Epics
Why
Epics group related Stories together. They represent medium-sized features or deliverables that contribute to an Initiative.
What You See
A grouped table: Epics are organized under their parent Initiative. Epics without a parent appear in a "Solo" section at the bottom. Like Initiatives, Epic status is calculated automatically from its Stories.
How to Use
- Click "+ New Epic" or use the + button in the center navigation.
- Click an Epic row to see its Stories.
- From an Initiative's detail page, create an Epic directly linked to that Initiative.
Example: Under the Initiative "Launch marketing site", Epics could be "Homepage design", "Blog section", and "Contact form".
Stories
Why
Stories are where things get done. They describe a specific piece of work that delivers value, written from the user's perspective. Stories are small enough to complete within a single Sprint.
What You See
A grouped table: Stories organized under their parent Epic. Stories without an Epic appear in a "Solo" section. Each Story has a manual status that you control: open, ready, planned, in progress, waiting, done, or closed.
How to Use
- Click "+ New Story" or use the + button in the center navigation.
- Write Stories in the format: "As a [role], I want to [action], in order to [reason]".
- Add a Definition of Done to describe when the Story is complete.
- Add Tasks to break the Story into individual to-do items.
- Assign a responsible person and link the Story to a Sprint for planning.
Example: "As a visitor, I want to see a contact form, in order to reach the support team without needing an email client."
Sprint Planning
Why
Decide which Stories to work on in each Sprint. Sprint Planning lets you move Stories between Sprints and the Backlog using drag and drop.
What You See
Two areas: Sprints (open and active Sprints with their assigned Stories) at the top, and the Backlog (all unplanned Stories) at the bottom. The active Sprint is placed closest to the Backlog for easy drag and drop.
How to Use
- Assign a Story: Drag it from the Backlog and drop it on a Sprint.
- Unassign a Story: Drag it back to the Backlog, or click "Move to Backlog".
- Move between Sprints: Drag a Story from one Sprint to another.
- Collapse Sprint cards by clicking the toggle to keep the view tidy.
Right Menu Features
My Programs
Why
You may participate in multiple programs. This page lets you switch between them and see your role in each.
What You See
A table of all programs you have access to. Your currently active program is marked with a star badge. Each row shows the program title, status, your role (Owner, Admin, Member, or Observer), and available actions.
How to Use
- Click "Activate" to switch your working context to a different program.
- Click "+ New Program" to create a new program from scratch.
- All other pages (Initiatives, Epics, etc.) will show data from your active program.
Sprint Management
Why
Create, edit, reorder, and manage Sprint definitions. This is the admin page where the Sprint structure is maintained.
What You See
A table of all Sprints in the current program with drag handles for reordering. Each Sprint shows its sequence number, name, status, and actions. The active Sprint is marked with a badge.
How to Use
- Click "+ New Sprint" to create a Sprint (sequence number is suggested automatically).
- Drag the handle (☰) to reorder Sprints, then click "Save Order".
- Set a Sprint's status to "active" to make it the Current Sprint.
- Note: This page is only available to Owners, Admins, and Froods.
Team
Why
Collaborate with others. The Team page manages who has access to your program and what role they play.
What You See
Two sections: Active Members (users with access) and Pending Invitations (people invited but not yet joined). Each member shows their callsign, role, and contact details.
How to Use
- Click "+ Invite Member" to invite someone by email.
- Invitations expire after 7 days. Use "Resend" to send a new one.
- Assign roles: Owner (full control), Admin (Sprint & team management), Member (read/write), Observer (read-only).
User Settings
Why
Manage your personal account: change your email address or password.
What You See
Forms to update your email and change your password. Email changes require confirmation via the new email address.
How to Use
- Enter your current password to confirm any changes.
- Check your inbox for a confirmation link after changing your email.
About Project Management
Agile project management is nothing more — and nothing less — than a structured way to get things done. On your own, or with a team. With minimal overhead, and no mumbo-jumbo.
A project is a time-limited effort to achieve specific goals and outcomes, often with limited resources. Project management is a structured approach to get to a result within given constraints: time, scope, and budget. Using a method improves your chances of delivering what you set out to do.
Breaking Down the Work
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. One of the arts in project management is breaking up the work into manageable pieces and ordering them by priority and dependency.
In Agile, a hierarchy of work packages is used, from big to small:
Initiative
A significant achievement or milestone. Initiatives are collections of Epics that drive toward a common goal. Example: "Launch marketing site", "Build user dashboard".
Epic
A medium-sized feature or deliverable. Epics group related Stories and can typically be completed in one to three months. Example: "Homepage design", "Blog section".
Story
A specific piece of work that delivers value, written from the user's perspective. Stories are small enough to finish in a single Sprint. Format: "As a [role], I want to [action], in order to [reason]." Example: "As a visitor, I want to see a contact form, in order to reach the support team."
Task
An individual to-do item within a Story. Tasks make up the personal checklists of each team member. Example: "Design the form layout", "Implement email sending".
In Rocket Project, this hierarchy is: Program → Initiative → Epic → Story → Task.
Planning & Sprints
Planning is the process of putting chunks of work on a timeline, taking into account dependencies and constraints.
A Sprint is a fixed time period (typically 2–3 weeks) in which the team commits to completing a set of Stories. At the end of each Sprint, something of value is delivered. The goal is a continuous flow of results, maximizing value to the end user.
The Backlog is the collection of all Stories not yet planned into a Sprint — everything that still needs to be done. During Sprint Planning, Stories are moved from the Backlog into the upcoming Sprint.
When the first Story of an Epic is planned, the Epic's status changes to "planned". When the last Story of an Epic is completed, the Epic automatically becomes "done". The same cascading logic applies to Initiatives.
What Is Agile?
Agile is a set of values and principles for managing projects with flexibility. It favors working results over extensive documentation, collaboration over rigid processes, and responding to change over following a fixed plan.
Since it's simple to learn, easy to implement, and lightweight to maintain, Agile is the methodology of choice when starting a project. It quickly leads to overview, alignment, collaboration, and results. Hence the name Rocket Project!
Agile project management consists of three things:
- Work structure — from big chunks (Initiatives) to workpackages (Stories with Tasks).
- Planning — how work is processed in time-boxed periods called Sprints.
- Ceremonies & roles — the way people meet, communicate, and take responsibilities.
Quick Start Guide
Get up and running in five steps. You can always come back to this page for details on each feature.
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1
Create a Program
Go to My Programs (right menu) and click "+ New Program". Give it a name and description. This is the container for all your work.
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2
Define Your Goals with Initiatives
Go to Initiatives (left menu or center nav) and create one or more Initiatives. These are the big goals your project works toward.
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3
Break Down the Work
Create Epics under each Initiative, then create Stories under each Epic. Add Tasks to Stories for individual to-do items. Use the hierarchy: Initiative → Epic → Story → Task.
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4
Plan Your Sprints
Go to Sprint Management (right menu, admin only) to create Sprints. Then go to Sprint Planning (left menu) to drag Stories from the Backlog into your first Sprint. Set the Sprint status to "active" to start.
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5
Start Working
Use Current Sprint to see your sprint board and My Tasks to track your personal to-do list. Update Story statuses as you work. Check the Status Dashboard to see overall progress.