GitHub as a Project Management Tool

Plan, conduct, document, and share a master’s thesis with one repository and one Project

Workshop and open educational resource, in the browser or on the command line. University of Bern, Digital Humanities, HS2026.

This workshop shows how to manage a master’s thesis with GitHub. You work on a fictional thesis with synthetic data. Each exercise runs in the browser, where you install nothing, or on the command line with git and gh. You choose the route, and you can change it at any step.

NoteAt a glance
  • When: Friday, 16 October 2026, 09:00–13:00
  • Where: Seminarraum F 001, Hörraumgebäude Unitobler
  • Credits: 0.5 ECTS, passed or failed
  • You need: a laptop, a current browser, and a GitHub account. For the command-line route, also git and gh (Setup)
  • Course catalogue: KSL 526141, HS2026

The workshop in one look

Each exercise adds one step to the same thesis plan. The last exercise changes the plan and sends you back to the Project.

flowchart TD
    A["<b>X1 Repository</b><br/>09:15 · a home for files and history"] --> B["<b>X2 Requirements → Issues</b><br/>09:40 · each task has a reason and a proof"]
    B --> C["<b>X3 Project</b><br/>10:25 · backlog, board, roadmap, milestones"]
    C --> D["<b>X4 Pull request</b><br/>11:05 · do the work, review it, close the Issue"]
    D --> E["<b>X5 Release</b><br/>11:50 · decide what to publish"]
    E --> F["<b>X6 Re-plan</b><br/>12:25 · react to a delay, record the decision"]
    F -.-> C

How to use this site

  1. New to GitHub? Read the cheat sheet first. It explains repositories, Issues, pull requests, and the other terms of the workshop.
  2. Prepare with Setup. Create a GitHub account and choose a path: solo, private, or pair.
  3. Read the Syllabus for the aims, the run of show, and the pass rule. The approaches page covers the project-management background.
  4. Work through the exercises in order. Each exercise page has the same parts: why, steps, screenshots, expected state, and what to do if something goes wrong.
  5. Use the slides for an overview of the whole session.
  6. After the session, move to your real thesis and keep the plan up to date: After the workshop.

Exercises

Exercise Time You produce
X1 Create the repository 09:15–09:40 Repository from the template, README, visibility check
X2 Turn requirements into work 09:40–10:15 2 epics, 6 sub-issues, 1 user story
X3 Configure the Project 10:25–11:05 Project with 3 views, 3 milestones, 1 dependency
X4 Complete one documentation task 11:05–11:40 Branch, pull request, review, merge, closed Issue
X5 Prepare a reusable output 11:50–12:25 Data dictionary, citation check, demo release
X6 React to a delay and a restriction 12:25–12:50 Re-plan, decision record, exported view

The worked example

The showcase Project holds the full plan of the fictional thesis: eight epics, 34 sub-issues, three milestones, dependencies, and the views Backlog, Board, and Roadmap. Its Issues live in the example repository. Compare your work with it, or copy the Project as a starting point. The Worked example page shows its views and what each part holds.

What this course is, and what it is not

  • It is an open educational resource and a worked documentation example. See Worked example.
  • It is not a thesis-format template that the university approved. Your study plan, your supervisor, and the Dean’s Office set the rules for your thesis. The requirements register shows how to keep the two apart.
  • It does not use real personal or research data. For your real thesis, start private: see Transfer to a private thesis.

Reuse

The original teaching text and the synthetic data are under CC BY 4.0. Code derived from the template is under AGPL 3.0. The screenshots show the GitHub interface, which these licences do not cover (Notice). Cite the course with the metadata in CITATION.cff.

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