service blueprint creator
blueprinta is a command line tool for generating service blueprint diagrams
from easily editable definitions.
it was directly inspired by https://medium.com/capitalonedesign/easier-better-faster-stronger-9f36739cfd0c.
blueprinta is implemented as a python command line tool that takes a spreadsheet of cards in lanes
represented as cells in columns, stored in excel format.
the excel files used as sources have so far only been tested as downloads from Google Sheets in excel format.
a working python 3 environment or docker.
clone this repo and cd to its folder.
on docker:
./blueprinta whatever.xlsx whatever.svg
on python 3 (e.g. in venv)
python create-blueprint.py whatever.xlsx whatever.svg
generated from example source sheet blueprinta.xlsx:
to re-generate included example on docker:
./create-example.sh
the current image output is always SVG format. this isn't always usable or consistent in its rendering in final media. we've been converting into different formats using ImageMagick.
with ImageMagick installed you can run e.g.:
convert blueprint.svg blueprint.pdf
convert blueprint.svg blueprint.png
currently:
- cards in lanes
- colours of cards and lanes taken from cells or lane headings
envisaged:
- some technical cleanup
- spike links and arrows
- see issues on github
TDD'ed the first basics, then rushed out needed features for immediate need.
currently going back to fix that debt:
- cover current functionality with tests
- make Lane and Card classes responsible for their own rendering