I am going to begin this article with my opinion since this article is editorial in nature: GitHub is an incredible value not only for developers but also for anyone involved or related to applications and software development.
It has taken us too long as a company to fully transition to using it, mainly because we were aware that it provides a commonly used platform for version control and application development, where public input is sought. Additionally, it is excellent for team software development. What we weren’t as aware of is its free features for documentation, building knowledge bases, and project management.
A client of ours recently reported that a popular proprietary platform they use has increased in cost by 1000% in the last month due to their AI implementation and an unfair approach to pricing, especially for small to medium-sized businesses and nonprofits.
There are options. GitHub presents one of them. There are other ways to do automations, though GitHub integrates with a lot of different applications. Also, you don’t have to be a developer, but it would help to understand the UI if you aren’t a developer, so that you don’t feel overwhelmed. I will devote another post to that.
I will introduce below some of the features that GitHub has that distinguish it and make it a great platform (Note: I receive no benefit from GitHub for providing a supportive assessment of the platform).
GitHub offers a robust suite of project management features that help teams plan, track, and organize work—especially for software development, but also for broader collaborative projects.
Core Project Management Features
GitHub Projects enable flexible management through Kanban boards, tables, and roadmap views. Teams can track issues, pull requests, tasks, and ideas, customize views by filtering or grouping, visualize progress with charts, and add custom fields for metadata. The built-in tagging system, multi-user task assignment, and markdown support enhance organization and efficiency.
- Issues: Used to manage tasks, bugs, feature requests, and action items. Issues offer commenting, labeling, assigning, and can be grouped by milestones.
- Milestones: Organize issues into phases, sprints, or release cycles by associating related tasks and setting deadlines.
- Projects/Boards: Implement digital Kanban boards where tasks move through columns like “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done.”
- Custom Fields: Add additional metadata for team-specific workflows, including progress indicators and deadlines.
- Automations: Use built-in automations or GitHub Actions to automate repetitive tasks such as assigning issues, updating statuses, or sending notifications.
- Insights & Reporting: Visualize work with configurable charts for progress, throughput, and more; export project data as needed.
- Collaboration: Leverage team discussions for open-ended planning, commenting on issues/pull requests, and collaborative decision-making.
- Integrations: GitHub integrates with tools like Slack, Trello, and third-party platforms for enhanced project tracking and notifications.
- Access Controls: Manage roles, delegate responsibilities, and set expectations/codes of conduct for team management.
Practical Applications
- Agile or iterative workflows using Kanban boards and milestones.
- Task breakdown, assignment, and tracking at the individual and team level.
- Automated status updates and notifications for improved productivity.
- Collaborative planning, feedback collection, and documentation via issues and discussions.
- Centralized management for coding and non-coding projects, with easy scaling for small or large teams.[
Limitations
While GitHub is highly effective for development-centric project management, it may lack the advanced reporting, resource management, and detailed workflow automation features found in specialized platforms like Jira or Asana. For complex project needs—multiple teams, deep metrics, or hierarchical task structures—external integrations or dedicated tools may be preferable.
In summary, GitHub can serve as an adaptable, collaborative project management hub—especially for technical projects—offering boards, issue tracking, automation, and integrations that make team coordination straightforward and transparent.