Nodetropy overview

The mental model

Nodetropy is a connected workspace for engineering projects. Instead of keeping requirements, tasks, components, costs, calculations and evidence in separate files, each record can live in the system designed for it and be linked to the records it affects.

The aim is not to turn every relationship into automation. A link records context and traceability; each system still owns its own data. For example, a Component quantity and a BOM quantity are intentionally independent.

• Plan with requirements, tasks, risks and versions.
• Define the physical system with components, subsystems and engineering properties.
• Cost the project with BOM and Budget.
• Capture engineering work with calculators and the Notebook.
• Use links and Traceability to understand how the project fits together.

A sensible first workflow

You do not need to configure the entire workspace before doing useful work. Start with the information you already know and add structure as the project develops.

• Create a project and write a clear objective.
• Capture the requirements that constrain the design.
• Create the first components/subsystems as the architecture becomes clear.
• Add tasks and risks for work that needs managing.
• Record calculations, tests, research and decisions as evidence appears.
• Create links when they explain a real engineering relationship.

Links are context, not duplication

Nodetropy's linking tools are designed to connect records without merging their responsibilities. Linking a task to a requirement does not turn the requirement into a task; linking a BOM item to a component does not synchronise their quantities.