mouc 0.6.0

A lightweight dependency tracking system for mapping technical capabilities to user stories and outcomes

Mouc

A YAML-based dependency tracker and automatic scheduler for software roadmaps.

What Mouc Does

Mouc takes a YAML file describing your work items and their dependencies, and produces:

• Scheduled Gantt charts - automatically computed from dependencies, deadlines, priorities, and resource constraints
• Dependency graphs - visualize what blocks what
• Documentation - Markdown or Word docs, Gantt charts, and Graphviz/SVG graphs describing your roadmap

The scheduler handles the tedious work of figuring out when things should happen. You define what needs to happen, what it depends on, who can work on it, priorities, and any deadlines. Mouc computes a schedule that respects all constraints.

What Mouc Isn't

Mouc is not a full project management system. It doesn't have:

• A web UI for editing (it's YAML + CLI)
• Time tracking, budgets, or cost management
• Collaboration features (comments, notifications, assignments)
• Velocity tracking (though you could script this yourself; it's just YAML)

Mouc is for engineers and tech leads who want version-controlled roadmaps with real scheduling logic, not another GUI to babysit.

Mouc vs. Other Tools

Mouc complements tools like Jira rather than replacing them. Use Jira for ticket tracking and team collaboration; use Mouc for dependency-aware scheduling and roadmap generation.

Key differences from typical PM tools:

• Automatic scheduling: Most tools (including Jira, even with plugins) require you to manually set dates and drag Gantt bars. Mouc computes dates automatically using a real scheduling algorithm.
• YAML-first: Your roadmap lives in version control. Review changes in PRs. No proprietary database.
• Workflow expansion: Define patterns like "design → signoff → implement → review" once, apply them to many items. The scheduler handles the phasing automatically.
• Free and open source: MIT licensed.

The outputs (Mermaid Gantt charts, Graphviz graphs, Markdown) render in GitHub, GitLab, standard doc tools, or any static site. Run Mouc in CI to publish current roadmaps automatically.

Installation

uv pip install mouc   # recommended
# or
pip install mouc

Quick Example

Create feature_map.yaml:

metadata:
  version: 1.0

entities:
  database_layer:
    type: capability
    name: Database Abstraction Layer
    description: Core data access patterns
    meta:
      effort: "2w"
      resources: ["alice"]

  api_service:
    type: capability
    name: REST API Service
    description: Public API endpoints
    requires: [database_layer]
    meta:
      effort: "3w"
      resources: ["bob"]
      end_before: "2025-03-31"

  mobile_app:
    type: outcome
    name: Mobile App Launch
    requires: [api_service]
    links:
      - jira:MOBILE-100

Generate outputs:

# Scheduled Gantt chart
mouc gantt --start-date 2025-01-01 --output schedule.md

# Dependency graph
mouc graph --view all | dot -Tsvg -o deps.svg

# Documentation
mouc doc --output roadmap.md

The Gantt chart automatically schedules database_layer first, then api_service (after its dependency completes), and warns if the March 31 deadline can't be met.

Core Concepts

Entities and Dependencies

Mouc organizes work into three entity types:

• Capabilities - technical work (can only depend on other capabilities)
• User Stories - what others need from you (can depend on capabilities or other stories)
• Outcomes - business goals (can depend on anything)

Specify dependencies with requires (what this needs) or enables (what this unblocks):

database_layer:
  enables: [api_service, batch_jobs]  # these need database_layer

api_service:
  requires: [database_layer]          # equivalent to above

Scheduling

Add metadata to enable automatic scheduling:

meta:
  effort: "2w"                    # how long (days, weeks, months)
  resources: ["alice", "bob"]     # who works on it
  end_before: "2025-03-31"        # hard deadline
  timeframe: "2025q1"             # target quarter/month/week

The scheduler uses a priority-based algorithm that:

• Respects dependencies (B waits for A if B requires A)
• Prevents resource conflicts (Alice can't do two things at once)
• Prioritizes by deadline urgency and task duration
• Propagates deadlines backward through dependency chains

See docs/scheduling.md for algorithm details including the bounded rollout feature for more-optimal decisions.

Workflows

Workflows expand a single entity into multiple phases with proper dependencies:

auth_redesign:
  type: capability
  name: Auth Redesign
  workflow: design_impl        # expands to design phase + implementation
  meta:
    effort: "2w"

This creates auth_redesign_design (floats freely) and auth_redesign (waits for design + signoff lag). Built-in workflows include design_impl, impl_pr, full, and phased_rollout. You can implement your own workflows with Python plugins.

See docs/workflows.md for details.

Resources

Define team members, availability, and assignment preferences:

# mouc_config.yaml
resources:
  - name: alice
    dns_periods:                  # do-not-schedule periods
      - start: 2025-12-20
        end: 2025-12-31

groups:
  backend_team: [alice, bob, charlie]

default_resource: "*"             # auto-assign unassigned tasks

In your feature map:

meta:
  resources: ["alice"]              # explicit
  resources: ["*"]                  # any available
  resources: ["alice|bob"]          # prefer alice, fall back to bob
  resources: ["backend_team"]       # anyone in the group
  resources: ["!john"]              # Anybody but john

See docs/resources.md for details.

Jira Integration

Sync metadata from Jira issues:

entities:
  auth_service:
    type: capability
    name: Auth Service
    links:
      - jira:AUTH-123           # pulls dates, status, assignee from Jira

mouc jira sync feature_map.yaml --dry-run   # preview changes
mouc jira sync feature_map.yaml --apply     # apply changes

The sync is read-only (Jira → Mouc) with configurable conflict resolution.

See docs/jira.md for setup and configuration.

Commands

Command	Description
mouc gantt	Generate Mermaid Gantt chart with automatic scheduling
mouc graph	Generate Graphviz dependency graph
mouc doc	Generate Markdown or DOCX documentation
mouc jira sync	Sync metadata from Jira
mouc jira validate	Test Jira connection

Common options:

mouc gantt --output schedule.md --start-date 2025-01-01
mouc graph --view critical-path --target mobile_launch
mouc doc --format docx --output roadmap.docx
mouc --config mouc_config.yaml gantt

Customization

Styling

Write Python functions to customize graph colors, shapes, labels, and Gantt task appearance:

# my_styles.py
from mouc.styling import style_node

@style_node
def color_by_status(entity, context):
    if entity.meta.get('status') == 'done':
        return {'fill_color': '#90EE90'}
    return {}

mouc graph --style-file ./my_styles.py

See docs/styling.md for the full API.

Configuration

mouc_config.yaml controls resources, scheduling parameters, Jira integration, and output formatting:

resources:
  - name: alice
    jira_username: [e-mail]

scheduler:
  strategy: weighted
  cr_weight: 10.0
  priority_weight: 1.0

jira:
  base_url: https://company.atlassian.net

gantt:
  group_by: type
  sort_by: start

See docs/config.md for all options.

Documentation

• Data Model - entity types, fields, dependencies
• Gantt Charts - scheduling options and output
• Scheduling Algorithm - how the scheduler works
• Workflows - phase expansion patterns
• Resources - team definition and auto-assignment
• Jira Integration - syncing with Jira
• Styling - customizing output appearance
• Configuration - mouc_config.yaml reference

Development

git clone https://github.com/rnortman/mouc.git
cd mouc
uv pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Run tests and checks
pytest
pyright
ruff check src tests

About the Name

Mouc stands for "Mapping Outcomes, User stories, and Capabilities" - reflecting its origin as a dependency tracker for these three entity types. It has since grown into a full scheduling system, but the name stuck.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.