#small team

[hernix-hex]

Hello we are Hernix-Hex

Once know as just “Hernix” is a group of friends who all are creative in their own ways, we care not about money, merely to share our ideas and entertain our audience, even if it is small.

“I am not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful.”

-Marilyn Monroe

The purpose of this blog is to advertise share fan works such as art and give updates on projects

We wish to give entertainment and share our art!

Vivian M. -Lead Developer, Twitter social media manager, and artist. ( @vivian-b1tch )

Leonardo Y. -Story plotter, artist, and Tumblr social media manager. ( @autism-milkeyway )

Bobby R. -Lead Author, Story Plotter, Developer, blue sky social media manager, and communications manager.

[bladesofstrelitzia]

WELCOME TO THE Blades of Srelitzia TMNT AU, your #1 source for gay and aggresively angsty turtles here on tumblr. (Don’t worry- there is comfort, we’re not monsters)

this is an original au that doesn’t belong to any specific cannon universe, but takes most of its inspiration from 2012 tmnt and ROTTMNTT.

Our story is set in New York City- present day (2023 in this context), where the 4 turtle bros are living and training with none other than their father, shredder himself.

Our first arc begins when the eldest of the 4 brothers (Donatello) decides to leave their current life of abuse and objectivity, wishing to be independent and someday come back for their brothers. After this temporary loss, the “family” slowly begins to unravel.

Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten the rest of the cast! Fan favorite characters such as April, Casey, Usagi, Karai, Beebop/Rocksteady, splinter, and an array of other faces will also be featured in this au at various points in the story.

We would also like to mention that the BOSTMNT AU is being written and drawn by a small team of 5 people. So, if you see different art styles or people making posts, those are just our other staff members :]

Thank you so much for reading and for the continued support, and remember- VOTE BOSTMNT !!!

-the BOSTMNT team

[lovemythosthegame-blog]

Love Mythos: Origins by SquidSinsSquad

The origin story to the future release of Love Mythos: Sanctuary Island. See where it all begins.

Reminder that our free to play VN prequel is out! 

[clanhr]

Best Self-Hosted Sprint Planning Tools in 2026

Jira Server ended support in February 2024. Jira Data Center — the last remaining self-hosted Atlassian option — has its end-of-life set for March 28, 2029. If your team has been running Jira on your own infrastructure, you are on a three-year clock, whether you know it yet or not. For a lot of teams, the obvious answer is Atlassian Cloud.

This guide covers the tools worth evaluating, what each one does well, where each one falls short for sprint-running teams, and one thing most comparison guides in this space consistently get wrong.

Why Teams Are Moving to Self-Hosted in 2026

The compliance driver is the most urgent for regulated industries. A Gartner forecast predicts that 60% of enterprises will demand greater data residency control for critical systems by the end of 2027. Teams under DORA, PCI DSS v4.0, Basel III, HIPAA, or ISO 27001 are finding that putting sprint and project data on external cloud infrastructure creates audit complications that self-hosting eliminates cleanly. The EU-US data conflict is a growing, specific concern.

The US CLOUD Act allows American authorities to demand access to data stored by US companies regardless of where it physically sits. GDPR requires the protection of EU citizens' data from unauthorised access. For a European engineering team using a US-based SaaS project management tool, those two obligations are in direct tension.

The Best Self-Hosted Sprint Planning Tools in 2026

1. Plane

Plane is the fastest-moving open-source project management tool in 2026 and the most credible replacement for Jira on self-hosted infrastructure. It covers issues, cycles (sprints), modules (epics), pages, and views with a genuinely modern interface. Docker Compose installation takes under an hour. An official Jira migration script exists. The GitHub repository has over 30,000 stars. What makes Plane stand out is its air-gapped deployment support — the only credible option in the open-source PM space for teams that cannot allow any outbound network connections. Where it falls short: the sprint experience (called Cycles) is functional but not execution-focused. Teams wanting deep sprint health visibility will find Cycles adequate rather than excellent.

Best for: Teams needing broad feature coverage, modern UX, and air-gapped deployment on their own infrastructure.

Deployment: Docker, Kubernetes, bare metal | Licence: AGPL-3.0 | Pricing: Free self-hosted, paid cloud from $8/user/month

2. Taiga

Taiga has the deepest native Scrum feature set of any open-source tool — sprint planning, backlog management, story point estimation, burndown charts, custom swimlanes, and retrospective support. The Scrum ceremonies are built into the product's core structure. GDPR compliance documentation for self-hosted deployments is explicit: when the server runs in the EU, no personal data is transferred to an external processor. Where Taiga falls short: the interface has not kept pace with visual expectations set by tools like Linear and Plane. Integrations outside the core Scrum workflow are limited.

Best for: Agile teams running pure Scrum who need the most complete open-source Scrum implementation.

Deployment: Docker | Licence: AGPL-3.0 | Pricing: Free self-hosted, paid hosted from $5/user/month

3. OpenProject

OpenProject is the closest feature-parity replacement for Jira in the self-hosted market. The compliance credentials are the strongest in this list — explicit documentation for GDPR, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and government security standards. In March 2026, OpenProject released an official Jira Migrator handling export of issues, comments, attachments, and custom fields more completely than any other migration tool. Where OpenProject falls short: the interface reflects its age. Onboarding takes longer than any other tool in this list.

Best for: Regulated industries, public sector, financial institutions — where compliance documentation is non-negotiable.

Deployment: Docker, bare metal, managed hosting | Licence: GPL-3.0 | Pricing: Free community, Enterprise from €7.25/user/month

4. GitLab

For engineering teams whose entire development workflow already runs through GitLab, its self-hosted deployment eliminates the gap between code and plan. GitLab issues link to merge requests natively. Milestones function as sprints. The relationship between a ticket, the branch, the pipeline, and the release is fully traceable in one system. Where GitLab falls short as a sprint tool: sprint health visibility, burndown charts, velocity tracking, and retrospective support are shallow compared to tools built specifically for Scrum.

Best for: Engineering teams already on GitLab self-hosted who want project management and code in the same system.

Deployment: Docker, Kubernetes, Omnibus | Licence: MIT Expat (CE) | Pricing: Free CE, paid tiers from $29/user/month

5. Redmine

Redmine has been in production use since 2006, has an enormous plugin ecosystem, and runs reliably on modest hardware. For teams in environments where software stability and longevity matter more than modern UX — government agencies, long-running enterprise projects, organisations with constrained IT resources — Redmine's track record is genuinely valuable.

Best for: Teams valuing long-term stability, existing Redmine deployments, and constrained IT modernisation appetite.

Deployment: Ruby on Rails, Docker available | Licence: GPL-2.0 | Pricing: Free

Spryn Self-Hosted

Every tool on this list handles sprint tracking on self-hosted infrastructure. Spryn Self-Hosted (spryn.io/self-hosted) is the only one built specifically around sprint execution — the difference between a tool that records what your team is doing and one that actively helps the sprint succeed. One-time license, unlimited seats, your data never leaves your infrastructure. When you open a sprint in Spryn, the board shows what is moving, what is stuck, and what has not been touched in two days — before standup, without opening a separate report. The action to reassign, unblock, or defer is on the same screen.

The AI standup generates a live summary from real sprint data before the meeting starts. Retrospectives surface automatically at sprint close. Git connects natively so code activity updates the sprint board without anyone doing it manually. Plane, Taiga, OpenProject, GitLab, and Redmine are project management platforms with sprint support.

Spryn is a sprint execution tool with self-hosted support. For teams where the sprint is the primary unit of work and execution quality is what they are trying to improve, that distinction matters.

Best for: Engineering teams of 5–50 needing execution-first sprint management — data never leaves your server, no per-seat fees after one-time licence.

Deployment: Self-hosted on your own server | Licence: Commercial — one-time licence, unlimited seats | More: spryn.io/self-hosted

Table 2 — Self-Hosted Sprint Planning Tools Comparison 2026

The Thing Most Comparison Guides Get Wrong

Almost every 'best self-hosted project management' article focuses entirely on features and deployment options. What they rarely discuss is the operational reality of self-hosting. When you self-host, you take on deployment, uptime management, security patching, backups, and major upgrade testing. For organisations with DevOps capacity, this overhead is manageable. For smaller teams without dedicated infrastructure support, the burden can quietly consume more time than the compliance benefit saves.

The honest question before committing is not 'which tool has the features I need?' It is 'who in our organisation will own this, and do they have the bandwidth to do it well?' A self-hosted tool running on out-of-date software with no backup procedures is not more secure than a well-managed SaaS tool — it is less secure.

How to Choose the Right Self-Hosted Tool

If the driver is an air-gapped deployment, Plane is the only tool with credible air-gap support and a modern codebase. If the driver is pure Scrum with GDPR-clean data residency in an EU environment, Taiga is the strongest option. If the driver is enterprise compliance — such as HIPAA, PCI DSS, or ISO 27001 — OpenProject's documentation and official Jira Migrator make it the most mature choice. If the team already runs GitLab, its built-in project management is the path of least resistance. If the primary requirement is stability over a long time horizon, Redmine with updated plugins is often the most practical choice.

And if the goal is specifically to improve how sprints run — not just where the data lives — Spryn Self-Hosted (spryn.io/self-hosted) is the only tool in this list designed around that problem. One-time licence, unlimited seats, your data stays on your server. The right choice for teams where sprint execution quality and data ownership are both non-negotiable.

Questions Teams Ask About Self-Hosted Sprint Planning

Is self-hosting still worth it in 2026 given how much cloud tools have improved?

For teams with genuine compliance requirements — regulated industries, GDPR data residency obligations, air-gapped environments — yes, unambiguously. For teams without those requirements, the operational overhead needs to be weighed honestly. A well-configured SaaS tool with strong data processing agreements and EU data residency options satisfies most GDPR requirements for teams not in highly regulated sectors. What happened to Jira Server and what does it mean for teams still running it?

Atlassian ended support for Jira Server in February 2024. Teams still running it are on unsupported software — no security patches, no bug fixes. The remaining self-hosted Atlassian option, Jira Data Center, ends in March 2029. Teams evaluating this now have time, but not unlimited time. Can open-source self-hosted tools meet GDPR requirements?

Yes, when properly configured. Self-hosted project management software is GDPR-compliant by default for data location and processor scoping when the server resides inside the EU, because no personal data is transferred to an external processor. The customer still owns the controller obligations: lawful basis, retention policies, data-subject request handling, and security measures under GDPR Article 32. How long does it take to migrate from Jira to a self-hosted alternative?

OpenProject's official Jira Migrator, released in March 2026, handles the most complete migration of issues, comments, attachments, and custom fields. A realistic timeline for a team of 10 to 20 people is two to four weeks including testing, validation, and team onboarding. The technical migration itself typically takes one to two days.

[draculasguidetoromania]

Football stories of Romania - What's the smallest team to ever play in the Champions League?

Technically this team didn’t go past the group, but still a good and sad story at the same time! Romanian Football History Stories – The football team that won two leagues Places to watch football in Bucharest – A guide on how to watch football games How safe is Bucharest? Dracula weekly number 14 Avoiding Bears in Romania – The Dracula Guide

Football stories of Romania - What's the smallest team to ever play in the Champions League?

[gconnectspace]

How small Teams Grow in Shared Office Atmosphere

A shared office environment is more than a working place- they are just accelerators for small team’s growth.

[vito-proietti]

How to Foster Innovation in a Small Team

Innovation is often seen as the lifeblood of growth in any organization, but for small teams, fostering it can sometimes be challenging. However, with the right approach and environment, even the smallest of teams can become powerhouses of creativity and innovative thinking. In this article, I’ll guide you through practical ways to nurture innovation within a small team—drawing from my experience and the strategies that have worked well in practice.

Create a Culture that Supports Innovation

The first and most crucial step in fostering innovation is creating a culture that actively encourages it. This starts with leadership—as a leader, you need to lead by example. Demonstrate your openness to new ideas, and don’t be afraid to take calculated risks. Establish open communication channels, where every team member feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas without fear of criticism or judgment. Open communication isn’t just about talking; it’s about creating a space where everyone’s voice is heard and valued. This encourages team members to come forward with even the boldest ideas, which are often the seeds of the most innovative solutions.

To build a culture that supports innovation, it's also important to actively listen to your team members and act on their suggestions. Make sure that each idea is given due consideration, and provide feedback that is constructive and supportive. Recognizing and implementing good ideas reinforces that creativity is valued within the team. Moreover, encourage curiosity—allow team members to ask questions and explore new methods without fear of being shut down. A culture that welcomes questions and exploration creates an environment where innovation can thrive.

Encourage Cross-Functional Collaboration

Innovation often comes from bringing different perspectives together. For small teams, collaboration across different roles and expertise areas is key. You can create cross-functional teams by encouraging members with different skills to work together on projects or by organizing brainstorming sessions that bring different viewpoints to the table. Airbnb, for instance, attributes much of its rapid growth to its culture of cross-functional collaboration. This culture of working together helps break down silos, encourages the sharing of ideas, and ensures that the team’s collective intelligence is fully utilized.

Cross-functional collaboration can also be enhanced by creating opportunities for team-building activities that allow individuals from different backgrounds to connect on a personal level. These activities can help in fostering trust, which is a crucial element for successful collaboration. When team members trust each other, they are more likely to share their unique insights and collaborate effectively. Additionally, leveraging collaboration tools like Trello, Slack, or Microsoft Teams can make cross-functional projects easier to manage and keep everyone aligned.

Allocate Time for Innovation

One of the best ways to foster innovation is to dedicate time specifically for it. This means setting aside a portion of the workweek where team members are free from their usual tasks to focus on creative projects or explore new concepts. Google’s “20% time” and 3M’s “15% rule” are famous examples where employees are allowed to spend part of their work time on projects of personal interest—often leading to significant breakthroughs like Gmail or Post-it Notes. In your small team, this could mean designating an “innovation day” or allowing time each week for experimentation and creative problem-solving. This shows that the company values creativity and is willing to invest in it.

Encouraging time for innovation also involves ensuring that there is minimal pressure during these periods. Innovation flourishes in an environment free from the usual work pressures and deadlines. Create a space where team members can experiment without fear of immediate results or repercussions if something doesn’t work. The key is to cultivate an environment where creativity is encouraged and exploration is rewarded, even if it doesn’t always lead to immediate success. Encourage your team to document their findings during innovation time, as even ideas that aren't immediately actionable may spark future innovations.

Provide Resources and Encourage Skill Development

For innovation to thrive, team members need the right resources and skills. This doesn’t necessarily mean expensive tools—it could be access to training courses, workshops, or even books that help them expand their knowledge. Encouraging team members to develop their skills and providing opportunities for learning makes them more equipped to come up with creative solutions. You can also make use of online courses, webinars, and workshops to foster continuous learning. Investing in your team’s professional growth boosts innovation and helps in employee retention by making them feel valued.

In addition to traditional learning resources, consider setting up knowledge-sharing sessions within your team. These sessions could involve team members presenting on a topic they are passionate about or sharing something new they’ve learned. This enhances individual knowledge and fosters a collaborative environment where learning from each other is encouraged. Access to the right technologies, whether software tools or industry-specific hardware, can also make a significant difference. Make sure that your team has what they need to experiment and innovate effectively.

Foster a Growth Mindset and Embrace Failure

Innovation requires the willingness to take risks, which inherently means that some ideas will fail. To truly foster an environment of innovation, you need to build a growth mindset—the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort and perseverance. This mindset allows your team to see failure not as a setback but as a learning opportunity. Celebrate the small successes along the way, but also analyze what went wrong when an idea doesn’t work out. Make it clear that failure is part of the innovation process, and encourage team members to share what they learn from their experiences. By doing so, you turn failures into opportunities for growth, which is essential for sustained innovation.

One practical approach to fostering a growth mindset is to hold "retrospective meetings" after a project or an experiment. In these meetings, encourage team members to discuss what went well, what didn’t, and what could be improved. The focus should always be on learning rather than blaming. Acknowledge the risks taken and highlight the lessons learned. By normalizing failure as a valuable part of the learning process, you help your team build resilience and maintain their enthusiasm for innovation.

Empower Your Team with Autonomy

When you give team members the freedom to make their own decisions, you empower them to think creatively and take ownership of their work. Empowerment in a small team means trusting people to take the lead on projects and encouraging them to bring their own solutions to challenges. The more autonomy team members have, the more they feel their contributions matter, leading to increased motivation and creativity. Ensure you set clear expectations and goals, but allow flexibility in how those goals are achieved. This autonomy can be a driving factor behind your team’s innovative output.

Autonomy also means providing the necessary support without micromanaging. Be available to provide guidance when needed, but resist the urge to dictate every step of the process. Encourage your team to find their own path to success and support them even when their methods differ from your own. Providing autonomy also involves respecting individual working styles—some people may be more productive working alone, while others may thrive in group settings. Allowing team members to choose how they approach their tasks can significantly boost their creativity and overall satisfaction.

Celebrate Creativity and Encourage Experimentation

Lastly, it’s crucial to celebrate the creative successes within your team. Recognition can take many forms—a public shoutout during a team meeting, an award, or even just a sincere thank-you. When team members see that their creative efforts are appreciated, they are more likely to keep pushing boundaries. At the same time, encourage experimentation. Create an environment where taking risks is welcomed, and provide a safe space where people can pitch even the wildest ideas without fear of ridicule. The more you foster this spirit of experimentation, the more your team will feel encouraged to explore new avenues and bring fresh ideas to the table.

Celebrating creativity doesn’t have to be limited to big successes. Even small wins should be acknowledged to keep the team motivated. Consider setting up an "innovation wall" where you display ongoing projects and the progress being made. This visual representation can inspire others and create a sense of collective pride. Additionally, encourage team members to take part in hackathons or innovation challenges. These events foster a sense of community and encourage team members to step out of their comfort zones and try something new.

Key Ways to Foster Innovation in Small Teams

Create a culture that supports open communication.

Allocate dedicated time for creative projects.

Encourage cross-functional collaboration.

Celebrate creativity and support risk-taking.

In Conclusion

Fostering innovation in a small team may require intentional effort, but it’s entirely achievable with the right strategies. By creating a culture of openness, encouraging collaboration, providing resources, and embracing both success and failure, you can transform your team into a creative powerhouse. Remember, innovation isn’t a one-off effort; it’s an ongoing process that thrives in an environment where creativity, learning, and risk-taking are celebrated, ultimately positioning your team to come up with groundbreaking ideas and solutions that propel your business forward.