4 ms·

Show HN: Chalkboard, a better way to plan/spec software projects

28 points by hajrice 16y ago

hajrice 16y ago
It’s a relatively scrappy MVP and there are a definitely going to be bugs and kinks. The user interface definitely needs improvement. Regardless, we’re just getting started and have gotten great amounts of feedback and now want to see what Hacker News will think. Chalkboard is a project my partner Abi and I started several months ago. Chalkboard is a collaborative tool for laying out software features, user stories, and screens in a way that is organized and communicative. Abi worked in web consulting with remote teams and wanted a tool that let him easily define project requirements with clients then hand the project off to designers/developers. Chalkboard lets you quickly define software features / user stories and then create step-by-step user flows for them. User flows are linked up to application screens that you specify and can upload mockups for. A lot of people have suggested we integrate/tie into Balsamiq. We have been talking about this since day one but have hesitated reaching out to them until we are 100% sure that this app can become a useful product.
bdclimber14 16y ago
I checked it out, seems to be a decent MVP. I wouldn't focus on basamiq integration yet. Seems to be too early. There's few easy tools for mapping out agile software specs and it looks like this could be the answer. Others seem to be too tightly tied to a certain process and this looks very flexible.
- hajrice 16y ago
  Thanks for the positive feedback and endorsement..after working a couple months on Chalkboad, its really nice to see people appreciating it.
davidcann 16y ago
A new structured way to plan apps sounds good, but what makes your site unique and impressive? My first impression is that it's a flow chart in the form of an outline. The outline looks like something I could just as easily type into any text editor. Why not make it a visual flow chart?
- abinoda 16y ago
  David, that's a great question. We actually started out by displaying user flows as flow charts... we quickly realized that flow charts are an inefficient way to display a comprehensive batch of sequential user actions and application flows. It IS easier to type outlines in a text editor than mess around with flow charts. We transferred that realization to this web app. Our user actions are linked to application screens, which gives you a good overview of how your user interacts with your application.
mitko 16y ago
Before I clicked the link the title seemed like an article which would argue why a real chalkboard is better than computers for planning.
- dhimes 16y ago
  Yes, the "Show HN" is essential in the title.
jw84 16y ago
1. It would be awesome if you incorporate transitions between the single page design elements instead of jumping back up then back down. 2. On my 13" the screenshots are too big, then I have the chat widget overlaying on top.
- hajrice 16y ago
  Sorry about that! Regarding switching elements, there should be a TOP button located at the top right of each element. We'll get this fixed as soon as the HN burst stops, I'm very sorry, Jerry.
thenotself 16y ago
It's hard to review the app without bias when I immediately had to scroll to the bottom to see if 37signals created this product. So much of the website, sales pitch, and product sensibility has been inspired by 37signal that there is some serious brand confusion. It makes me wonder how well you know your own product, or how unique it is. After registering, I see the value. 10 years ago, I used to have to plan websites by mocking up each page, printing them out, and taping them all up onto a giant wall with post-it notes explaining what the user can do on each page. This was the only way that management could really visualize and understand what changes we were making. This allows you to do that without the wall, and the collaboration is a nice addition. It's also a great way to look back and see how a project came to light. I often jot down these sorts of notes when planning a web app. I recommend you reconsider being so inspired by 37signals that it's hard to tell your site apart from theirs. I think I'm being kind in how I'm describing this to you. It's very confusing for any user who is familiar with 37signals and it makes your product less trustworthy.
- thenotself 16y ago
  One other note: it emails me about every change or addition I make to a project. There appears to be no way to opt out of this. By creating a page with 10 user actions, I'd get 11 different emails from you. Please add a way to opt out, and consider instead sending a digest of all changes made daily.
  - hajrice 16y ago
    Great idea. We'll add that to our next release(should be implemented in a matter of a couple hours). I'll disable the email notifications for now.
    - hajrice 16y ago
      Hi there. I just pushed the disabled email notifications. Sorry if Chalkboard flooded you, it's totally our fault.
    - johnny22 16y ago
carols10cents 16y ago
I just crashed it. Signed up for an account with the same username as on here, then tried to create a new project as directed and on submission of that form I got a rails error page. The url was http://chalkboardhq.com/projects/31 http://chalkboardhq.com/projects/31. Please let me know if there is additional information that would be helpful... ETA: Sorry, I didn't read the error message. It's a 404, not a 500. Reproducible every time I try to create a project.
- dabeeeenster 16y ago
  Me too
ximeng 16y ago
Created a test account and test project, and got redirected to http://chalkboardhq.com/projects/37 http://chalkboardhq.com/projects/37 : The page you were looking for doesn't exist.
Void_ 16y ago
You should make that "Create my account" button bigger, I almost missed it.
josh_cutler 16y ago
I'm also having issues with hitting the Rails 404 page after submitting the Create a Project form
- hajrice 16y ago
  Hi Josh. I'm very sorry about this bug happening. I'm working hard to fix it asap.
  - josh_cutler 16y ago
    No worries, I'm looking forward to checking it out. Watching your videos I immediately thought that it would be cool if I could export the flows my team created into cucumber stories...
shawnbaden 16y ago
I find the dark red text on red background (like what's used on http://chalkboardhq.com/pricing http://chalkboardhq.com/pricing) very hard to read. You might consider changing that.
hajrice 16y ago
UPDATE: There seems to be a bug in with creating a project. I and my my partner are working on it right now. We're very very sorry about this bug. An update will arrive when we fix it.
stefanobernardi 16y ago
I'm a bit late to the party, but was just wondering how can you justify such a price. Why don't you have a 1 project plan?

28 points by hajrice 16y ago

It’s a relatively scrappy MVP and there are a definitely going to be bugs and kinks. The user interface definitely needs improvement. Regardless, we’re just getting started and have gotten great amounts of feedback and now want to see what Hacker News will think. Chalkboard is a project my partner Abi and I started several months ago. Chalkboard is a collaborative tool for laying out software features, user stories, and screens in a way that is organized and communicative. Abi worked in web consulting with remote teams and wanted a tool that let him easily define project requirements with clients then hand the project off to designers/developers. Chalkboard lets you quickly define software features / user stories and then create step-by-step user flows for them. User flows are linked up to application screens that you specify and can upload mockups for. A lot of people have suggested we integrate/tie into Balsamiq. We have been talking about this since day one but have hesitated reaching out to them until we are 100% sure that this app can become a useful product.

bdclimber14 16y ago

I checked it out, seems to be a decent MVP. I wouldn't focus on basamiq integration yet. Seems to be too early. There's few easy tools for mapping out agile software specs and it looks like this could be the answer. Others seem to be too tightly tied to a certain process and this looks very flexible.

hajrice 16y ago
Thanks for the positive feedback and endorsement..after working a couple months on Chalkboad, its really nice to see people appreciating it.

davidcann 16y ago

A new structured way to plan apps sounds good, but what makes your site unique and impressive? My first impression is that it's a flow chart in the form of an outline. The outline looks like something I could just as easily type into any text editor. Why not make it a visual flow chart?

abinoda 16y ago
David, that's a great question. We actually started out by displaying user flows as flow charts... we quickly realized that flow charts are an inefficient way to display a comprehensive batch of sequential user actions and application flows. It IS easier to type outlines in a text editor than mess around with flow charts. We transferred that realization to this web app. Our user actions are linked to application screens, which gives you a good overview of how your user interacts with your application.

mitko 16y ago

Before I clicked the link the title seemed like an article which would argue why a real chalkboard is better than computers for planning.

dhimes 16y ago
Yes, the "Show HN" is essential in the title.

jw84 16y ago

1. It would be awesome if you incorporate transitions between the single page design elements instead of jumping back up then back down. 2. On my 13" the screenshots are too big, then I have the chat widget overlaying on top.

hajrice 16y ago
Sorry about that! Regarding switching elements, there should be a TOP button located at the top right of each element. We'll get this fixed as soon as the HN burst stops, I'm very sorry, Jerry.

thenotself 16y ago

It's hard to review the app without bias when I immediately had to scroll to the bottom to see if 37signals created this product. So much of the website, sales pitch, and product sensibility has been inspired by 37signal that there is some serious brand confusion. It makes me wonder how well you know your own product, or how unique it is. After registering, I see the value. 10 years ago, I used to have to plan websites by mocking up each page, printing them out, and taping them all up onto a giant wall with post-it notes explaining what the user can do on each page. This was the only way that management could really visualize and understand what changes we were making. This allows you to do that without the wall, and the collaboration is a nice addition. It's also a great way to look back and see how a project came to light. I often jot down these sorts of notes when planning a web app. I recommend you reconsider being so inspired by 37signals that it's hard to tell your site apart from theirs. I think I'm being kind in how I'm describing this to you. It's very confusing for any user who is familiar with 37signals and it makes your product less trustworthy.

thenotself 16y ago
One other note: it emails me about every change or addition I make to a project. There appears to be no way to opt out of this. By creating a page with 10 user actions, I'd get 11 different emails from you. Please add a way to opt out, and consider instead sending a digest of all changes made daily.
- hajrice 16y ago
  Great idea. We'll add that to our next release(should be implemented in a matter of a couple hours). I'll disable the email notifications for now.
  - hajrice 16y ago
    Hi there. I just pushed the disabled email notifications. Sorry if Chalkboard flooded you, it's totally our fault.
  - johnny22 16y ago

carols10cents 16y ago

I just crashed it. Signed up for an account with the same username as on here, then tried to create a new project as directed and on submission of that form I got a rails error page. The url was http://chalkboardhq.com/projects/31 http://chalkboardhq.com/projects/31. Please let me know if there is additional information that would be helpful... ETA: Sorry, I didn't read the error message. It's a 404, not a 500. Reproducible every time I try to create a project.

dabeeeenster 16y ago
Me too

ximeng 16y ago

Created a test account and test project, and got redirected to http://chalkboardhq.com/projects/37 http://chalkboardhq.com/projects/37 : The page you were looking for doesn't exist.

Void_ 16y ago

You should make that "Create my account" button bigger, I almost missed it.

josh_cutler 16y ago

I'm also having issues with hitting the Rails 404 page after submitting the Create a Project form

hajrice 16y ago
Hi Josh. I'm very sorry about this bug happening. I'm working hard to fix it asap.
- josh_cutler 16y ago
  No worries, I'm looking forward to checking it out. Watching your videos I immediately thought that it would be cool if I could export the flows my team created into cucumber stories...

shawnbaden 16y ago

I find the dark red text on red background (like what's used on http://chalkboardhq.com/pricing http://chalkboardhq.com/pricing) very hard to read. You might consider changing that.

hajrice 16y ago

UPDATE: There seems to be a bug in with creating a project. I and my my partner are working on it right now. We're very very sorry about this bug. An update will arrive when we fix it.

stefanobernardi 16y ago

I'm a bit late to the party, but was just wondering how can you justify such a price. Why don't you have a 1 project plan?