5 ms·

I'm in your target market, but I do not have any need for the features you're offering. Have you worked with independent software developers to identify the ne

I'm in your target market, but I do not have any need for the features you're offering. Have you worked with independent software developers to identify the need you're satisfying with your product? For my own case, at least, it's not that we've not the time or inclination to create detailed timelines or project plans, it's that we would find such things less than useless since we're frequently changing plans to better satisfy emerging user requirements. To use a tortured analogy, large companies are like container ships plodding along a pre-defined course [they know exactly where they're going to be four weeks from now] whereas smaller developers are on the scale of Leif Erickson [we're headed 'thataway', hope to find something really valuable in the process, but realize we're going to have to change course every day to adapt to the winds, current and coastline we're discovering if we've any hope of surviving this adventure]. If you're enabling large-company planning processes for independent developers, there may be a mis-match in your marketing. If you've not yet sat down with some small software companies to find out just what they would find helpful, I'd suggest you do so before proceeding further. You don't want to find yourself creating the perfect product for a non-existent need -- that way leads to madness.

maxklein 18y ago
I'm an ISV myself, and I created it based on my needs. If you take a look at the planning tab, you'll see that it's not how you think it is. It's simple: 1. You add a deadline by which time you expect some particular featureset to be completed (for example, the user interface) 2. The you add a bunch of features to that deadline (like toolbar, about box, etc). 3. You have a series of tasks for each feature that need to be completed like a standard todo list Normal planning does not work for ISVs. But the approach above works (for me at least), because it allows you structure the way you approach your coding. It's not about traditional planning in any sense, it just a way of organising your todo lists in a manner that fits with the way that ISVs approach their products.
- tom_rath 18y ago
  So, the product is another to do list? Maybe I'm missing something, but I can't see how this would benefit us any more than another to do list. Have you been designing this product to match the requirements of an existing software company which is selling product today, or are you trying to match the requirements you think you will have once your planned product sells?
  - maxklein 18y ago
    The product(s) it's designed for are selling today. If you have an entire process setup already for planning your software development path, and you already have a well working analytics system, then your products are already being managed, and you don't need this. This product is designed to bring an efficient structure into the life of the ISV. Processes are there for a reason - they make it so you don't have to guess what comes next or what you have to do next. This product is designed on that principle - it takes the random life of the developer and makes it efficient. There are two ways one can approach the software business - you can either just do things randomly as they coming, and hope things work out, or you can plan ahead, observe trends, iterate and optimize to grow and make more money. This product is designed for people who want to take the second path.
    - tom_rath 18y ago
      Well, businesses definitely need structure, but I don't see how this particular product would help me observe trends (aside from web site page views and total dollar sales), iterate and optimize. Perhaps if there were a case study of some sort up on your page? Right now, it just looks like a to do list stitched into Facebook, and that's not what we're needing.
      - maxklein 18y ago
        I don't know how many products you sell, but let's say you sell about 4 products. You sell roughly 6-7 copies a day, and you site views are about 1500 uniques a day. Now, you nee to keep a constant eye on these numbers, and you need to do things to make these numbers go up, and not down. If you work without structure, it's difficult. My tool is designed such that you can take a look at the frontpage and you instantly see how everything is performing. The todo list is a standard todo list (like basecamp has), but the fact that you can keep your product based todo separate from the rest of the usual todo is helpful. When a product is cruising along fine based on trends you observe, you can ignore the product from a business point of view. When things start getting bad, you have a todo list you can refer back to.

maxklein 18y ago

I'm an ISV myself, and I created it based on my needs. If you take a look at the planning tab, you'll see that it's not how you think it is. It's simple: 1. You add a deadline by which time you expect some particular featureset to be completed (for example, the user interface) 2. The you add a bunch of features to that deadline (like toolbar, about box, etc). 3. You have a series of tasks for each feature that need to be completed like a standard todo list Normal planning does not work for ISVs. But the approach above works (for me at least), because it allows you structure the way you approach your coding. It's not about traditional planning in any sense, it just a way of organising your todo lists in a manner that fits with the way that ISVs approach their products.

tom_rath 18y ago
So, the product is another to do list? Maybe I'm missing something, but I can't see how this would benefit us any more than another to do list. Have you been designing this product to match the requirements of an existing software company which is selling product today, or are you trying to match the requirements you think you will have once your planned product sells?
- maxklein 18y ago
  The product(s) it's designed for are selling today. If you have an entire process setup already for planning your software development path, and you already have a well working analytics system, then your products are already being managed, and you don't need this. This product is designed to bring an efficient structure into the life of the ISV. Processes are there for a reason - they make it so you don't have to guess what comes next or what you have to do next. This product is designed on that principle - it takes the random life of the developer and makes it efficient. There are two ways one can approach the software business - you can either just do things randomly as they coming, and hope things work out, or you can plan ahead, observe trends, iterate and optimize to grow and make more money. This product is designed for people who want to take the second path.
  - tom_rath 18y ago
    Well, businesses definitely need structure, but I don't see how this particular product would help me observe trends (aside from web site page views and total dollar sales), iterate and optimize. Perhaps if there were a case study of some sort up on your page? Right now, it just looks like a to do list stitched into Facebook, and that's not what we're needing.
    - maxklein 18y ago
      I don't know how many products you sell, but let's say you sell about 4 products. You sell roughly 6-7 copies a day, and you site views are about 1500 uniques a day. Now, you nee to keep a constant eye on these numbers, and you need to do things to make these numbers go up, and not down. If you work without structure, it's difficult. My tool is designed such that you can take a look at the frontpage and you instantly see how everything is performing. The todo list is a standard todo list (like basecamp has), but the fact that you can keep your product based todo separate from the rest of the usual todo is helpful. When a product is cruising along fine based on trends you observe, you can ignore the product from a business point of view. When things start getting bad, you have a todo list you can refer back to.