How did Indie-Tracker
I am developing an online tracking service for small development teams. It will be very simple and intuitive, with a modern graphical interface. To start using it, just follow the link at the bottom of the post and register.
Now I will tell you why during the development of the program I changed its concept several times. What mistakes I made and what came at the end.
I went through a lot of different programs of this kind, but I did not like them. They were too complicated and not understandable, they took a lot of time, and the installation and configuration of some could not be completed at all. It seemed to me that these programs were made only for managers. And it became interesting to me to write a similar product oriented to developers.
I managed to work as a programmer in small and medium-sized companies, as well as a freelancer. In the coolest team there were six programmers, one manager and another very general manager, plus a group of girls-testers. Scattered tasks with the help of a complex and terrible Atlassian Jira system: follow the link, press a button and get a list of your tasks. I did not understand anything about project management.
But still I had an idea about the system of conducting tasks. As users, I saw myself and small mythical teams and decided that the distribution of tasks by performers was not necessary.
The first pancake came out this way: on the main screen of the program there was a folded multi-level list. It consisted of categories, sub-categories and tasks. There were still multi-tasks - I thought it was cool. It looked like this:
')
All elements were folded and unfolded, tasks on click expanded, showing more information and buttons to control them (to work, complete, etc.). Categories showed the number of completed tasks. The process of working with the program was simple: you create tasks, shove them into folders-categories, look at the list and note the completed tasks.
The advantage of the program was compactness: on a small screen, you can quickly assess the status of the entire project. But there was nowhere to see the list of “current” tasks, that is, the program did not answer the question “what should I do today?”. But still, this is how I saw the product. Well, that I did not have time to finish it.
The first reasons for revising the concept I found myself. Categories seemed difficult, cumbersome and unnecessary, the program did not give what was needed. How did I even figure it out? I again began to look at existing analogues. He abandoned multi-tasks and categories, now tasks were displayed in a simple list. I added three buttons at the top of the column so that you can hide tasks of a certain status, for example, completed ones. Also added new columns: comments on the selected task, releases - a list of important tasks, a history of changes.
.png)
Now only the necessary tasks are always in sight. The program has become like a kind of joint desktop. She began to solve the problem of drawing up the nearest plans of the project, fully strengthened the user interface. There was no opportunity to look at the project from above, as it was before, but I do not think it was a big loss. The program has become usable, and I continued its implementation.
Unfortunately, at that time nobody used the tracker, even me. I just wrote it, invented something new and strange.
The last job was a new small company engaged in one small but successful project. We had two artists, three programmers and a designer. As in any team, there was a process for the distribution of tasks. But they did it - it's funny to say - in google-tables. No one has used my tracker yet, and I suggested that the company use it for management. But he did not fit them, he did not at all meet the needs of the team. Then, working right inside the target audience of my project, I began to observe the internal processes, trying to understand what they needed.
Tasks were recorded in a google-table, where each person had his own column. Task lists were updated about once a week. It would seem that there was no functionality, why did they use it? And because it was very simple: clicked in the cell - entered the text of the task. Or selected and deleted. No popup windows, “ok” buttons, etc., just quick entry and display. And most importantly - just in one table, each person could see his personal column, and the “boss” saw the columns of all the others, and it was clear, clearly, who was doing what this week.
Of course, there were significant limitations in this version, but they all paid off by the fact that the most important and frequently used functions were performed in the simplest way. In order to “entice” customers, they needed to offer something even simpler and more convenient than google-tables.
As a result, I began to redo much, the generation of ideas began. Sometimes I drew something, explained and showed at work, received comments and moved on. The project began to develop much faster than before. Managers had more interest in viewing tasks for a single user across several projects, managing iterations and priorities. Other ideas came from personal experience in the company. They concerned the convenience of working in the tracker of the task performer. And the most unexpected experience came from the field of game development, it touched the user interface.
As a result, as it seems to me now, I managed to collect something interesting, something that could show tasks by performers, or tasks in terms of the degree of completion, and switching between these modes is very easy, you can even mix them up and come up with your own. mode. At the same time I tried to simplify the work with the program. What happens in the end - judge for yourself.
The time when I developed the tracker myself, of course, bore fruit, but more of a technical nature. The very basis of the product came during the observation of a group of potential users. But on the other hand, if I did not give time for the development of my own ideas, it would have been something completely different, maybe less interesting.
I still work in this team, constantly looking at how convenient my product is, sometimes I find myself thinking about what else needs to be added or changed. I think this is one of the best ways to develop a project.
At the moment, the project is in the development stage, the beta version is available here .
Thanks for attention.
Now I will tell you why during the development of the program I changed its concept several times. What mistakes I made and what came at the end.
What for?
I went through a lot of different programs of this kind, but I did not like them. They were too complicated and not understandable, they took a lot of time, and the installation and configuration of some could not be completed at all. It seemed to me that these programs were made only for managers. And it became interesting to me to write a similar product oriented to developers.
First sketch
I managed to work as a programmer in small and medium-sized companies, as well as a freelancer. In the coolest team there were six programmers, one manager and another very general manager, plus a group of girls-testers. Scattered tasks with the help of a complex and terrible Atlassian Jira system: follow the link, press a button and get a list of your tasks. I did not understand anything about project management.
But still I had an idea about the system of conducting tasks. As users, I saw myself and small mythical teams and decided that the distribution of tasks by performers was not necessary.
The first pancake came out this way: on the main screen of the program there was a folded multi-level list. It consisted of categories, sub-categories and tasks. There were still multi-tasks - I thought it was cool. It looked like this:
')
All elements were folded and unfolded, tasks on click expanded, showing more information and buttons to control them (to work, complete, etc.). Categories showed the number of completed tasks. The process of working with the program was simple: you create tasks, shove them into folders-categories, look at the list and note the completed tasks.
The advantage of the program was compactness: on a small screen, you can quickly assess the status of the entire project. But there was nowhere to see the list of “current” tasks, that is, the program did not answer the question “what should I do today?”. But still, this is how I saw the product. Well, that I did not have time to finish it.
Interface development
The first reasons for revising the concept I found myself. Categories seemed difficult, cumbersome and unnecessary, the program did not give what was needed. How did I even figure it out? I again began to look at existing analogues. He abandoned multi-tasks and categories, now tasks were displayed in a simple list. I added three buttons at the top of the column so that you can hide tasks of a certain status, for example, completed ones. Also added new columns: comments on the selected task, releases - a list of important tasks, a history of changes.
Now only the necessary tasks are always in sight. The program has become like a kind of joint desktop. She began to solve the problem of drawing up the nearest plans of the project, fully strengthened the user interface. There was no opportunity to look at the project from above, as it was before, but I do not think it was a big loss. The program has become usable, and I continued its implementation.
Unfortunately, at that time nobody used the tracker, even me. I just wrote it, invented something new and strange.
Reality test
The last job was a new small company engaged in one small but successful project. We had two artists, three programmers and a designer. As in any team, there was a process for the distribution of tasks. But they did it - it's funny to say - in google-tables. No one has used my tracker yet, and I suggested that the company use it for management. But he did not fit them, he did not at all meet the needs of the team. Then, working right inside the target audience of my project, I began to observe the internal processes, trying to understand what they needed.
Tasks were recorded in a google-table, where each person had his own column. Task lists were updated about once a week. It would seem that there was no functionality, why did they use it? And because it was very simple: clicked in the cell - entered the text of the task. Or selected and deleted. No popup windows, “ok” buttons, etc., just quick entry and display. And most importantly - just in one table, each person could see his personal column, and the “boss” saw the columns of all the others, and it was clear, clearly, who was doing what this week.
Of course, there were significant limitations in this version, but they all paid off by the fact that the most important and frequently used functions were performed in the simplest way. In order to “entice” customers, they needed to offer something even simpler and more convenient than google-tables.
As a result, I began to redo much, the generation of ideas began. Sometimes I drew something, explained and showed at work, received comments and moved on. The project began to develop much faster than before. Managers had more interest in viewing tasks for a single user across several projects, managing iterations and priorities. Other ideas came from personal experience in the company. They concerned the convenience of working in the tracker of the task performer. And the most unexpected experience came from the field of game development, it touched the user interface.
As a result, as it seems to me now, I managed to collect something interesting, something that could show tasks by performers, or tasks in terms of the degree of completion, and switching between these modes is very easy, you can even mix them up and come up with your own. mode. At the same time I tried to simplify the work with the program. What happens in the end - judge for yourself.
Conclusion
The time when I developed the tracker myself, of course, bore fruit, but more of a technical nature. The very basis of the product came during the observation of a group of potential users. But on the other hand, if I did not give time for the development of my own ideas, it would have been something completely different, maybe less interesting.
I still work in this team, constantly looking at how convenient my product is, sometimes I find myself thinking about what else needs to be added or changed. I think this is one of the best ways to develop a project.
Basement
At the moment, the project is in the development stage, the beta version is available here .
Thanks for attention.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/134604/
All Articles