Cribs

In this post I will tell you about the past, present and future of the project, which I do. In particular, I will tell you about my mistakes when launching a project.

My last record caused some resonance, so this project may seem interesting to someone.
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The purpose of this post is not so much to attract users, as to get feedback - criticism and advice.

Background of the project - a series of errors

The last six months I have been working on one project, in September I tried to launch the VKontakte application - “Schedule”. Even PR already.
But the project did not start, and I learned a number of lessons from what is happening:

• Social network users are not at all interested in useful applications. Those. To gain from Vkontakte try units. Tone was right, foreshadowing trouble . On facebook, by the way, the same situation.
• You can't release buggy versions - first you need to check everything and be sure that what is running is not buggy. The “version 1 sucks, but ship it anyway” approach should be used wisely.
• The second disadvantage of the “version 1 sucks, but ship it anyway” approach is competition. Ideas are stolen, moreover. After launch, within a month, two applications appeared with the same essence.
• Fast and cheap promotion in a social network is not always possible and you have to play with it carefully. In particular, the attempt to unwind before the approval of the application led to the fact that there were competitors, and I wasted a lot of effort. (On VKontakte, applications must be moderated in order to get access to tasty social chips that help unwind. So, before this happy moment, I shouldn't have to say anything about my project anywhere.) plan you can not rely on them.
• Do not solve problems before they appear. In particular, I was counting on high server load and before launching I killed a lot of time to create buggy data packaging methods. I have lost a lot of time, but there have not been high loads so far.

However, surprisingly, the project continued to evolve.

What kind of service is available now.

In November, I thought that the online schedule itself solves imaginary problems and no one really needs it, but the interaction within the group is still often solved by clumsy means.

Therefore, I took up a tool that will help solve the problems that arise during the preparation for the exams. I focused on the scheme that we practiced near the end of training.

The result was the following:

1. There is a central database of educational institutions, the user chooses his academic group when he first enters, he can also choose one of his friends to join his group
2. Each group has its own exam schedule. At the same time, several groups off the course can be subscribed to the same subject, so the discussion will be conducted by all who pass the subject.
3. On the subject page are available - discussion, file sharing, a list of tickets and the preparation of cheat sheets

When developing functions, I tried to follow two rules:

1. Each tool should solve its problem better than those used by students now.
2. Each block of functions should be as simple as possible for perception, but not to the detriment of functionality.

What are the benefits to realize in the end:

• Discussion. The most convenient tool at the moment for exam discussions is forums. But they usually have two drawbacks: they are visually overloaded, it is difficult to separate useful messages from the flame.
  As a result, I removed all the formatting and placement tools for emoticons, and instead made 4 types of messages: just a message, a note, important information, a task. Notifications to subscribers come only upon receipt of important messages or notes, besides this, it is easy to look for what you need in the message feed visually.
  
  
• File sharing Public file sharing is usually used. Their disadvantages are: it is not always clear from the file name that you are going to download, advertising, waiting before downloading (sometimes), captcha. Instead, all this is offered a structured file storage with reference to the subject - on this page all the files that need to be downloaded are collected, the files contain a description. The link to the files can be thrown to those who are not VKontakte.
• List of tickets It is best for the collective search for answers suitable guglodoki. What am I opposing them? Answers are stored in a certain structure and are tied to tickets, this provides ample opportunities for the preparation of cheat sheets, which the Google Rogue cannot yet provide
• Cribs Here begins the most delicious and unique thing in the project!
  
  • Print What is opposed to text editors?
    • Several cheat sheets with scribing markers are printed on one sheet.
    • The font size can be adapted to your view - all fonts are tested and accompanied by tips (for example, the 3rd font is barely readable, the 4th is for good vision only, the 5th is optimal, the 12th is for subway training)
    • You can choose different sizes of cribs
    • The fields inside the cheat sheets can be specified manually - depending on the curvature of the hands - the text will not be affected when cutting
    • Each ticket starts with a new cheat sheet, each sheet contains footers with numbering - in order to search for the necessary spurs - no need to look at the text - just find the numbers you need
  • Mobile access Now alternative solutions - manually create web pages, or download material directly to phones. This is not very convenient and every time you have to adapt everything for a small screen. What is offered by the application:
    • Naturally, no extra layout - traffic is optimized, font size is redeemed to the browser
    • There is a reference navigation in the list of issues
    • Implemented search from a numeric keypad, which can be used blindly. Lack of phones - inconvenient keyboard - turned into advantage

Future plans

The launch on VKontakte has not yet justified itself - it is very difficult to turn on users' brains when they are on this social network. Not at all of course, but at a greater number.

The application will be moved to its own domain, access via OpenID will be implemented.

Printing cribs will be a very secondary function - the focus will be on the interaction of students, on the organization of the educational process in the semester.

I have already spent half a year on this, so I would stop and quit everything, I would hurt - I am stubborn - first I will finish the job, and then see what happens.

Now I am looking for students who will be interested to participate in the project.
Participate how? I basically do not have enough quality feedback from students - what I like, what not, what functions are needed, what is not clear in the interface. Any other help is also welcome.

What can I offer in return?
While the project is not monetized - the opportunity to get the implementation of their own ideas in the framework of this project - if the ideas are good.

I will also consider any suggestions from all people or organizations who are somehow interested in the project. Well, anyone who wants to read the continuation of this story after some time, if it does not contradict their moral standards, can support the project by adding an application (if you don’t need it, you can hold it for a couple of days, then delete it).

Well, a couple of questions to the readers:
1. What is bad in the project, what can be improved?
2. What needs to be done for you personally to start using it (or would you start being students)?

Project here

UPD: On the advice of KF_NEXUS - the background in the application can now be turned off, the settings are saved