Ask IH: Would programmers find developer checklists useful?
Hey Indiehackers,
I recently launched an app that allows users to create developer checklists (BetterBase - www.betterbase.io). How it works: a user can create a project (either based on a feature or branch they're working on) and assign it rules (i.e. remember to add analytics, structure code a certain way, don't forget to check it in IE, etc.).
I'm really just trying to get an honest idea on whether people would find something like this useful (?). I've been a programmer for a few years now with a few different companies. I've noticed is that there's a lot of repetitiveness during the process of building new features. I often find myself doing a lot of the same boilerplate setup and QA'ing. I thought that this app might help to reduce any bugs that slip through while developing. So not necessarily promoting this app, but just wanted to get an idea on whether folks feel like this is problem that needs solving for them (?).
Any and all feedback (good or bad) would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
In a place that I worked in the past, we integrated these checklists into the github pull request flow, so that might be worth looking into also. It was good because we didn't forget to use the checklist.
Hey @dace , neat idea. I've seen a few other developers so something similar.
1.Is there a reason why you decided to do this as an application? I've seen developers do this in Github or just provide the to do lists in a PDF or Google sheet format which can be copied over.
2.The price as Michal suggests is a bit too steep.
3.You might be better off targeting project managers rather than developers. Project managers are directly responsible to the account manager/agency management/client so they would like to make sure all tasks are done and handed in the best way possible.
4.Maybe make it as a tool which can be integrated into Github, Jira, Asana and Trello.
5.Rather than asking the developer to add the list, why not provided a set of pre written tasks so that the PM or developer can add the tasks from the list.
6.It's also likely the developer/project manager will make the list at the start of the project but forget it so maybe a remainder function for each task set would be nice so the dev/pm gets a slack or email notification during the stage of the project when the task needs to be done.
Hope this helps.
I see where you're going with this. Some companies even publish their checklists on GitHub, which I find a nice way of knowledge and experience sharing. I think the price is a bit steep for your current offer. It's not clear to me if the service provides more, than lists I could replace with org-mode or TODO style checklist in Code (other than "repetitive tasks" your landing page mentions). I don't have an idea yet, but feel perhaps some integrations could be a nice addition (think Trello/Asana/etc or GitLab/GitHub/etc), which could pair items in the checklist with tasks/issues. That's all I have for you right now, good luck :). I like your landing page, it's clean (and doesn't matter at all if you bought a template or done it all yourself :) ).
That kind of thing should go inside Trello, Asana or whatever your task manager is.
Also, when I see boilerplate, I try to either generate it or automate it away entirely. That's the one of the primary reasons to use a computer at all!