Building an open source project management tool, feedback on landing page?
Hey everyone, I just finished a landing page for Artemis (https://getartemis.app), an open source project management tool with some extra features that I would like to have but haven't fully found on other tools.
Given this landing page, would you sign up, or is there anything you would add/remove/change? Is it too simple?
Additionally, is there anything you're looking for in project management tools that you also haven't found yet?
Thanks everyone!
I think the landing page did a good job at teaching me about what the product roughly is. But to be fair, I think what's missing is convincing the reader.
The mention of automation made me expect some information later to sell me on it.
I assume it's the section "How are you different from XYZ?". Unfortunately, it did not do a good job at convincing me the slightest, in the sense that the presented capabilities are also present in Asana and Jira (I use them for automation personally).
The screenshot also didn't explain to me why should I adopt Artemis specifically. All I saw is a kanban board, which is pretty much standard in the industry by now.
I am sure that you have a more specific formula in mind, hence why you wrote Automation in the tagline, and I think your project and landing page could benefit from highlighting your differentiation even more.
Perhaps you could wrap your whole communication around one strong selling point of differentiation. Something like: "Artemis, the project management tool that <INSERT UNIQUE DIFFERENTIATION HERE>"
I hope I wasn't too harsh. All my remarks were made in good will.
I wish you the best for Artemis.
Thanks, that really helped. I want to present Artemis as a way to automate your entire workflow, using whatever (plaintext or GUI) tool you want to hook into it, like a master source of truth for your project. What do you mainly want out of a kanban board style tool when it comes to automation? And how do you use JIRA and Asana for automation currently?
I think that your proposition is fantastic!
It might be me, but I think that you could potentially pivot your project into a PM Rest API sort of thing.
Provide then two reference implementations for a API client. Maybe as a GUI like your current app, and a CLI.
You could even provide some piece of code to embed a project status report kind of widget directly in a website!
I hope I'm not too carried away, but the idea of a PM API haunted me for a long time and I think that it's close to what you're trying to achieve.
My use cases for JIRA and Asana are also involving Airtable.
I basically generate at work some reports and synchronize some data between the three systems. I also use the Asana API to synchronize work Asana with my Apple Reminders app in both ways.
I have bigger ambitions though. Please put me in the loop, I'd definitely happily be involved in your project if you want to!
Yeah having a CLI for people who want full control while also having a GUI for those who don't is basically what I want to do. Do you think there is currently more value in building a CLI and API first right now? Are there any specific features or use cases you want in the CLI based on what you told me about Asana and JIRA?
If you have time, I'd love to jump on a call and discuss this more.
I'll definitely keep you in the loop, have you subscribed to my email list? That might be the best way as I might forget in the future to keep you updated.
Edit: Also, have you seen https://taskwarrior.org? It's another open source project management CLI, do you think something like this is what you're looking for?
Hi Satvik,
I think there are many floating questions here.
It depends on your ambition and the business model you want to go with.
From my biased perspective (so take it with a grain of salt), if you want to focus on automation capabilities there are two main threads of doing it:
1- Going API first, so making your value prop "API-first" PM tool.
In this scenario, the clients (GUI and CLI) are less important than having a solid API with several usage examples. It could be good to provide a "reference" implementation of a client, to give users a point to start from.
In this scenario, I see a few use cases:
a- Targeting automated pipelines. For example, you would make it very easy to integrate with CIs, the way Atlassian's products integrate together, to show the build status of any task for example.
b- Augment 3rd party systems with PM functionality. Say for example, I want to build an email client with built in project management like functionality, or even to connect my email client with my PM tasks, to consolidate the communication thread with a customer for example relative to a task.
There are two ways to integrate in this situation:
The 3rd party solution has its own Project-like lifecycle. I might want to manage my emails in a kanban way for example, but not integrate with the current project management system.
I want to bridge my Project Management system with other software, to show data from one place in another. As of today there's only integrations such as Zapier or Unito which are not completely ideal (I've tried many and I always hit limitations).
c- Integrating in automated workflows.
Significantly overlapping with the previous market, I think of developers who are already automating parts of their workflows, such as asset building, git workflow and so on.
Having a good API would allow you to fit right in these situations.
(Shameless plug, I have made a visual CLI builder that's targeted at these scenarios. Let me know if you want to see/know more what it is about.)
d- Synchronization with other PM systems.
Some developers use systems such as Orgmode to manage their tasks, which is typically hard to sync with Jira and others.
You would allow to bridge these two worlds.
I also built automations to sync my work PM tool with my personal system to keep a consolidated view on my tasks.
All in all, option #1 gives you the opportunity to be a sort of Project Management Infrastructure instead of being yet another saas tool people need to use.
2- Focus on automation within the software itself.
Basically make it a sort of powerhouse that allows you to define some sort of logic or flows. This extension is exactly what I have in mind: https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1215460/automation-for-jira?hosting=cloud&tab=overview
You can also take a look at marketing automation tools to get an idea.
Some use cases for this approach could be defining notifications when some conditions are met, trigger builds for example when a release is moved to ready.
Another use case that is not entirely revolving around events and actions (when / then) is calculating custom reports.
Usual things like burndown, but also things like breakdown by project (which could be very useful for small agencies and software vendors), and mixing it with the approach above could result in a system to send weekly timesheets and status reports to customers.
It could also be used to automate creating tasks when some conditions are met, for example everytime a ticket is opened in a service desk, a customer email is received, a bug is reported, or some sensors reach a certain value (which would correspond to the scenario you show in your landing image)...
To conclude, I think the two approaches are not mutually exclusive, but I imagine you're a solo developer which would make even going with a single one of these two approaches pretty difficult.
So I would encourage you to experiment and iterate quickly. Also do not take my proposals at face value, but try to see if they overlap with your target market, and what you could integrate to your current vision if it makes sense from an economical perspective.
I imagine you could even try to make two landing pages (or more) under different brands, to test your assumptions.
In any way, you need something strong to differentiate, as the PM space is a bloody red ocean now, and imo that's what you need to focus at.
Open to bounce more ideas, my email is on my profile.
PS: I also just joined your waiting list. I'd be happy to try out the product if you have anything that remotely works, and provide you with feedback.
Best of luck!
Hi,
Its a good landing page. But still I find it less attractive. However information are good enough to get signups.
Hi, what do you find less attractive about it?
Hi,
No offense. Its my personal thought as a visitor to your landing page. I Don't like the color of the icons. You have added both blue & purple, which not soothing to an eye. And the first image, it feels like I am seeing an old site.
Its just what I feel.
Thanks
You're right, the blue and purple might be too annoying. I had it blue originally but then added purple. I'll tone it down.
What can I change about the first image to make it less old?
Hi Satvik,
I'm Junaid Ansari, co-founder at Draftss.com, which is an unlimited graphic design service on subscription model.
We've recently created a feature for founders to get constructive feedback on their side-projects/startups.
You can fill a form here: http://draftss.com/feedback.html
Just submitted, thanks!
First of all, nice work on the landing, I like it!
I have one nitpick that the first button does not feel like having a hover shadow effect (because of dark background I think) and the second does (on white background) so to me that feels weird.
Regarding project management software I always tried to look for something with a bit of Basecamp feeling (just open source/much cheaper). Anyway I would give Artemis a go once it's ready (ideally with online demo).
Hey thanks! I've just updated it again, would you mind taking a look? :)
I'm using a website builder (www.landen.co) so I don't think I can easily change the button styles but thanks for mentioning it.
Would it be possible to chat with you for a little while to understand more about what you want out of PM tools? IE just some basic user interviews.
I think that depends on company/team a lot. Now I will be a solo maker for upcoming months so everything I do is super simple. I mostly do todos (locally) and Trello (online) and I try different ways from time to time. I yet have to find a project management software I would actually like. I think the final looks and UI is very important for me.
What are the extra features you haven't found in other tools? I think it looks interesting from the landing page, but I don't quite see how it's different than the trellos-of-the-world. Maybe if you outline what Artemis is bringing to the table over those other tools I would better understand the value
Just updated again, would you mind taking a look? :)
Dang! Great changes, now I can definitely understand. Nice work
Thanks. Here's a list of features that I think differentiate me from competitors, let me know what you think:
Programmatic API control: other programs can hook into Artemis in order to add/remove/change tasks, such as Github if you're a programmer, or Mailchimp if you're a marketer, etc. Artemis can also change tasks based on other changes, so you can have task actions, ie if X is added or changed, alter task or epic Y.
Plaintext access: if you rely heavily on text, you can write notes and tasks in Markdown (or org-mode if you use Emacs) and Artemis will parse and present it as a GUI, so you don't have to leave your workflow
Agenda: you can add tasks to integrate with your calendar, and it will mark them as done as you get through your day. If you miss a task, the calendar will dynamically reschedule your tasks for you, so you can still complete them on time
Open source: it's free for any user to set up for themselves if they want to use it in their personal environment, and they can change it how they want to. I provide the hosting if not, through a SaaS model.
The differentiating factors are admittedly more geared towards programmers, but at least for the basic features, I think many people can use it. Is there anything else you want to comment on, or other features?