Datadeeds
Automate tasks with data warehouse query results
I've hardly done anything with my Datadeeds project, but what I've done recently will help me do more in the future. That's putting together a useful README file that helps me get up to speed on what needs to get done.
Here's my general outline. Interested to hear if others have good additions/ideas!
- Project environment setup steps
Including what version of nodejs to install, basic steps to install java (got a new laptop after all), the commands to set up a firebase environment
- Commands for running and deploying code
Pretty self explanatory, but the specific commands are good to know as they can be customized and as a project matures, you might expect it to.
- Written overview of the architecture
My project is a serverless firebase project, so my key functions are in functions/index.js but they are tightly related to functions in the frontend as well. Having a high level flow of how things work written out has been nice
- A TODO list
Mine is in an outline format where the first level is more or less a feature, the subpoints are components, and the sub-sub points are technical details that can jog my memory and let me get into picking up a task quickly.
- A Scope Definition / Design Decisions
My todo list already contains what I WILL-DO but I put specific call-outs to WONT DOs in this section. This helps me avoid scope creep and stay focused. There are so many ways a todo can expand and keeping it light and tight is the only way I'll ever get this thing launched
So there you have it! My own project README has all these things and is now super useful to me. I can feel totally comfortable not working on this for days or weeks at a time, knowing I can pick it back up without being totally lost.
Today I launched my public landing page! You can now to go https://www.datadeeds.co to see the project and a short blurb about the value proposition. You can also sign up for my mailchimp mailing list there.
I'm sure I spent too much time on it and didn't produce a high quality site, but it's what I was able to do with the skills I have today in the time I wanted to spend. There are too many tools out there to choose one and I didn't want to spend money on it, so custom HTML and CSS here we are.
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I like your landing page, it is visually appealing!
Above the fold, I would expect to find a clear statement about Datadeeds and its benefit(s) for me as a potential customer. How does using the product improve my workflow?
For that matter, I wouldn't talk about a "source of truth" since that assumes it is a database (warehouse), which may not align with the reality of a potential customer causing false expectations.
Finally, since there is already a fixed header, I would remove the footer which is just a replication of the header anyways.
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Thanks for the advice! A good intro pitch is something I still need to figure out. In this iteration, I was trying hard to avoid fluffy buzzwords, but perhaps the description is too feature-y and needs some clearer benefits identified. Good tips on the copy & layout!
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Congrats on the landing page.
What I am missing: Who is your target group? And what are alternatives?-
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Good feedback. I heard that from someone else too. I think I need to add some showcasing of example use cases. It's a generic tool that can apply to any department, but probably there are a few I can hone in on to start.
Contrasting benefits of Datadeeds with existing alternatives is another good idea. Thank you! The alts btw are Zapier & scripts built by engineering (AFAIK).
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After months and months of telling myself "I should just do something", I finally started a new project, Datadeeds, in the last weekend of August this year. It's been almost 3 weeks now and already I've made some major mistakes and had some great fortune as well. Here's a quick list of the top things that come to mind:
FORTUNES
- Built a support network
I started this project along with 7 friends who started their own projects at the same time. We have a discord group where we share our updates and encourage each other.
- Followed my experience
Datadeeds takes learnings from the industry I've been working in for a few years. It really helps to discover some opportune areas!
- Created a landing page
Getting something out there is important. This helps, but probably I didn't even need it to get started.
- Used Firebase & Serverless Design
In terms of technical implementation, I couldn't be happier with the tools I'm using. Firebase has terrific SDKs and out-of-the-box handling of all kinds of stuff like authentication. Serverless is also really great because a lot of the tools I'm using are fully-managed, giving me more time to focus on the core functionality.
- Posted on indiehackers
This is my first post for this project, but I have faith that keeping up with it will keep me on track. I also joined yc's startup school, but didn't participate much. I will try again next cycle!
MISTAKES
- Started with code
I had an idea and I felt excited that I might be successful in my attempts to build it. I was so blinded by this excitement that I spent 2 weeks building the app without any effort at all to talk to potential customers
- Overbuilt the website
Even once I decided to stop working on the app and start talking to customers, I still spent more time than necessary on the website. Really just need a business card amount of information and the rest can be conversational with a human offline or in messaging.
- Bought the wrong domain name
I bought dadadeeds.co by accident at first. Oops.
- Picked an idea I probably can't use
I don't know what the future holds, but at my work, this kind of tool would be a process to adopt. We have 1000 employees and all kinds of requirements. I'll probably need to sell to smaller businesses first and they may have different needs.
- Started with code
I listed this as number 1 right? It's really numbers 1-5. A solution in search of a problem is going to find problems but not the ones you want. I think it's almost always advisable to start with a human who wants something then build it for them.
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Great job! It's always helpful to have a support network when working on something new. I couldn't scale any of my projects without my network!
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