

Ask HN: Is there a need for a bug tracker for freelancers? - sdotsen

There are PLENTY of bug trackers out there, but I haven't come across one that caters to an individual freelancer. Github has a simple issue tracker but it's more for those who want to share their code. I'm thinking of creating something that a one-person (or one w/ a designer+developer) could use to interact with their clients (non software developers).<p>I understand a project management software might be better suited for those that juggle a handful of clients, but many of these software also contain a bunch of features that just get in your way.<p>I threw some HTML together just to see what it would look like. It's the only page I've made thus far.<p>www.echoio.com/issuebox.png
======
robflynn
I love the simple UI.

I don't know where you plan on heading with this, but there are a couple
things you could probably do with this, as well. As a part of your standard
"adding their project to the tracker" process, you could also register their
e-mail address(es).

You could then have your app listen for incoming e-mail messages in order to
auto create tickets, etc. I have always had a hard time getting clients (back
when I freelanced) to actually visit a bug tracking tool and input
information. It usually involved them e-mailing me and me manually adding the
bug.

Github integration (at the project level) would allow you to target your bugs
with commit messages and then see which code was committed to resolve each bug
(much like it works with github issues at the moment, but with your private
solution.)

Sorry for rambling. Caffeine.

------
rinrae
+1 for the simple design.

I'd say: You know very well what you need, so go ahead and create something
that fits your needs. You'll end up with a solution for yourself, and I'm
pretty sure there are people out there for whom this solution fits too.
(Unless, of course, this is primarily about creating and selling a product.)

By the way, despite there being PLENTY of bug trackers out there, most of the
people I talk to are not satisfied with the bug tracker they use.

~~~
wladimir
_By the way, despite there being PLENTY of bug trackers out there, most of the
people I talk to are not satisfied with the bug tracker they use._

I've noticed this as well. In general, there seem to be some kinds of tools
which are very personal. Issue trackers, TODO-lists, notebooks. I'm pretty
sure it is impossible to satisfy everyone with a single tool. Everyone wants
to optimize it for themselves.

In these cases I think a decent solution would be to make a general backend
service and well-defined data format (for interchangeability) but make it easy
to add customized (their own or third party) frontends/skins by individual
users.

~~~
rinrae
It _is_ impossible to satisfy everyone with a single tool. But still, I'd
expect some of them to satisfy some people.

Next time I meet somebody who's unhappy with their bug tracker, I'll ask if
customizing it would be an option for them.

------
massarog
Don't know if you have seen this or not: <http://bugherd.com> \-- I've been
using them to work with our developers. Really simple, just click anywhere on
the page where the bug is and input the problem.

~~~
sdotsen
I have, hwo does it work? Do you need to install something on the client's
website?

------
damoncali
I built <http://trackjumper.com> with freelancers in mind. The "features" that
make it work are unlimited projects for a freelancer-friendly price and a
"simple enough for clients" UI.

------
eschutte2
When I freelance, it's usually at places that already have their own bug
tracking, and I use theirs. Would this be for people working for clients who
aren't software developers?

EDIT: I like the simple design.

~~~
sdotsen
Correct, this wouldnt be for anyone who works in a large team or corporation.
I have a couple of friends who work exclusively with ordinary folks and small
businesses. Everything is communicated via email when it comes to feature
requests and bug tracking.

EDIT: Keeping it simple is the key. A ticket to me is either "urgent" or
"normal." Why should there be 4 priority levels, it never made sense to me.

~~~
eschutte2
I think it's a good idea.

It seems like you would be competing with things like Google Docs.

Even in my scenario I often have higher-level "stakeholders" reporting bugs to
me via email, skipping over their own bug tracking systems.

One challenge would be making it more appealing to those bug reporters than
using email. Maybe you can have it receive email and parse it into a bug? For
people who won't sign into a separate web app.

~~~
sdotsen
Yup! That was the first thing I thought of, how to make the process easy for
the clients.

------
sdotsen
Screenshot: <http://www.echoio.com/issuebox.png>

