

Ask HN: Death by design, poor on-boarding or do we just smell? - TheRealLogic

We’d like to get some unbiased feedback (I know – there is no such thing) for our product – http://www.birdviewprojects.com<p>Our goal was to create an alternative to the typical entry-level project management systems like Basecamp, activeCollab, Smartsheet, etc.<p>We wanted our product to have a fresher approach: not your typical hierarchy or table view. So we spent over 2 years creating some really sophisticated features and UI elements.<p>However we’re not able to get any significant traction yet. So where do you think we went wrong: do we have too many features or too few? Is our interface an overkill? Do you think that a better on-boarding can help or we have to do something more dramatic?<p>Any feedback from our fellow startup’ers or just anyone with an opinion on this topic would be much appreciated!
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jefflinwood
This looks way too complicated. The birds eye view might be your main feature,
but it's visually unattractive, and very cluttered.

It looks like you have all the bones of a great app, but you need a great
graphic design and a great user experience architect to take it to the next
level.

I tried out your app, which was a nice touch, but it's not nearly as polished
as BaseCamp. Even something as simple as a task view in Bird View Projects is
completely confusing. Do I turn on the alert checkbox? Add a subtask? What is
the difference between the clock and the $?

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TheRealLogic
I think you're right. Because we're so close to the app, we know exactly what
each icon means and how it should be used. And once someone gets past the
learning curve, everything starts making sense, however I guess we're losing a
lot of people who don't want to spend any time trying to guess what different
elements are for.

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staunch
Just an idea:

Figure out a single use-case you want to be The Best at (planning weddings, or
whatever).

Delete (or at least hide) everything except the absolute bare minimum
featureset necessary to be The Best at that.

Make the claim on your home page: The Best way to plan your wedding (or
whatever).

Have a Weebly-simple sign up process (sign up form on home page). Let people
dive in and get hooked ASAP.

Iterate based on feedback. Make 100 customers love you. Expand outside your
niche if necessary.

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jiggity
I would focus on just one aspect that you do uniquely well.

Take Rapportive's landing page: <http://rapportive.com>. They provide much,
much more than just Twitter / Facebook widgets but they purposely restrict
what they show. As a potential user, I see that one feature and decide it is
cool enough for me to install.

Providing a single, simple, salient advantage I've found works much better
than trying to market your solution as the all-in-one Swiss army knife.

What is the one cool feature that you feel differentiates your product?

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TheRealLogic
If I had to choose only one feature, I'd choose our Bird's-Eye View, that
shows you all your projects with key info and allows you to quickly spot
problematic areas.

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PonyGumbo
FYI - "Click, close your eyes and count to ten" was actually closer to fifty
on the first load. I went back and clicked the button again, and it only took
about seven seconds. Just thought you should be aware.

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TheRealLogic
Thanks! We'll definitely check and fix this.

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kristenlee
Intimidating...that's how I would best describe the look of your application.
I'm guessing potential customers see a long learning curve ahead and want
nothing to do with it. This "intimidation factor" conflicts with your stated
goal of creating an alternative "entry-level" project management system.
Furthermore two years is way too long to be developing any type of CRUD app.

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TheRealLogic
Do you think that some on-boarding tutorials can help fix this "intimidation
factor" or we need to simplify the UI?

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kristenlee
I think jiggity said it best, restrict what you show on the homepage and show
all the details on another page, that small change is a surefire way to get
users further down the sales funnel.

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revorad
You've clearly done a lot of work and in the video I noticed some features
which might actually be really useful. But will they be worth me taking the
time to try out yet another project management system? I don't know, you
didn't convince me enough.

What's the one reason I should use your software? You need to communicate that
well.

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TheRealLogic
OK, so concentrate more on benefits - makes sense.

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tstegart
I would second this. Also, have you thought about doing some case study
testimonials? They're often an effective marketing technique to give people an
idea on how your product will help them.

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TheRealLogic
Well, it's Catch 22. You need a volume of users to do a good case study and
you need a case study to increase the number of users...

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tstegart
Right, but a testimonial still works as a marketing tool. Surely you have one
user who loves your product and will say good things about it? Put that user
up on your site and show people how useful your product can be to them.

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andrewhillman
I see some useful features but I think you should simplify it. Just too many
features and too much going on. I saw #TaskView. and got overwhelmed. Get that
video down to less than 2 min.

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creativeone
have you tried google adwords?

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TheRealLogic
It's a very competitive space (CPC are quite high) and because of our small
plan fees google ads won't be a feasible option.

