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Review My App: Zen

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Review My App: Zen

#31

Post by nkohari »

darkxanthos wrote: post #27
nkohari wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, several people have mentioned the bug. I'm working to fix it now, although I probably won't push again until after EOB today. The size field is free-form... most people use it either with "t-shirt sizing" (small, medium, large) or just put a numeric value in. Eventually it will be used in performance metrics, so you can see your cycle time for "large" stories, for example.

Awesome thanks! Also, if I mark a task as blocked and then throw it in the backlog the task is no longer red. Am I just doing it wrong or is this a bug?

That's actually as-designed. If you block a story, it means you can't move it... so if you move it, the app figures you fixed what was wrong. :)

Re: Review My App: Zen

#33

Post by wheels »

mhartl wrote: post #28
wheels wrote: post #17

On the landing page the headers don't actually say much – the real lines are underneath, which I didn't read while skimming. Instead of: "Enhances visibility and communication" -> "Make it easy to understand the status of your project at a glance" "Simple and flexible" doesn't really have any meat in it. See Kawasaki's opposite rule – your competition doesn't describe their product as "Complicated and rigid." "Easy t…

See Kawasaki's opposite rule Do you have a reference for this? As of this writing, the first Google hit for "Kawasaki's opposite rule" is the parent comment. :-)

Sorry, "opposite test" was the google-able phrase.

"Apply the opposite test. How many times have you read a product description like this? “Our software is scalable, secure, easy-to-use, and fast?” Companies use these adjectives as if no other company claims its product is scalable, secure, easy-to-use, and fast. See if your competition uses the antonyms of the adjectives that you use to describe your product. If it doesn't, your description is useless. For example, I've never seen a company say that its product was limited, full of leaks, hard-to-use, and slow."

http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/01/the_art_of_bran.html

Re: Review My App: Zen

#34

Post by tdoggette »

midnightmonster wrote: post #11
scott_s wrote: post #4

Using the phrase "crush the competition" seems to go against the rest of your site - calling the product "Zen," the bonsai tree, and the logo. At the least, it's a jarring contrast that distracts me from your product.

Pretty sure the contrast is on purpose, for humorous effect. It's just not very funny.

I actually thought it was great copy. It communicates the benefits of the product, then makes it more likable and memorable.

I also thought it was funny.

Re: Review My App: Zen

#35

Post by zackattack »

Where's your feature list? I want to know if there's to-do, task assignment, email notification, time tracking, and a Wiki. :)

I would cut down with the japanese/zen "motif." This isn't a Las vegas casino, it's a web app. I don't want the joy of slowly unraveling your Internet Mystery, I want an obvious and functional and minimalist (zen!) application that Gets Things Done.

I like your color scheme

Re: Review My App: Zen

#36

Post by blinks »

foulmouthboy wrote: post #24
nkohari wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While the concept of the brand is definitely a reference to Zen Buddhism, the name actually comes from the japanese word "kaizen" -- which is used in lean processes to mean "continuous improvement". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaizen

You might want to make that explicit in the copy.

See the last paragraph, here: http://agilezen.com/features/supports-lean

Re: Review My App: Zen

#37

Post by darkxanthos »

nkohari wrote: post #31
darkxanthos wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Awesome thanks! Also, if I mark a task as blocked and then throw it in the backlog the task is no longer red. Am I just doing it wrong or is this a bug?

That's actually as-designed. If you block a story, it means you can't move it... so if you move it, the app figures you fixed what was wrong. :)

ohhh ok. Good to know thanks!

Re: Review My App: Zen

#38

Post by darkxanthos »

nkohari wrote: post #31
darkxanthos wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Awesome thanks! Also, if I mark a task as blocked and then throw it in the backlog the task is no longer red. Am I just doing it wrong or is this a bug?

That's actually as-designed. If you block a story, it means you can't move it... so if you move it, the app figures you fixed what was wrong. :)

Also, if you type in the blocked description and then click in that same description field it erases your text. :( I lost stuff. It's best for me if it just highlighted all text. I'm using Chrome.

Re: Review My App: Zen

#39

Post by mhartl »

wheels wrote: post #33
mhartl wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See Kawasaki's opposite rule Do you have a reference for this? As of this writing, the first Google hit for "Kawasaki's opposite rule" is the parent comment. :-)

Sorry, "opposite test" was the google-able phrase. " Apply the opposite test. How many times have you read a product description like this? “Our software is scalable, secure, easy-to-use, and fast?” Companies use these adjectives as if no other company claims its product is scalable, secure, easy-to-use, and fast. See if your competition uses the antonyms of the adjectives that you use to describe your product. If it…

Thanks!
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