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Developing First Software, Need Your Opinion

by digimix
7 replies
Thank God for the warrior forum. I think the idea sharing experience here has been amazing. Without the help of mentors like Jan Roos and others, I would not have been able to make much money online. I am now developing a software that would do all the heavy research for the selection of the best amazon products to promote. I know there is already at least one such product on the market. But mine will have so much more features and be a whole lot more user friendly. I would like your feedback or ideas of what you would expect or love to see in such a software. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
#developing #opinion #software
  • Profile picture of the author Oscar The Horse
    it's best to start with a Minimum Viable Product, then get feedback, and iterate from there.

    sometimes people don't want more features. think about microsoft word. are you aching for more features? no. it already has everything people need or want (maybe too much).

    and usability is the same. sometimes, software just doesn't need to be more usable... it already does a good enough job.

    having better software doesn't always result in more sales. if people's needs are already being meet then they aren't going to swap for a 20%, or whatever, improvement.

    starting with the minimum features -- and doing those really well -- is more effective. it also helps you craft better marketing materials; you can create a razor-sharp value proposition.
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    • Profile picture of the author digimix
      Thanks for that. I am first doing this software for myself as there are many things I would like to make simpler in my own selection of products and the the other features I mentioned are things I know a lot of people get stuck on like choosing the right domain name for the niche or product. I just figure if I can make the whole thing a lot easier then even newbies might get a better start.
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    • Profile picture of the author Steven Fullman
      Hi Oscar (cool nick ),

      I agree to a point...however...

      Originally Posted by Oscar The Horse View Post


      sometimes people don't want more features. think about microsoft word. are you aching for more features? no. it already has everything people need or want (maybe too much).
      Then why do MS continue to make $billions/year selling the Office suite?

      Originally Posted by Oscar The Horse View Post

      having better software doesn't always result in more sales. if people's needs are already being meet then they aren't going to swap for a 20%, or whatever, improvement.
      Then why do millions of people buy Office upgrades every year?

      My gut feeling is...because MS Office is best of breed. MS listen to the feedback, the feature requests, and they strive to continually improve their product.

      If they'd have followed your thinking, everyone would still be using Word 95.

      Digimix -- as a developer myself, I wish you the very best of luck. If you need another mind to bounce ideas around with, feel free to drop me a line. I'm not really 'into' Amazon stuff, but have spent a huge chunk of time working with soap/rest web services.

      Where I agree with Oscar is -- your product doesn't have to be feature-complete at launch. Feature-'good-enough' is ...well, good enough.

      Your buyers will soon tell you which 'missing' features are important enough to include in the next version.

      Cheers,
      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author tim_buchalka
    As someone who developed software for 20 years, I found people were usually not really structured in what they wanted. In other words they did not spend enough time to figure out what they really wanted the software to do.

    So take the time to write down your thoughts of what it should and should not do, etc.

    This planning should be in written form to make it un-ambiguous to all parties (you and the developer).

    Most people think they do not need this step, and as a result costs blowup because there is no clear plan.

    In terms of functionality choose a base set of functionality and make that the initial release - Do not keep on adding features as this will just delay the launch. Introducing new features after a launch is the way to go.

    Best of luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author RichardDean
    while your making it Mmake two

    Lite ver that either you can give away free or sell for cheap... with links to the full ver.

    Make the lite ver brandable also so more people will want to sell it or give it away, what ever way you want to go with.

    Full ver that has all the features that they buy either from the start or from the links in the lite ver.

    Hope that helps

    Richard
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    • Profile picture of the author digimix
      Thank you guys for your input, as I said I just love the sharing of ideas. I think I learn so much every post I read here. Steve , I will take you up on the offer. RichardDean, I love your idea of doing 2 versions and will probably will do that if it does not cost me too much more. Venkat001 my UI will definitely be VERY different from the existing one. Tim, that is the first thing I have done and still doing (writing clearly all that I have in mind for this project). And Oscar, I will try to keep it as simple as it needs to be. Thanks again.
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  • Profile picture of the author Venkat001
    I don't think one has to stop if there is any product in the market in the same category.
    If you develop good product there is always lot of scope in the market.
    People always look for the novelty and assurance and if you can do that then work on your ideas.

    Please note that do not try to build or make your software look like the already existing ones (might be UI design, internal logic design etc.) because it will put your product off the market.

    All the Best
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