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How the Beta is Causing Us Doubt and Are We Still in the Right Place?
Been on Trello since 2012 and a business user since 2015 so I'm used to the product changing, but I sometimes wonder (given the use case of our org) if in time we will still have a place here.
Trello seems to be increasingly aimed at large professional business and project management oriented teams. Yet, all we'd like to see is...
- strengthening of existing functionality
- more granular control of workspace management
- more control of presentation on shared boards
Trello ought to also think of organisations...
- who mainly work outward, sharing view-only boards with observers
- where not every workspace consists of a large streamlined in-house team
- whose main focus isn't fast in-house project planning
- where not every contracted member/observer isn't in workspace or tech-savvy
- where changing workspace-wide features impact not just admins or members
In this light, here's a couple examples that come to mind...
The switcher
It might still change, but as a core interface element it won't get a lot of personalization options. But even then, such options are never reflected in what external observers get to see. There are no settings for that.
In our user case, observers may simply get confused with the inbox and planner, the checkmarks, the card activity view etc.
But since it's a design element, instead of a board setting, we can't do anything about that.
A lot of interface designs ought really be a board setting.
The wide card view
I can see this working in fast-moving, high-activity collaborative environments, but I'm concerned it's gonna distract on a shared board where observers only need to see cards and their contents/attachments.
We would really love more granularity where admins get to decide.
Also, comments and activity are two very separate and very different things. In most cases, card viewers have no use for the latter at all.
More granularity in user roles.
Two tiers in spaces and three in boards often feels like it's not enough; or at least the tiers are sufficient, but not the available settings.
Boards do have additional settings, but often I feel forced to choose: do I risk switching some features for members, so I can switch others for observers?
Would like to see a lot more options there.
User management remains very limited.
I'd love more control over managing users...
- better adding features
- broader user profiles
- wider user rights control
The members section doesn't hold up on that front either.
Search
This is the big one!
Trello started upgrading the look-and-feel of search and I'm comfortable with the operators, but it remains really flawed.
For instance, I'd like to be able to search:
- in certain collections only
- in certain workspaces only
- not only for a range up to x-time ago, but also between two dates, multiple ranges...
- in card descriptions and simultaneously add a label operator
- maybe even fuzzy lookups because who remembers everything?
- maybe even label management features; use the Trello AI there
- and also, I'd like to rename my searches into something recognizable
- ...
Additionally...
- board filters have similar issues
- automations are hard to keep track of
- cohesive label management is still missing
And more generally, how long have pages like /w/workspace/home and /w/workspace existed next to each other but for what reason really?
Generally then, I feel like a lot of workspace management tools
- are dispersed across the environment
- have an unfinished touch to them
- often appear to overlap or underperform
- have little options or features
- and are not always up to scratch
When you see feature after feature rolled-out, but core functionality remains unchanged, that feels awkward and tiring.
Conclusion
Surely we can't be the only customers who think all of the above might be of value?
The only ones who see these little shortcomings and inconsistencies and wonder when will those ever be improved?
Hope the intent here is clear: we all love Trello here and we're always excited for new updates. But this particular overhaul finally made it clear how some very obviously basic stuff has not been addressed for ages in favor of GTD features and cosmetics.
With what's being added today, we're starting to feel we may not be in the right place anymore and is Trello becoming too big for us, or simply not right anymore?
All the best with the current updates to the team!
And maybe we'll have some of our questions be addressed later.
PS if anyone wonders where this comes from, I posted about our use case here: Who uses Trello different from its intended use? What's your experience?
1 comment
Well, that's the thing
they are personal features, they can close Inbox and Planner...
I'm not sure whether at first launch those were open or not but he fact the switcher is there and is gonna be highlighted means people are going to find a way to get into trouble.
Regardless if they can close or open or collapse or hide it, they're not gonna see that. And precisely the fact that they're personal settings means they might have things open or closed or collapsed or hidden and not find their way back.
This was just to say: not even I am a fan, but I'll survive. But every minor interface change over the past decade has caused confusion so this one surely will, is all.
I have comments panel closed
Here I'm sure at first launch the card view opened in wide view with comments and activity open. So of course, when I close mine it's gone, but they certainly won't be able to discern between the rocket, the lightning flash and the comment bubble.
I'm also sure the old interface had activity default to collapsed, with an option to 'show details', but that too was something I remarked: comments along with activity has always struck me as incompatible.
I don't mind the design changes or the new features. I just find them one-sided and overly present at times. And I'm not saying Trello has to consider all the options, but it'd be nice if the admin could decide.
Just think of the "Complete Status" on card covers a while back; you hover over a card and suddenly it jitters to the side and a circle pops up and I've had people inadvertently check cards from the back that shouldn't even have a complete or incomplete status--but it's a forced feature and I can't turn it off.
See, I only mentioned these examples as a intro to how Trello increasingly seems to assume everyone has these fully functional workspace collaborators entirely embedded in tech and business-driven high-activity pro-teams. And sure, they probably use check lists and check boxes and targets and deadlines and overdue reminders and activity replies--we don't.
But I'm willing to wager this is normal: if you're in a development team for a company like Atlassian, you're gonna build a product for people who work in companies like Atlassian. And you might forget there are millions of people in completely different environments also using Trello and trying to 'hack' themselves over these misalignments.
We've always been very happy with Trello or we wouldn't have stuck around since 2012. But we'd love to see some care for the twenty-something other concerns I listed here.