I’ve been building an online bookmarking and note-taking tool called “kakitsuke” on my own.
The major features are more or less finished. So I decided to call the next stage a closed alpha and invite a few people to try it.
That’s the plan, anyway. Somehow, it never quite starts.
The reason is simple.
I can’t finish the final check.
A Final Check That Turns Into More Development
With the features mostly done, I try using the app as an actual user would.
And suddenly, all kinds of things bother me.
This part is awkward. That action takes too much effort. And the interface looks kind of lame.
Actually, it really does seem lame.
So I fix what bothers me, then try the app again.
And find something else.
I’ve repeated this enough times that I’m now about a month and a half behind my original schedule.
A month and a half.
What am I doing?
My Pride Is Getting in the Way
If I analyze myself without being charitable, I think my ego has gotten rather inflated.
“I can’t show people something at this level!”
That’s how I feel.
When I browse the internet, I see products made by other independent developers. And they all look so polished.
Their designs look refined, they seem easy to use, and they look like proper products.
Then I look at my own.
Kind of lame.
Of course, I’m comparing their publicly presented products with something whose every rough edge I know because I’m still building it. I understand that the comparison isn’t fair.
But knowing that doesn’t make those rough edges stop bothering me.
Apparently, showing something I’ve made to other people is harder than I expected.
What Was I Supposed to Be Testing?
Now here’s the problem.
What did I want to learn from this closed alpha in the first place?
The hypothesis behind kakitsuke is: “Is an online bookmarking and note-taking tool that automatically organizes information with AI actually useful?”
You save information, AI organizes it for you, and ideally you find it convenient enough to keep using. That’s what I want to find out.
But at some point, my attention shifts to completely different questions.
“Is this a high-quality bookmarking tool?”
“Is this a high-quality note-taking tool?”
Of course those things matter too.
If it’s too hard to use, people may never even reach the feature whose value I’m trying to test.
Still, if I start competing with established bookmarking and note-taking tools on overall quality, how far do I have to go?
Surely I don’t need to settle all of that before starting a closed alpha.
Isn’t the whole point of a closed alpha to have people try it and discover problems?
I’m trying to fix every problem before letting anyone find one.
Something is wrong here.
I Know, and Yet I Keep Checking
Put into words like this, the problem is obvious.
I know what hypothesis I want to test. The main features are ready. A closed alpha doesn’t need to be a finished product.
And yet, I’m still doing the final check.
It just never ends.
This is bad.
No, this is really bad.
The worst part is that each round of checking probably does make the product a little better. That’s what makes this so troublesome.
I can’t even say the work is entirely wasted.
But none of it gets me any more feedback from actual users.
I want other people to evaluate the product I’ve made, and somehow I can’t bring myself to take the step that would let them do that.
What a mess.
So I’ve decided to send out the closed-alpha invitations next week.
Even if the final check isn’t finished.
Well, I imagine I’ll find something else that bothers me next week, too.
Looking for Alpha Testers
Speaking of kakitsuke, I’m looking for people willing to help with the closed alpha.
I’d love to hear your candid thoughts after trying it: what was useful, what was inconvenient, or even whether you couldn’t figure out what to use it for in the first place.
If you’re interested, please get in touch on X at @ayasuda_jp.
Pretty please.