Our version one has been a great success. We’ve learned a lot so far, and we’re continuing to learn new things as we put the finishing touches and polish up. One of the things we’ve learned is how to properly estimate reasonable delivery dates. Part of the learning process is taking a good long look at what we’ve done and what we have left to do, and letting go of things that aren’t high on our list of priorities. So apart from some v1.0.0 feature highlights, these things can be considered the “honorable mentions” of our v1.0.0 and we’re keen to keep them on our radar.
Network effects play a huge role in the success of most modern apps. One of the fundamental building blocks and indeed the vehicle for effective network effects is the ability to share the value that an app creates. Both organizers and users alike can share a queue with new users, who in turn can join queues and share them just as easily. Scan a QR code or input a join ID to queue up in seconds.
I always explain deferrals the same way; remember when you were a kid at the grocery store with you mom, and while waiting in line at the cashier she remembers that she forgot onions? So she rushes off to get them and tells you to hold the line. That nervous anticipation for her return and the awkwardness of having to let people behind you go ahead is exactly the thing we want to avoid. Deferrals allow users to specify additional time needed to get to the venue or simply because they want to take it easy. Our backend will automatically determine the best index to place you at and update your dashboard with new ETAs.
We’re trying to be careful with catering to the right audience, especially in the beginning stages of building this app. All businesses and organizations serve their patrons in different ways and therefore have different needs. From restaurants to conventions, from emergency rooms to amusement parks, lines are as ubiquitous as they are unique. For the beginning, we settled for some core queue customizations that our initial clients want.
Of course, organizers need a way to let their patrons know when their turn is coming up. Summoning a patron is an invitation for the user to start making their way to the venue to receive their service. Organizers can toggle this at any time in case they need more time to prepare for the patron’s arrival.
Simple email based sign ups and logins. To create a queue organizers will have to create an account. Long term having accounts will be useful for keeping a history of past queues and any other features that need to persist and be associated with an organizer. This feature would go hand in hand with the following feature:
From the beginning we wanted to keep Fiefoe as easy to use and frictionless as possible. This meant trimming as much fat from the experience as possible. We always say:
If it takes less effort to simply stand in line than it does to use this app, we need to make it easier.
We also wanted to keep the app as lightweight as possible from a data perspective. We don’t need your personal data right now and so we won’t ask for it. Combined with the fact that this is, again, just a v1.0.0, we opted to omit sign ups of anykind. But if in the future we want to do full data analytics/visualization and provide better support for prediction and automation, we’d need a more secure app. Speaking of which: