Why We're Building Yet Another Task Management Platform

Take a minute and think about what you do each day…

You wake up, prepare for the day ahead, feed the kids, drop them off at school or get them on the bus, and you head off to work.

Sure, that’s life.

Now, think about your work day.

How many different tools do you use to do your job?

I’m willing to bet it’s more than what you really need…

This, my friends, overcomplicates things.

Sure, life and work are complicated, but using multiple tools to help you keep track of projects, tasks, and team members just further complicates things rather than makes your job easier.

In this article, I’m going to tell you my own story about how we used multiple different tools, and how we found a much better way to make our jobs—and lives—easier.

The Problems with PM Software

We generally believe that project management is over complicated.

And it’s really our (humans) own fault.

We make it more complicated than what it needs to be, and sometimes the process and frameworks get in the way of actually gettings things done.

Here are some reasons why…

1. Complexity Kills. In reality, highly-customizable software—which is supposed to help make our jobs easier—really makes things more complex.

The more control you have over something, the more likely it will be overwhelming. As a result, software is harder to adopt and implement, learn, and use. Complexity then ultimately kills productivity.

2. Big and Bloated. Take a look at some of the mainstream project management apps available on the market today. A handful have been in business for some time, building and improving their features over the years.

And you know what? Those “easy to use”, well-designed platforms are pretty bloated. They are designed with a wide array of features and functionalities, making them more difficult to learn.

3. Tired of Training. Furthermore, those systems that require a bigger learning curve also require significant configuration and setup time.

Not only does this eat up your technical resources, you then need to worry about training your staff. Getting everyone on the same page, using the same platform, and understand what they can or can’t do, and what they need to do every day in the same is exhausting.

If the Shoe Doesn’t Fit… Do You MAKE It Fit?

Let’s say you walk into your favorite shoe store.

The sneakers you want to buy aren’t in your size, but there is a pair that is a size larger, and another pair that is a size smaller.

You are bummed they don’t have your size, but you really want those sneakers…

You end up grabbing the box with the smaller size.

Sure, they will probably be a bit tight at first, your toes will feel cramped, but after you break them in, they will probably fit more comfortably.

Sounds crazy, right?

Many companies end up adopting PM tools and software to “fit” the same way.

Many PM tools end up “shoehorning” you into the way they want you to work, rather than the way you should work.

Right?

This ends up creating another challenge.

Now you have to figure out how the tools want you to work, and then get your entire team to adapt.

But shouldn’t this be the other way around?

I have seen the situation above happen more times than I can count.

And I think that has created a gap in the market.

Many users and teams struggle to find an easy-to-use system to get started and organized.

Why Did We Build Rindle?

Not all of our customers are project managers by trade.

Most don’t live and breathe the “PM stuff”, yet they are still in charge of getting teams organized and getting projects done.

As a result, they are looking for a platform that really is easy to grasp, learn, and implement, and also get their internal and external teams involved.

We have many small teams that really love our simplistic approach to our platform.

We kept ease of use as well as other feedback at the forefront of our minds while we developed and built features into the app.

So, why are we building yet another task management platform?

In a sea of other, larger, more well-known task management platforms?

Let me first tell you about why we built Rindle in the first place.

Back in the day when Tom (my co-founder) and I worked in agency environments, most of our customers already used project management tools.

We used Google Drive for file sharing and cloud storage, Gmail, and a number of other tools to help them manage work.

One day Tom and I were having a conversation, and we said, “Geez… it’s crazy how much software we use, and we are still disorganized!”

After using all the tools in the book, it was still difficult to see what was on our plates and figure out what was going on with projects.

Then, it hit us… “What if we built a tool that centralized tasks across applications?"

Then, Rindle was born.

The End.

(Or I guess …. more like the beginning.)

We did a lot of product and customer research, and then began developing the “beta” version of Rindle.

Rindle was originally designed to serve as a personal tool for professionals. It would also be designed to connect with other PM tools, Gmail, and pull in all actionable items into one place.

Over time, we gathered user feedback, and pivoted the tool to what it is today.

Today, Rindle is more of a collaborative project management tool designed for teams rather than just individuals.

The Future of Rindle

When we look at the future of Rindle, we have to also look at the future of project management.

Project management is already impacted by machine learning and AI.

Therefore, automated project management tools are already in development, and will become the next “big thing”.

Tom and I predicted that this market shift would take shape.

We have had conversations like, “What if we made a really easy-to-use automation platform that automates many repetitive steps?”

Not only does this allow us to stick to our “easy to use” mantra, it also allows our users and customers to reach a level of productivity, efficient process, and smooth flow, without six months of training or breaking the bank.

So, that has become our primary goal with the future of Rindle.

Many platforms on the market today focus on task management, assigning tasks, due dates, and things of the like. But the process side doesn't really come through.

But it’s getting tasks from point A to point B, and ensuring that the right people are in the loop that are some of the biggest challenges in managing a team and a project.

That's really where we see our automation platform shining. It doesn’t bloat the surface. It doesn’t complicate the interface.

It's something that kind of happens in the background. You can easily customize it to your workflow, and “set it and forget it”. It’s also easy to use—all point and click. No coding. No scripting.

So, when we look at the future of Rindle, we will focus on these three things:

Pricing. An affordable, fair, and reasonable price point.

We don’t believe in charging per user or per feature. Just one simple, flat monthly rate. No commitments. No contracts. No fees. No gimmicks.

Automations availability. Automating repetitive steps and tasks just makes sense.

The thing we hear over and over again is how to steal back more time, and we believe Automations is how teams will do that.

Truly easy to use. We firmly believe this is what sets us apart from other PM tools on the market.

And even with our plans for enhancing and improving features, and building Automations, we will always come back to ease of use as our primary goal.

Why Rindle?

So, we have come full circle from the beginning of this article.

You started by thinking about your daily life, your job, and what you do each day.

Now take yourself out of being a project manager, or out of your project management role for a minute or two.

Think of your life as a whole—your personal life, work, your responsibilities—everything.

Being a human being is complicated.

Although we talked about a number of project management and task management platforms, and how complicated they can be to learn and implement, why Rindle? What about Rindle makes life and work, well, easier?

Well, most of you know by now that I'm a project manager by trade, informally self taught over the years.

I was always managing some kind of work or project, even while working back in my IT days. I am certainly a process person.

I love to think about how a project will flow, how to make a process more efficient, and how to put a process on repeat, so to speak.

So when I think about problems out there, it’s a saturated market.

But if you were to ask anyone about the platform they use, most would say, "It’s okay… but I'm always looking for what's coming out next.”

This is because the platform has not fully solved their problem. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the software isn’t well designed or has poor functionality, it is because everyone works differently. Every type of business is unique in its own way. Therefore, there isn’t a perfect, one-size-fits-all solution available for every person and business.

Tom and I have seen this as an opportunity to explore. We have brainstormed time and time again about a better way to do this.

Can we really fill a gap in the marketplace that no one else has thought of?

Can we really design something that makes users’ lives easier and better?

Will the painful search for the right tool ever end?

Can we really find a solution that users think, “YES! This is what I've been looking for all this time!”?

We believe that our simplistic approach that we want to bring to the product resonates with many folks. Ultimately people tend to inadvertently over-complicate things even though they really want a simple solution—and that’s what we try to provide: a simple solution.

We think we can bring a really elegant, easy-to-use solution to the marketplace that solves problems for people and makes their lives better. And that’s what we have done—and will continue to do—with Rindle.