ProjectStat.us Wins a Web 2.0 Award!

ProjectStat.us recently won 2nd place in the 2007 Web 2.0 awards. The category was 'Content Aggregation and Management' - not what I would have chosen for the category, but hey, I can't really complain.

Thanks to all the users of ProjectStat.us and their customers! And thanks to SEOMoz.org!

2007 Web 2.0 Awards Winner

Categories: News
Posted by Phil on 07.19.2007 |

New Server - Apache / Mongrel

A while ago we announced a server move, but after spending some quality time at RailsConf and talking to the experts, it was decided shared hosting is not the way to go for a Rails service like ProjectStat.us.

A few days ago, we completed moving the site to a VPS at rimuhosting.com. Hopefully you didn't even notice the transition. If you did notice anything, we hope it's the more responsive site. Everything loads quicker and navigating around the site is snappier.

For those who want to know or care, the new server is Apache on the front end with a Mongrel Cluster on the back end. The future of Rails hosting is now here for ProjectStat.us =)

Categories: Miscellaneous
Posted by Phil on 08.17.2006 |

Changes Ahead

A few new changes are in the works and will be coming in the next few weeks.

First up is a new server. The people at TextDrive don't know how to answer an email, so the service will be moving to Planet Argon. We will do our best to make the transition a smooth one, and you shouldn't notice any loss of service.

After that, a few new features will be released for the admin side of the service. We've been listening to your requests and feedback, and after development and testing, we feel that the new features will help you manage your projects more efficiently. The number one request and resulting feature? Multiple project editing on one page. Stay tuned for more details...

Categories: Miscellaneous
Posted by Phil on 06.18.2006 |

Minor Update for Admins

After many requests, a new feature for the Admin / Projects section has been added. We thought paging the project display would be nice (five projects per page), but you told us it would be best to have a set of simple filters to work with and show all the results on one page. Done!

Categories: Miscellaneous
Posted by Phil on 04.25.2006 |

The Story of ProjectStat.us - Part 2 of 2

How long did it take to build, and how was ProjectStat.us built?

In Part 1, I talked about how the idea for the ProjectStat.us service came about. In Part 2, I will go into details about how the service was built.

In late summer 2005, I was still working a full-time job (I have since moved on to my own business - Progressive Data Solutions). I was in a hurry to get the new service built (which did not get its name until a few months later), but a full-time job can slow side projects down.

I decided to hire a developer, so I posted an ad on Craigslist for a PHP developer. At the time, I was working with and developing in ASP.NET, and it was taking its toll on me. I wanted the new application to be different. I was also in the process of learning a new development technology called Ruby on Rails, but I thought I didn't know enough to develop a new service with it. Luckily, the developer I found convinced me to go with Rails instead of PHP.

The decision to use Rails was a smart one. After I left my job in early fall 2005, I began to learn and use Rails in earnest. I worked with the developer to finish the initial version of the service. After the developer was done, I re-wrote most of the service to make better use of Rails development practices.

The last few months have seen a drastic change in my development philosophy, and I think ProjectStat.us reflects that change. Ideas like 37signals' "less software is better" and David Heinemeier Hansson's mantra of opinionated software have altered how I develop software and do business. I also attended two events, including the Pragmatic Rails Studio and the 37signals workshop, that were influential in how ProjectStat.us was built. It's safe to say, without Ruby on Rails and its design philosophy, ProjectStat.us would not have seen the light of day. I would have tried to develop it in ASP.NET or PHP and then given up because of the boredom and tediousness.

So after a few months of work, the beta for ProjectStat.us was released in late October to a group of landscapers. Over the next few months, they were able to provide feedback and ideas that helped make the service better.

I'll admit that one of the mistakes made early on was not getting a designer involved from the start. We actually released ProjectStat.us with a not-too-good design. Luckily, Lori from Zenful Creations was able to help solve that problem and she came up with a beautiful design.

The official site, complete with new design, launched in mid February.

ProjectStat.us will continue to improve while maintaining the idea that less software is better, and that a simple tool that does the job well is much better than a product that tries to be everything to everyone. Look for some new features soon that make use of Ajax technology for a better user experience.

Categories: The Story
Posted by Phil on 02.22.2006 |

 
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