This is Signal vs. Noise, a weblog by 37signals about design, business, experience, simplicity, the web, culture, and more. Established 1999 in Chicago. Visit the Product Blog for more information on our products.

Been working on a vanilla text editor for several months (menu-free, but scriptable and built with Ruby and Fox). I want to get the thing done so I can use it at work, but evening time constraints have not allowed. Perhaps I need to start getting up early in the morning instead…..

My portfolio site, which isn’t done yet because IE/Mac is giving me Javascript weirdness where there should be none, and once I latch onto a problem… well… I don’t let go.

I’ve been working on making Ruby not so dog sloooooooooow.

For some reason, there seems to be a direct relationship between the slow performance of Ruby and my productivity.

Blair: why would you care about IE/Mac? Microsoft stopped supporting it in 2005.

I have a hard time working tasks into my schedule because I have to spend a lot of time using my GTD system.

I have a job.

I’m too busy reading SvN, obviously.

Redoing the entire app in Rails. While maintaining my family, day job, fishing and some sleep (need to have some kind of life). It’s difficult doing EVERYTHING on your own. Oh how I hate HTML /CSS!!!

I hate CSS . Really.

From wasting all my time explaining why it isn’t done; leaving no time to actually get it done.

I’ve only been working on it for a couple of weeks – sheesh, give me a chance!!!

Intranet app for a customer. They love it and keep asking for more and more … me likey that! $$$

:)

Got 3 or 4 little side projects going here and there, just bouncing between them as interest in each waxes and wanes. It’s that last 10% of a project always kills me. :(

Is this a research-gathering post for the next 37signals app?? GetRDone?

Feature creep.

Blackberry client for Highrise … please Sprint, when will my Blackberry arrive? Anyone?

Yeah, feature creep here too. Rhe client keeps asking for more in and iterative manner, which is fine, but feature creep nonetheless.

The people around me have quit caring, so it makes it twice as hard for me to keep caring and motivate myself to get to the finish line.

New web cms for pro photographers. Not done cuz I don’t like the CSS anymore. And cuz I moved to Oregon.

The Man. It’s the Man that’s kept me back

You sound like my boss :-)

To answer the question: rewriting the BT Web21C site in Rails. And (at long last) it is done! Well the first release is, anyway.

If you had asked about an hour ago, I’d have said I was working on a JavaScript carousel and it wasn’t done because I didn’t know how, but then I found that link and the rest is history.

CSS /Browser inconsistencies. Also, a serious lack of imaging/Photoshop/Illustrator skills.

working on a new design form my website. Should be done until August 1st… Switches to Textmate

Working on online app. Found out my wife is pregnant (yeah!), but now busy doing things around the house because I won’t be able to once the kid comes (boo!).

Hmm why isn’t 37s’ new product done yet? That’s the real question. :-)

Do you guys have ideas for future apps? In an interview you mentioned something like financial software…

CSS in Firefox versus IE. Somebody shoot me.

I’ve been working on a democratically-structured community blogging system called Vocal Nation. Why isn’t it done? 1) because software is never done and 2) because things are just getting started :-)

Could this question be related to Basecamp stats? Is 37s seeing a drop-off on completed projects perhaps? Just stirring the pot.

Our projects like most are bigger than first envisaged. We’re doing them, getting them done – but it takes time. Rails is great – but there are still lots of challenges.

Basecamp helps.

Oops… forgot to add my name! (the ability to edit your comment for a minute or two ala digg would be nice).

The hold-up is mostly the server management department. That’s how it always is. :-)

We’re almost done. No really. I think we will launch soon.

What is that? The 80/20 rule? or the 95/5 rule? In any case, it seems that “last” bit of work is where all the effort goes into a project!

I’d be done if QA would just stop reporting bugs!

Just taking my time. Got a full-time day job, so I’m suprised how I can continue with design, css and html after a day at work. Got a site for my newly started one-man-show in the works, as well as being project manager for a norwegian webdev. community site :-)

My screenplay.

Because everyone wants to pay me for software, today.

My boss keeps throwing in YAGNI stuff for our current project that will be used for future projects and we keep changing technology infrastructure. I’m mostly powerless to stop it.

waaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!

I’m normally a LAMP developer working for a 3-person design firm thrown into the position of being the middle-man on a bloated $65k .NET eCommerce photography sales website. The boss sold the client on something he knew nothing about, i.e., custom development.

I was hired 2 months after the initial contract for some un-related PHP work, so wasn’t in on the initial meetings at all. Boss had the brilliant idea of “modifying” an out-of-the-box eCommerce solution, which by now has had to be tweaked beyond recognition. The original developer was a contractor/reptile who worked 3 hours/day, 2 days/week, and decided to take not one, but TWO vacations to Lake Powell five weeks before launch. The boss hired new developer with four weeks to go at $100/hr.

The client is currently unhappy that original mockups made back in November by old project manager (now fired) do not match current HTML spit-out by hacked-together store solution. The new developer doesn’t check work in Firefox or Safari. The boss can’t figure out why we can’t just put a “nice skin” on the cart to fix it. I spend my days parsing Visual-Studio’ed HTML trying to figure out why the stylesheet is broken and dodging IIS errors. Then a round of unproductive phone calls.

Currently 3 weeks behind schedule, 30% over-budget and it launches Wednesday.

I’m waiting on a flakey artist (read “My Brother”) ;)

I’m working on a new online social network. As usual though, it takes (much) longer than expected. A private beta is targeted to about a month. Stay tuned!

Researching membership software for our website.

I’m working on a golf application. It started out as an easy way for me (and me only) to keep a record of my scores. Then a few friends wanted to use it, and ba da boom, I’m spending some of my evenings working on a golf application. It’s fun, though, and I love gaining more and more experience with Ruby and Rails.

Why isn’t it done? Mostly because I’m busy working full-time and fighting through grad school… but if it weren’t for that, it’d be some other distraction to pull me away from the fun stuff. Everyone is busy, so that’s a poor excuse, I know.

In response to a few of the comments about FF/IE issues in design, I can totally sympathize. However, isn’t it the challenge of design (including browser compatibility) that makes it so much fun? OK, I agree… it’s Ruby/Rails that makes it so much fun ;)

Let’s see… (1) My open source Java eBay auction sniping software, (2) a web-based outliner, (3) a ‘Hacker’s Health’ RoR health-tracking app (in the Hacker’s Diet vein). Respectively, they’re not done yet because:

1) eBay keeps changing things (i.e. it’s never ‘done’). 2) My Javascript skillz are too w34k, and it shares #3… 3) It’s reached the ‘good enough for me to use, but would be embarassing to show to anyone else’ level.

And above ALL of that…I’ve got a fun job which pays the bills nicely, but it means I don’t have time to dedicate to the finishing touches for any of them.

It’s a good question, though.

generally speaking an insistence on arbitrary style over substance. Also, approaching each comp as though I’d never seen pixels before rather than pulling from previous work. Slowing down and using a pencil might help – or not. Its entirely unclear what the goals of this design are other than “looking kewl”

An open source backpack clone ;)

Developing without the test-driver.

Because there is something called World of Warcraft. It is a drug.

Morgan, I wrote one of the first automated sniping tools in 2001. Bling bling cash monayyyy. Good luck.

It’s a website for my mother, the new Realtor. One of the most difficult clients I’ve ever had. In a market that is dominated by crappy websites, I have a hard time trying to explain why blinking text (no, really) and auto-play audio clips are a bad idea.

It’s been quite challenging and I feel I’m loosing.

I like the question phrased as “what are you waiting for?” to help remove the direct blame from the question. But I suppose it is all in how you say it.

I’m writing a paper, and I am waiting for inspiration while reading other things. Maybe it’s time to sit with fresh air and paper. (Actually, it’s time to go to bed.)

Working on the first release of my new Startup: Wemoov. It’s not done yet but will be released at the end of august.

Trying to get my moblogging community to a pre-launch state.. It’s a fulltime day job and lazyness (this one, mostly) that messes with this goal :)

To effectivily ship software, trying using SCRUM (Project Management). It will help you to avoid feature creep getting in the way of actually shipping software in time. And it will get your team 100% focused on the tasks at hand and improve velocity on the project. Well, i’m hooked on SCRUM at least, and it have proved its worth in my current project – see http://www.controlchaos.com for more info.

Building my own IIS based web application framework to make my software development a whole lot easier (Unfortunately Ruby-on-Rails isn’t an option I can use). I’m constantly delayed because no sooner have I written a good piece of code, I have to rip it apart to make the function re-usable in other areas of the software. There always seems to be a better way of doing stuff that gives you much more flexibility!

The other thing that holds me back is reading your blasted “Defensive Design for the Web” book. Every time I think I’ve covered all my bases against the idiots out there, I re-read a chapter and realise I’ve left a gaping hole in my form usability.

Time.

Simple as that! Running my own design studio and two children under 3 add to the feeling that I’m only ever keeping my nose above water.

I have had 2 killer ideas for apps/software for ages, but they are only killer if they actually get made…

Working with new Internet shopping application. It’s not done yet, because we are not happy enought with it. We’re working hard and it’s done when it’s done.

I haven’t gotten my projects done because Java is an exceedingly verbose language. Writing something that would take me a half-hour in HTML /CSS/JS/PHP takes me hours in Java.

Also, boilerplate code is a serious motivation-killer. I’m revelling in the glory of frameworks like Rails, CodeIgniter, and YUI .

Generally speaking, I should be doing everything..

This morning, there are just a million things to read. I think I’ll take Carlos Segura up on his mantra -“I don’t do any manual labor before 11am.”

because I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.

Well…

Work requires effort
Effort requires time
Time requires scheduling
Scheduling require priorities
Priorities require contracts
Contracts require money

The people asking “why isn’t it done yet” don’t see the work = time = money equation.

I made a great web app using RoR so my dad could use it for tracking accounts and expenses anywhere. He has a small workshop where they revamp roofs, and really old computers. Using RoR he can just log into the web and track those accounts before another check bounces.

Then I said: hey, if I just touch it up a little bit, maybe more contractors could use it to maintain their accounting on-line…

Been working on it for two months. It’s not as easy as I thought. My dad has particular problems I know well, but in a web app, you need to make something that will fit everyone, not just my dad.

I am not a programmer, I have a good job that pays the bills but requires my time, and my RoR skills are growing as I develop.

Besides that, life is good…

Paying work is always getting in the way.

What’s holding things up? I’m making things more complicated than they need to be whilst I should be getting real ;-)

Been working on a bug tracker, but I’ve ended up writing a research paper (slowly, due to school, etc) about bugs first.

It’s boring. I’m working on it (the solution, that is - to boredom - not the thing I should be working on).

I’m scared it might be crap.

Simple website which cross references mobile friendly sites to their full scale sites:

http://www.domain2mobile.com

I browse the web a lot with my Palm Treo. It is always a mystery and challenge to locate the url of a company’s mobile friendly version.

Add any links if you have them!!!

I working on my PhD, and it’s not done yet partly because I’m reading and commenting on this article ;-)

The main reason that it’s not quite finished yet is the amount of pain it causes to work on it. It turned into a monster that controlled me, and I only recently started learn how to defeat it. Now I’m aiming to submit within a week :-)

Still trying to complete a web reporting tool.

The holdup? Too many good ideas, not enough time or organisation to implement all of them.

Even when I’m using Basecamp… ;-)

I’m waiting on the functional spec.

Goliath CMS migration. Tons of data entry.

That’s an easy one: The new version of my own site, intended as a “sketchblog” kind of thing.

Actually, everything design- and code- related is already done, but content is what I’m lacking at this point. (I needed an excuse to pick up the pencils and start sketching again – now I need the time to do it).

I smoke too much dope.

too much time lost on waiting for outside contractor to remove head from ass, and assign someone (better yet – someones!) as the field liaison. for whom I’m writing an SOP . and too much time spent reading blogs…