Overview
Philosophy
Technology
Managmement
                        

Simple is better than complex

Complexity leads to fragility. The more moving parts in your product, the more opportunities there are for things to go wrong. Complex products are more difficult to test, less secure, and harder to learn. They are, however, easier to sell.

At Timetrics, simplicity is a driving design goal. In product design: Do as many features as necessary, but no more - because it is better to do a few things very well, than many poorly. In product development: Write the fewest lines of code, have the fewest dependencies, and invent as little as possible to get the job done. In user interface: Keep the interface so simple that no more than one page of documention is required to use the product in the typical manner - a 100 page manual is a sign of a poorly designed product.

Do the right thing

A product should work out of the box, with little customization necessary for an average user. Requiring extensive setup and configuration before a product is useful is a sign of a poorly designed product. Good defaults and a minimum of configuration points is a major goal at Timetrics.

Because there are more than 100,000 users of a product for each developer, if we can save you one second of time using the product, then it is worth 100,000 of ours to make it happen. Many products have architectures and implementation details that are designed primarily to make the job of the developer easier. At Timetrics, the user comes first.

There is a common delusion in software that ones product should be the most important application on a users machine. Why wouldn't someone want to spend time interacting with our application? Our goal is to be taken for granted - to be as easy to use and require as little involvement as your toaster.

No spyware, no adware, no collecting information behind a user's back. We have no desire to "present you with exciting offers from our partners". We don't collect "anonymous usage statistics". We don't "phone home" to "check for updates and special offers". The deal we make with you is simple. We provide useful product, you pay us.

We could make money bundling adware, collecting and using information about your activities, and frequently presenting you with product offers... but that would be wrong.

It is entirely possible to build a profitable business with customers that dislike your products and your company, but it isn't good for your customers, it isn't good for your employees, and it isn't a good long-term business model. It may sound cliche, but customer satisfaction is our most important priority. We would rather have 5 happy customers than 10 unhappy ones.