An anecdotal story as a reminder to listen to your users
Just another reminder/story to listen to your users (despite what you think you know). I've been working on an Arduino-like hardware platform for a while now. The TL;DR is for folks out there who like to make IoT devices, you're often repeating the same 5-10 steps to get a prototype started (connecting a processor of some sort to a Wi-Fi module, adding the ability to log data, make noises, light up, etc). So my idea was to build out a board that had all these things out of the box.
However, I realized that the way I built hardware projects and the capabilities I expected from an out of the box dev board was such a tiny fragment of how other makers and engineers built prototypes so I decided to enlist 173 folks who represented ideal buyers in the maker community and created a voting process where they could nominate components/functionality they'd like incorporated on the boards and (much like HN/Reddit) +1/-1 the ideas.
Through their feedback I was able to affirm some of the ideas I already had, but also challenge myself to apply my ideas outside of the scope I had originally envisioned. It was through the voting system where functionality around addressable LEDs (controlling many lights with a single pin), removable jumper pins (being able to re-use the pin of the maker didn't have a need for one of the built-in components), and selectable VIN (toggling between USB and battery power) all came to fruition.
Despite the difference in physical products and software, I think the notion of "listen to your users and seek feedback" holds true.
For anyone who wants to watch the project: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/builtwithframe/frameiot-an-arduino-compatible-dev-kit-for-wi-fi-projects