What Follow In Steps Is Not

Follow in Steps has something that you’re already familiar with: checkboxes. This familiarity makes you think that Follow in Steps is just like many other apps, but it is not.

This Is Not a To Do List

Follow in Steps is simple, but not as simple as a To Do list. The items in the To Do list don’t have to be related to each other, don’t need to be done in a sequence, and items can be added or removed from the list without consequences.

In the screenshot below, taken from Microsoft Outlook, we see items that are not related to each other. They don’t even have a sequence. It is up to the user to decide what and when do things.

Needless to say that the competition in the To Do list space is overwhelming. The chances to innovate in that space are minimal.

This Is Not a Checklist Either

Other kinds of apps out there are checklists. They vary from a simple grocery list to complex dynamic forms.

Checklists come with single checks, multiple options, multiple choices, open text, etc. Items don’t have to be done in a sequence, can be dissociated from each other but, as opposed to To Do lists, they produce a final result such as compliance reports, quality assurance guidelines, regulations, and so on.

Competition is also strong, but solutions tend to be so complex that they normally target a specific domain such as retail, manufacture, hospitality, and other regulated fields like finance, health and education.

Not a Project Management Tool

That’s an easy one. You don’t use a project management tool to share knowledge. You use wikis, videos, blogs, books (and soon Follow in Steps), but never a complex tool.

However, unlike To Do lists and Checklists, a project management tool is actually complementary to what we want to build. These tools define “What” to do by “Who” and “When”. They assume that the assigned person is already knowledgeable about the craft. We do not make this assumption because we are the “How”.

Let’s Make Follow In Steps Cristal Clear

Our steps are checked when they are done, just like To Do lists and Checklists, but they are incrementally linked to each other in a sequence that gradually leads you to a result. Each step explains what has to be done starting from the last completed step. Together, they help you achieve a concrete outcome for the first time or for a number of times.

Good analogies to what we do are recipes, instructions, directions, and tutorials. In these cases, you can’t complete step 5 before step 3, step 4 doesn’t make sense without the steps that come before, and as you move on checking the steps, something is incrementally built, manufactured, learned, assembled, etc.

It is possible to use Follow In Steps as a To Do list, as a Checklist, or even as a project management tool, but you will certainly miss a lot of features that are required in those models. We will stick to steps and remain focused on making people’s lives full of accomplishments, especially when they are beginners on the craft.