Why so many PowerUps for the most basic tasks?

[Nadja von Massow]

This is more of a general question: Why do we have to install so many third-party PowerUps for seemingly basic and simple features?

We've started migrating from ToDoist to Trello for a potentially improved Kanban experience. However, after the first week, we're flabbergasted by the vast number of PowerUps that are required to fulfil the most basic and single-minded operations like deleting cards, bulk actions, finding cards and many more.

In addition, direct integrations and synchronisation (i.e. with Google Calendar), which were a complete breeze to set up and free in ToDoist, require the somewhat awkward creation and manual interlinking of new calendars in GCal - and even then it only works in one direction. Unito charges an arm and a leg for its sync powerups.

There are no (or not many) global powerup options that would allow to cover all boards immediately. Why?

There are a number of other examples which simply surprised us as not being available out-of-the-box, at least for Business-class users; features that are not built in even though they would be basic UX improvements. We're not talking about everything being enabled and appreciate that different users have different requirements. We're talking about built-in options that can be enabled or disabled.

Obviously, all PM tools have their pros and cons, and Trello being extremely popular leads us to the assumption that we're missing a vital point. But so far, we're a little underwhelmed and feel that the Trello business model is just not quite in line with what we would want to buy into. 

Happy to get corrected and enlightened.

[Dreamsuite Mike]

What you've highlighted as Trello's weakness, I consider to be Trello's strength. It seems like there has been an approach by those at Atlassian to make Trello a base platform that enables other things on top.  This to me makes Trello a very very flexible and versatile platform, you just have to rethink what it is compared to other tools like ToDoist and Monday.com etc....

This leads onto an important point when it comes to software selection.  Don't compare software! Believe me, they are all flawed. 

Make sure you understand what you want from it and most importantly why then pick the software that is the best fit with the fewest compromises. 

Maybe Trello isn't right for you but have jumped in here complaining about power-ups without mentioning exactly what you are trying to achieve with this change and why

Please feel free to respond with what you are aiming to achieve and I'm sure there are experts both working for Atlassian and working in the Trello community who will be able to help...

[Nadja von Massow]

Thanks, Mike.

As you can see, I have recognised that all platforms have pros and cons. That goes without saying. We also entirely appreciate that integrations and PowerUps have their place for specialist/specific requirements or anything that would add unnecessary clutter to the average user. That's all beside my point of the original question:

Why do we have to install so many third-party PowerUps for seemingly basic and simple features?

So, not questioning PowerUps in general. Just missing very basic integrations and UX options inside Trello itself. More built-in optional features to make certain single-minded PowerUps obsolete.

[Dreamsuite Mike]

Trello, rightly or wrongly has gone the opposite way to other tools and has very few integrations. There are benefits to that approach too. If you want to give Trello the benefit of doubt and embrace it's approach, you can see just how powerful it can be, even compared to solutions that look on the surface to have a lot more functionality out of the box. If not, leave yourself open to the possibility of another solution that has what you need....

Try taking a look at Jira Work Management

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Trello was written to be simple to use and do the absolute basics of item lists without any fuss.  What you're calling "basic and single-minded operations" are not needed to fulfil what Trello does as its core function, and not everyone needs or wants them.

If you need to use a load of powerups to get it to work the way you want it to, then that suggests to me that you've chosen the wrong tool.  You probably want something more like Jira Work Management, as @Dreamsuite Mike says.

[Nadja von Massow]

I wouldn't know what's more simple than deleting a card.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Most people don't want to delete cards, it's not a simple thing to do.  Remember that this is item-tracking software, it's trying to emulate what people do with pin boards and post-it notes on the 'fridge.  Completely destroying the information that you were tracking something is not what people want to do.

You can remove cards from view with "archive".  It's like a simple waste-bin for the post-it notes.  You can fish them out when you realise you still need them, and you can empty the bin when you are sure you really don't need it.

[Nadja von Massow]

Thanks, I appreciate your response, but it feels to me that you're desperately defending the status quo - which you have the rights to do - and picking at granular examples, rather than addressing the bigger picture of my original question. 

I completely accept that some people want to archive. But some want to delete. The archive is not called "bin".

I'm coming from a UX pov. Moving cards in bulk or the option to apply certain features to all boards instead of just one etc. seem too obvious to not be built in. There are many such examples for which I went down the rabbit hole of reading about endless workarounds and single-minded (often premium) PowerUps. It's a shame.

But at the end of the day, it's a fair point to say that it's probably not the right tool for me.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

I'm not defending the status quo, I am just pointing out that the software is deliberately designed to be simple and functional for a wide user base.

From a UX point of view, moving cards in bulk, having shared configurations, hard deletion of cards and so-on are simply not things most of the audience for Trello need or want.

As you say, I think you are not in the Trello audience, I think you need something a bit more powerful and flexible.  A full issue tracker rather than a note-taking application is probably a better option for your needs. 

Yes, I'm going to say Jira again - it can do everything Trello does, except the arbitrary columns on boards (Jira takes columns from the workflow status, Trello just lets you create lists as columns) but it has bulk edits, archive and delete, shared configurations, structured workflows, and and and, on top.

As a consultant, I've often found Trello users who have added more and more power-ups in an attempt to turn it into an issue-tracker.  I've not done any detailed analysis on this, but my instinct is when you hit 8-10 Trello powerups related to process, reporting, or detailed tracking, then you should be looking at moving to an issue tracker.

[Dreamsuite Mike]

I will hold my hands up and say I have some Trello bias because it is a tool that I use for the large majority of my clients, but...

There is a reason for that.   Unlike almost all other tools out there, it can do almost anything you want it to and most importantly you can build it to fit your needs, not the other way round.  You just have to get your head around that, shake of past comparisons and reimagine how that looks!

I would add that almost all my solutions are built using just Trello's built in features, automation and on average 3 high quality power-ups.  This covers a lot of clients, in a lot of different sectors and across all business functions.  So I believe that you can make Trello fit in almost any scenario...

Because it looks simple on the surface, people question its capability but it can stand up against pretty much any software out there, including Atlassian's own software. I'm pretty sure they bought Trello more to eliminate the threat rather than to enhance their product portfolio. 

The delete example is one I have seen come up before and it's a case of terminology more than anything.  When you receive an email, you click delete and it goes in the Trash...You are okay with that because you are familiar with the language.  In Trello, archive is the equivalent of sending something to your email Trash.  You can still recover it if you want, you can leave it there or you can delete it.  In Trello, the limits for archived items are so huge that I don't see why you can't just reframe your mind to think that archive=trash and then forget about it.

I think there are 3 options here. 

1. Continue to use Trello but use the resource of this community in a positive way, provide your problems and let the Trello experts in here provide solutions.  If you choose this option, I recommend this course to you Trello Fundamentals - How to use Trello 
2. As both @Nic Brough -Adaptavist- and I have suggested, Try using an alternative in the Atlassian ecosystem. Jira Work Management is a good starting point.  Note, that in my humble experience and opinion, Jira Work Management is nowhere near as flexible or capable as Trello
3. Look at alternative solutions outside the Atlassian ecosystem that can fit your needs.  The obvious candidates being Monday.com, Clickup and Asana to name a few...