Introducing changeOS

Every once in a while, reevaluating everything becomes necessary. We hit that point recently to re-think how product changelogs could be for a product.

To arrive at the best possible solution, we asked ourselves few questions, some were important, some were naive.

1. What makes changelogs unengaging?
2. How can we quantify changes over time?
3. What obstacles hinder writing excellent changelog posts?
4. How to create a minimal, user-focused interface?
5. What's the ideal content width for easy information consumption?
6. Which neutral colors avoid overwhelming users during reading and creation?
7. How do various content formats impact changelog readability?
8. What role does typography play in user experience for changelogs?
9. How can we utilize visuals to enhance changelog comprehension?

We had to answer so many such questions over multiple weeks to get things right. The result is a small part of our larger goal to build the company that can last decades, undiluted by the trends in the industry.

Today, I'm grateful for this opportunity to announce changeOS — a powerful changelog publishing tool that is simple enough that a six year old can use.

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Why changeOS?

We believe that every changelog that's being put out there is a representation of the company, the people behind it, and the amount of hard work that has gone into building something that has a positive impact on the users.

Today, the tools out there make it complicated and there is no difference between writing a blogpost vs a changelog. We think that should change.

We think that a changelog is much richer than a blogpost, and having an obsessive focus on building a great changelog tool could change the way companies and users look at product updates. This is why we built changeOS — a well thought out changelog platform that is a delight to use.

Designed to perfection

We realized from the beginning that changeOS is going to inspire and influence people to create incredibly detailed yet simple changelog for their products. We wanted to make sure that changeOS is designed to perfection, and it does not overwhelm the user with too many options.

changeOS is the purest form of writing and reading experience that you can get today. It is designed to be simple, minimal, and distraction free, allowing you to focus on the content.

There is a 100 nos to 1 yes ratio in the design process. We want to make sure that every single element that you see on the screen is there for a reason, and it is not there for the sake of it.

When it comes to the writing experience, everything is real-time. Your work is saved automatically, and you get to collaborate with your team members in real-time. The design is so intuitive that there's nothing you would want to do other than to write or observe the changes that you have made.

The design goal is quite simple. We want to put a smile on your face after you publish a changelog on changeOS. We want you to be proud of the work you have done, and we want you to be excited to share it with the world.

What emotion we want to evoke?

We are aiming for three emotions that we want to evoke when you use changeOS.

1. Serenity
2. Joy
3. Pride

Here's an image that best represents these three emotions for us:

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Where do I start?

We are taking beta signups for changeOS. A bunch of customers who are using Hellonext already are on changeOS and are helping us with the feedback. We are also observing how our real-time sync engines are scaling so that when you get access to it, you get the experience that we intended you to have. Signup for a beta invite here or chat with us on Discord.