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As a junior developer I find it really cool how much power you have with the Thinkwise platform. I've been able to deliver a tool to our customer in one month, with database, integration etc.

As a Thinkwise partner, however, I think that's a pity that the learning curve is so steep. I have some experience with other no-code platforms that are so rich in feedback, that's you learn so much quicker. And probably, the growth of the Thinkwise platform will be highly limited by this learning curve. 

What I found is that the way to learn is to really f*^k up you branch (if your lucky to know how that works), and you'll need a senior to fix it. That's a really hard situation if there is no senior around. 

Ive broken versions because I changed a domain, or made a field mandatory and it broke de upgrade. 

After that, feedback is extremely poor, and thebwaybtondig yourself deeper into problems is way easier than finding the solution. You can create domains that do not exist and I will remember other examples of Id force myself. 

I would like to know if other partners have the same issues, and if we can think of something that could help prevent all junior developers fall in the same pitfalls and that way learn quicker with less frustration. 

 

 

 

I had the same issues when I started using the SF. Like you mentioned, more feedback on what is going wrong would help a lot.

An option to ‘undo’ or rollback after an error in the execution of the source code would be very welcome as well, especially in combination with feedback on what went wrong and why it went wrong (so you can fix it).


I had the same issues when I started using the SF. Like you mentioned, more feedback on what is going wrong would help a lot.

An option to ‘undo’ or rollback after an error in the execution of the source code would be very welcome as well, especially in combination with feedback on what went wrong and why it went wrong (so you can fix it).

A big start would be to have a rollback indeed, see also this idea.

 

Furthermore, upgrades are always difficult, because you are responsible for a good one. There are some validations, but the upgrade flow is still a bit immature,  if you ask me. The data migration part should be an integral part of the deployment cycle. The upgrade logic assignment more clear. You can assign upgrade logic in your branch, after merging, you have to do it again to make sure any data dependent changes will go smoothly. 

Not to mention code generation sequence, Table Valued functions should go before scalars in my opinion. Also the priority setting is unclear if you have have nested use procedures/functions. 

 

In my experience most errors occur because of the existing state of the application where there are data situations that break your upgrade. The platform should try to utilize more check functions to pre-view these type of errors. Something like below in SQL server:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/relational-databases/system-dynamic-management-views/sys-dm-exec-describe-first-result-set-transact-sql?view=sql-server-ver16

 


Dear @tiago, @Marius Korff, @Freddy,
 

Thank you so much for your valuable feedback and for sharing your experiences with the Thinkwise platform. As a UX Designer at our organization, I really appreciate the insights you've provided, and I understand the challenges you've highlighted regarding the steep learning curve and the lack of feedback mechanisms.

I agree that the steep learning curve is creating significant hurdles, especially for our junior developers. The lack of proper feedback during certain workflows is making these issues even more challenging. It's critical for us to address these concerns to ensure a smoother and more intuitive experience for everyone using the Thinkwise platform.

We're constantly striving to improve the Thinkwise platform based on user feedback. Your insights are invaluable, and we're committed to making the necessary changes to enhance your experience. Please keep the feedback coming, as we're always looking for ways to improve our Software Factory (Developer) Experience.

We're starting a dedicated feedback loop for everyone. If you haven't already, please sign up so we can stay in touch and work on these improvements together.