Jan's Developer Hub Challenges

[freelerobot]

Overview of Current Challenges

• Given the rapid growth over the last month, we've used documentation as a "hotfix" for user issues (w/out a clear structure, and it has become a bit of a clusterneuken)
• This is our current information architecture which we may have outgrown already
• We need a clear and structured approach to the Jan Dev Hub to unlock external contribution across the stack: user docs, developer extensions, core contributors
• Devs simply aren't aware that Jan, at its core is an SDK, and that they can build really powerful apps in very little time.
• New Jan Framework contributors have a tough time onboarding, and while they are experts in js/dev domains, they still can't contribute meaningfully.
• The overall SDK is fast moving, has tech debt, and docs could shine light on various refactoring/fixes needed at the SDK level.

Challenges By Audience

Note: The following may not be the correct framework to think about this, and may not be the correct audience segmentation. I am very open to a more structured and strategic approach.

Mainstream Users

• Challenge: They struggle to use Jan. As much as we prioritize design, AI is new, and has a learning curve.
• May or may not be technical
• Docs should assume non-technicality

AI Enthusiasts & Technical Users

• Challenge: They want power-user features and customizability. They want to tinker with the app at the Jan Folder level.
• Often technical, comfortable with command line and technical troubleshooting
• Has strong preferences around managing how Jan uses system level resources (compute, filesystem, etc)
• We have a LOT of community contributions and 3rd party integrations already. Should prob gather & showcase that at some point ...

Mainstream Developers

• Challenge: They are not aware that Jan is an app SDK. They are not aware that Jan can be compatible with whatever other tools the are using. They are not aware that Jan can be used to not just build POCs/experiments, but prod ready applications that can be deployed into organizations.
• Very technical, comfortable with importing and using well designed SDKs & libraries to build whatever they want
• Has strong preferences/expectations around SDK usability and docs support

Core Devs & Contributors

• Challenge: Our codebase uses clean architecture, dependency inversion, with leaky abstractions and hotfixes across the stack. It is increasingly hard to onboard as a core dev and contribute meaningfully.
• Very technical, experienced js/c++/python devs.
• Has strong preferences around code quality, attention to tech debt, and general velocity the core team can merge their contributions.