I really like what Basecamp and Freshbooks did. A business is going to learn from how users use or don't use their product within a span of a few years.
Why not build that domain knowledge into the product by re-writing it as something that address your user's problems even better!
I think the realization that the software is not the product - but that the solution to the user's problems is the product - causes companies to really get stuck with a particular implementation (app, website, etc.) that they can't improve that much and becomes a huge maintenance cost.
If the real product was the solution to the business problem - then re-writing the software would just be a natural flow.
Perhaps, just like how we might need to get a new car every few years. The car isn't that useful on its own - it's the fact that I can travel anywhere I want pretty quickly that is useful. The car just happens to be the current way to do that. And I expect that to change in a few years. Maybe next time I'll even get a motorcycle instead of a car? (Yes, that's supposed to be a metaphor 🤔)
It's frustrating when you see companies who are struggling because they don't want to let go of their precious legacy app and actually build something better than before - based on real user feedback.
Well, many companies don't even know what their users want - they just build "new features" because they seem like a good idea 😜
Anyone ever work at one of these places? (I have! 😋)
If the real product was the solution to the business problem - then re-writing the software would just be a natural flow.
Exactly! Great point of view. It's easier to get stuck in the conviction that the lines of code are the product than it is to keep in mind that the solved problem is the product.
It's frustrating when you see companies who are struggling because they don't want to let go of their precious legacy app and actually build something better than before - based on real user feedback.
We have egos and sometimes products get dragged around due to intersection of many of those egos among different people contributing their opinions.
Anyone ever work at one of these places?
Me too, user driven apps become nightmares in a short period. It's not anybody's fault and at the same time is everyone's fault.
It's just that some people are bad at saying no and probably they don't say no because they themselves are not sure about what they want. Or maybe some don't care because they think they can maximise profits by adding everything a user might want :D
Anyhow, I like the idea of the ever evolving codebase.
Trying to convince an org that this is a good thing is tough. The decision makers at the top of the chain need to understand that the software isn't the thing that they are really "building". So it really takes a paradigm shift for the entire org, eh?
I really like what Basecamp and Freshbooks did. A business is going to learn from how users use or don't use their product within a span of a few years.
Why not build that domain knowledge into the product by re-writing it as something that address your user's problems even better!
I think the realization that the software is not the product - but that the solution to the user's problems is the product - causes companies to really get stuck with a particular implementation (app, website, etc.) that they can't improve that much and becomes a huge maintenance cost.
If the real product was the solution to the business problem - then re-writing the software would just be a natural flow.
Perhaps, just like how we might need to get a new car every few years. The car isn't that useful on its own - it's the fact that I can travel anywhere I want pretty quickly that is useful. The car just happens to be the current way to do that. And I expect that to change in a few years. Maybe next time I'll even get a motorcycle instead of a car? (Yes, that's supposed to be a metaphor 🤔)
It's frustrating when you see companies who are struggling because they don't want to let go of their precious legacy app and actually build something better than before - based on real user feedback.
Well, many companies don't even know what their users want - they just build "new features" because they seem like a good idea 😜
Anyone ever work at one of these places? (I have! 😋)
Exactly! Great point of view. It's easier to get stuck in the conviction that the lines of code are the product than it is to keep in mind that the solved problem is the product.
We have egos and sometimes products get dragged around due to intersection of many of those egos among different people contributing their opinions.
Me too, user driven apps become nightmares in a short period. It's not anybody's fault and at the same time is everyone's fault.
It's just that some people are bad at saying no and probably they don't say no because they themselves are not sure about what they want. Or maybe some don't care because they think they can maximise profits by adding everything a user might want :D
Anyhow, I like the idea of the ever evolving codebase.
💯 for codebases that evolve.
Trying to convince an org that this is a good thing is tough. The decision makers at the top of the chain need to understand that the software isn't the thing that they are really "building". So it really takes a paradigm shift for the entire org, eh?
Yes, definitely. Otherwise you'll be Don Quixote fighting windmills :D