Chip Cassin posted a set of software rules on Reddit that I thought were outstanding. I have reproduced them here with additional comments.
Chip Cassin Software Rules
Chip Cassin posted a comment in the Software Development subreddit that are re-published here with his permission. They are outstanding:
Make it good, then make it better. The perfect is the enemy of the good.
Don’t wait, get started with something good enough. Use a Probe-Sense-Respond approach where you share functional prototypes and than act on the feedback they generate.
Avoid long release cycles. Many projects are like hacking through tall weeds. No one can see 6 to 9 months down the road. Aim for shorter release cycles.
Taking short steps, starting with low-fidelity prototypes and customer interviews, means you can gather evidence as you go instead of having to predict too far ahead.
Most users just want to do just 3 or 4 things in your tech. Put those things in front and easy to find and use. All the other crap features that you think are cool you can still have in there but put them behind menus. Only your most tech users will use them.
You get three strikes. My rule of thumb has been you only get to name three features or capabilities to move the needle in a conversation with a prospect. You can ask diagnostic questions to tune your approach but if the first three don’t do it, more won’t help.
Live by the 20/60/20 rule.
- 20% of your users are quick enough to figure everything out.
- 20% never will.
- Your job is to help the remaining 60%.
Where entrepreneurs get fooled is that the “20% of your users are quick enough to figure everything out” are first-movers who mask what will be required to get the persuadable 60%.
Perception is Reality. Once your users en masse believe something about your tech is true, it is really difficult to turn that around. Stay ahead of perceptions.
I think you have to pay attention how satisfied customers describe your product and echo that language to prospects. Don’t fixate on your earlier positioning and attempt to change how satisfied customers tell others about your product.
As much as possible, help your users first and your stakeholders second. Your users will notice, and support you and give you lots of yardage down the line, and is how reputations are built.
I think this is more about making sure that the users are satisfied as a path to keeping the economic buyer happy.
It is OK if an app has bugs. It is how you respond that matters. How many of us stick with a product because the company supports it really well?
A few bugs that are fixed fast are acceptable. You cannot ship buggy crap and hope to fix it fast enough to avoid getting thrown out.
About Chip Cassin
Highlights from https://www.linkedin.com/in/chipcassin/
Full Disclosure: Hands On Techo-Functional CRM. I would never call myself a developer, though that is where a lot of my professional success has been. Rather, I’ve always been more of a Jack of all Trades Project guy, meaning lots of years on projects in CRM. I have been Project Manager more times than I have fingers on my two hands, have done a lot of the BA stuff, ie architecting, data modeling, building requirements, training, but I also on occasion write code and perform configuration work if it needs to be written and/or figured out or if the developers are just too busy with other things. In addition, even though I have a lot of project experience, I am no longer SF certified.
Hands on Functional. Proficient in Apex, JavaScript buttons, Somewhat proficient in Visual Force
CRM expertise with multiple CRM packages and cross functional business groups.
12+ Years CRM Project Management, Business Process Change Management, CRM/Finance/HR
Multi-Phased Implementations (New & Upgrades)
Focus on Usability/Maintainability
Technology Re-Architecting and Design
Business Process Change Management
Specialties: All sorts of CRM, Salesforce, Siebel, Oracle Fusion, Peoplesoft, SAP, Apex, Project Management, Business Process Realignment, HR, Sales Force Automation, CRM, Partner Portals, Marketing, Call Centers, Project Manager, Business Analyst, Siebel, VB, VBA, Visual Basic, Salesforce.com, Cold Fusion, Vitria, Middleware, Connectors, Interfaces, SAP, Project Implementations, SDLC, Oracle Fusion
Related Blog Posts
- Seven From Skip Walter’s Laws Of Software Development
- Applying Akin’s Laws of Spacecraft Design To Startups
- Six More from Akin’s Laws of Spacecraft Design
- Paul Graham’s Six Principles for Making New Things
- W. J. King’s “Unwritten Laws of Business”