| |
| |
|
Software Information |
|
|
|
My Experience - Making a Vision into Reality
Disclaimer: All the thoughts expressed are my views only! Your perception might differ... 1. How different is product development? 2. What are the fundamentals of building a product? 3. How do I know that I'm at the wrong end of building the product? 4. Will you start building two products, if given a second chance? 5. All of a sudden I go blank, what should I do? 6. But my project is running on a delayed schedule, what do I do? 7. Pitfalls in putting out milestones? 8. Testing? what? 9. Do I make the team work 7 days a week? 10. why this faq? 1. How different is product development? For starters, they are completely orthogonal! I can hear you mumble "C'mon building a product cannot be different from building a framework." I learnt it the hard way! Yes, though they seem to be very much related, the subtle differences place them far apart! In developing a framework, you get started with whatever you have in mind. i.e you conceptualize your version of the framework. This will get you started, but after sometime, when you rope in a couple of customers, it is not you(framework team) that decide what goes in or what is useful! IT is mainly driven by the internal customers. They start defining the rules. This check ensures that whatever the framework team builds, is used effectively! Well, it acts as a guide post. The scenario takes a "U" turn with respect to product development. why? it is due to the fact that it is pretty difficult to rope in early customers. Unless they have an impinging need for the solution, they will not opt to be part of the early bird customer programs. So what can happen is the possibliy to get insane, "what might happen if this happens?" and you start fixing problems or developing features which might not be useful! This I would term as the "product developers" mind block. To overcome this we cross-verify ourselves with the competitors(EEE strategy), but down the line, it might not be effective. Because we tend to supersede the competitor. So always be watchful about what you put into the product. 2. What are the fundamentals of building a product? The most important aspect of the product is the conceptual integrity! Yes! that is the secret ingredient for making your product a success! Visualize how the end-user/customer will see the product. That will set things straight! Start looking at the product with NOT what you know, but with what the customer knows. The default behaviour of any developer is to fall into the habit of taking things for granted. i.e the normal pitfall is that once you get into the trees you tend to forget the forest( the overall picture!) Always concentrate on the forest and not on the trees! During the intial stages of the product, I missed it and I payed the price(extra time)! 3. How do I know that I'm at the wrong end of building the product? Well it is a tough question, let me give it a try... The moment you sit down to work, what is that flashes in your mind, "how to fix the issues?" "where to find the solutions?" "how could I nail this bug?" If you answer "Yes" to any of the questions, then you are seeing the trees! It is high time you start visualizing the global picture of the product. 4. Will you start building two products, if given a second chance? No, it is not OK! NEVER start two products at the same time, even when they are related. Normally what happens is that you tend to lose focus of one product or the other. Just postpone the start of the second product by 5-6 months. During which the first product would have come to a decent shape. It is just an balancing act! but your mileage may vary... 5. All of a sudden I go blank, what should I do? Well, this I would term as the Product developers "block". It happens, remember afterall we are human. Just take a couple of days off! and get started with a fresh mind! believe me it is normal! Just go ahead and talk with guys out there who has already built great products! 6. But my project is running on a delayed schedule, what do I do? Whatever I say out here will not address your problem. All I have to say is this, you underestimated the project time frame. Believe me all software developers are optimistic, no matter what, that is their nature ;-) This is Ok! as long as you acknowledge the delay and make an effort to make much better schedules. 7. Pitfalls in putting out milestones? Well it depends upon the product, if the product is very straight forward i.e without very high performance/scalability requirements, go ahead with your monthly milestone(s). But be careful while tagging the milestones. Because I faced the problem of running out of milestone numbers :-( and started calling it beta even before it was beta ready! 8.Testing? what? It depends on how much quality you want in your product! Normally it will take 1/3rd the time of the time taken to build the product! No matter how much pressure you have for monthly release, never compromise on quality! We talk about quality etc at the early stages,but sacrifice it in the name of time constraint! Never do that. What if the milestone gets postponed? it is ok! 9. Do I make the team work 7 days a week? Nope! whatever happens don't over do it! (I did it, I got obssessed with the product). Stretch your team only if needed! Well! it might be against the standard management philosophy were the more time you spend the more you gain! I totally disagree with this! Think about this, when is that you get the best ideas and solutions to your problems? I am confident that you don't get them at work! It happens only when you are away from work. Moreover, the nature of software job does not need the couontless hours. All it needs is a clear mind and very little time. But the industry is all screwed up! I took a shot at it but in vain... but I am sure I would break it someday in the near future! Here is an interesting tid-bit: I came across a international study about the productivity of work(i'm sorry I missed the link), It states that on an average only 2 hours/day results in productive work! That means we spend nearly 6 hours a day (assuming 8 hrs as the working time) in communicating etc... Well, I could hear you shout at me, that is not possible, well try for yourseslf! Before that ensure that what productive work is! Anything that you to attain the goal of the company is termed productive. Another word of caution is that this time frame is only an average over a week, i.e you tend to be more productive on some days only! 10. Why this faq? There are two ways to learn anything in this world, one the hard the way and second learning from somebody else's experince. I learnt the hard way, I want you to learn the easier way! If this enlightened you, here is what I want you to do... share two of your learnings that would do! Hey I have more questions what do I do? well you have couple of options i) read some books esp Mythical Man Month (a must read for product leaders) ii) discuss with people who have already crossed it or iii) learn it the hard way! -Ramesh-
MORE RESOURCES:
Software - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
IT Strategy for Large Corporation: ERP/MRP/CRM, Unix/Linux/Windows, Microsoft/Java Combining Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains ERP with non-Microsoft Business System or CRM: Lotus Notes Domino, Oracle, DB2There are multiple opinions on building your established large business IT system. Some companies prefer to be "Microsoft shop", others prefer to stick to Java world. Microsoft Great Plains RW: Report Writer Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is marketed for mid-size companies as well as Navision (which has very good positions in Europe and emerging markets where it can be easily localized). Great Plains Report Writer (RW) module allows for modification and creation of Great Plains reports to suit your business needs. Windows x: Basic Windows "Security" Issues Language development computer: Computer-based method for aiding language development seems like an interesting idea, the trick with this would be in getting the computer to take on part of the role of the human in the checking process.In all computer aided learning applications aimed at the very young, there is a danger that the computer may be seen as a replacement for a human instructor, however computer are notorious for not volunteering information or inability to deal with erratic behaviour. Databases - How We Love to Hate Them! You've finally created databases that you can actually use to store and manipulate all your critical data. That's great news and quite an accomplishment. Your Computer May Be Infected, Heres How To Check (NOT about virus) NOTE: Please take time to read on - it may be vital for your PC's security. If you are not in the mood, just save it or print it out for later reference. Software Review: Xsitepro Total Site Management Software It's not very often I get excited about a software program, but today I'm so excited I just had to tell you about Xsitepro, the top tool for Internet marketers. In particular, those who have been using HTML applications programs like Dreamweaver and Frontpage to produce their Internet media will find this program revolutionary in that it can at least halve your time for site development. Understanding Document Management The term "document management" and "paperless office" is the subject of countless articles and books. Everyone wants to achieve this lofty goal but not everyone understands what the terms really mean. Groupware: What Works the Way Businesses Do? GroupwareThe internet is full of 1.5 million to 7 million indexed pages of groupware packages available on the market today. Know Linux Linux essentials:It's free for download but you have to pay a tiny bit to mail order it or buy it from a company. If you're getting Linux for more than 2-3 PCs, you can also get training and support at a small free, if you choose to have it. Put Some Pizazz in Your Software Arsenal The software giants don't do everything and don't always produce the result that we want. At least if you're like me, and you're not where you would like to be (profitwise). Corporate ERP Selection: Microsoft Great Plains In our opinion, traditional approach when you select ERP/MRP system for large or mid-size company by functionality, database and hardware platform should be revised. We are convinced that new generation of Windows servers plus the reliability of relatively inexpensive database platform, such as Microsoft SQL Server, enable large corporation to decrease the cost of hardware, database and ERM software, plus have good internal support by hiring Microsoft certified professionals, available on the market in your area. IBM Lotus Domino or Microsoft Exchange? IBM Lotus Domino or Microsoft Exchange?The severe competition continues for many years between two main leaders in collaboration solutions - IBM and Microsoft. Whether the choice of a platform influences the ordinary user? The both of software giants put efforts to improve working conveniences for end Internet users. What To Do When Windows Wont Boot When Windows fails to boot it is normally caused by you installing a program or device and it has caused a conflict with one or more other programs.This will no doubt give you plenty of heartaches if you're not certain which program caused Windows to not boot up. ERP Implementation: Success Factors As seeing large number of implementations - in our case these are Microsoft Business Solutions Products: Great Plains, MS CRM, Navision - we would like to give you our opinion on what should you consider to do to secure implementation success. These principles should work as for large corporation as well as for midsize and even small business. Microsoft Great Plains Partner Selection: Overview Microsoft Great Plains, Navision, Solomon and Axapta are Microsoft Business Solutions ERP applications, serving to the whole spectrum of vertical and horizontal markets. Assuming that you already have one of these systems installed and implemented we would like to give you - IT director, Database Administrator, Programmer, Software Developer, Controller your options in supporting/upgrading Microsoft Great Plains for your companyIt is always good idea to install everything on your own - however Great Plains requires combination of computer networking, some programming, good accounting/distribution/logistics/reporting background - so it is not a surprise that Microsoft Business Solutions requires their customers to have specially assigner Microsoft Great Plains Partner/VAR/Reseller to serve the account. 10 Steps To Secure And Manage Your Passwords Passwords protect your most sensitive personal, financial and business information. They are the key to accessing membership, financial, and other web sites that you are a member of. Microsoft Great Plains Remote Support - Overview Microsoft Great Plains is now standard mid-market ERP application, serving the whole spectrum of businesses. In the case of mid-size business we usually see strong IT team with SQL querying skills plus accounting department is already trained to use Great Plains and needs minimal help in figuring out on how to use new Great Plains version and features. Microsoft and Webmasters Does Microsoft care for WebmastersIt's always been a problem with websites appearing exactly the same on different platforms. As a web developer / webmaster it is extremely difficult to make user experiences rich by having the site look the same in any OS / Browser. Behave, Word, Behave! If you copy something from a Web site or elsewhere.. Will Adobe Manage to Replace Industry Work Horse Quark Express by Giving Adobe InDesign for Free? Heard about the Quark "killer"?Adobe InDesign CS2. Will it really "kill" Quark? Adobe has been saying "it will" for the last six years or so, but it hasn't happened.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
