Get Faster – While You’re Getting Better Solving the Tension Between Speed and Quality in Software Product Development

The Race Goes To the Swift and The Bread Goes to the Wise

What’s the Right Product? You may not know until you’ve tried and failed a couple times – which is why product development for startups is so challenging

You may not know until you’ve tried and failed a couple times – which is why product development for startups is so challenging

PayPal: “was really not founded to do payments at all.” Flickr: “…was kind of a lark. It was a side project we built while we were in the process of building [a game].” Hotmail started as a web-enabled database/PIM.

Maximize Your Advantages Flexibility Speed Lack of Bureaucracy … and Minimize Your Disadvantages Time Money Uncertainty

Flexibility

Speed

Lack of Bureaucracy

Time

Money

Uncertainty

“ Reduce. Do as little as possible to get what you have to get done. Do less of it; get it done. If you’ve got two things that you need to put together, take away until they go together. Don’t add another thing. Because you and understand it better; you can analyze it more cleanly. The UI will be easier. Doing less is so important. ” -- Joshua Schachter, founder of delicious

“ Reduce. Do as little as possible to get what you have to get done. Do less of it; get it done. If you’ve got two things that you need to put together, take away until they go together. Don’t add another thing. Because you and understand it better; you can analyze it more cleanly. The UI will be easier. Doing less is so important. ”

-- Joshua Schachter, founder of delicious

Cost of Defects

Requirements Are Dead Your product will change You need to get to market fast Your expertise is in technology or sales, not technical writing

Your product will change

You need to get to market fast

Your expertise is in technology or sales, not technical writing

The trick is not to try harder avoid problems in the first place, but increase your effectiveness and the efficiency with which you dispose of the problems that come up

The trick is not to try harder avoid problems in the first place, but increase your effectiveness and the efficiency with which you dispose of the problems that come up

Long Live Agile Lean and Mean Release NOW Short, Fast Iterations (aka “sprints”) Talk To Customers YAGNI Simple >>> Complex Measure Progress By Working Code

Lean and Mean

Release NOW

Short, Fast Iterations (aka “sprints”)

Talk To Customers

YAGNI

Simple >>> Complex

Measure Progress By Working Code

Build Safety Nets What’s a Safety Net? Hint: It’s not just a practice that allows you to sleep better at night.

What’s a Safety Net?

Source Control Check in early and often Leave nothing out TONS of options: CVS, SVN, Git, TFS, Vault Backing up to thumb drive is NOT source control! Best Practice: Tonight, Before You Go To Bed, Set Up An Account With Unfuddle.com

Check in early and often

Leave nothing out

TONS of options: CVS, SVN, Git, TFS, Vault

Backing up to thumb drive is NOT source control!

Best Practice: Tonight, Before You Go To Bed, Set Up An Account With Unfuddle.com

Issue Tracking Set up a common, shared repository for bugs, issues, feature requests, tasks, etc. Lots of freeware available to fill this need Review often Best Practice: Write ACTIONABLE items in your lists.

Set up a common, shared repository for bugs, issues, feature requests, tasks, etc.

Lots of freeware available to fill this need

Review often

Best Practice: Write ACTIONABLE items

in your lists.

One-Click Deployment Get as close as you can to being able to build and deploy your product in ONE CLICK Source Code Build Your Database Insert Test Data Deploy to Server / Create Install Files / etc. Best Practice: Every Week, Remove One Manual Step From Your Build

Get as close as you can to being able to build and deploy your product in ONE CLICK

Source Code

Build Your Database

Insert Test Data

Deploy to Server / Create Install Files / etc.

Best Practice: Every Week, Remove One Manual Step From Your Build

Continuous Integration This is a software service that runs your one-click build - automatically AKA “nightly builds”, “automated builds” Cruise Control, Perforce, many others Best Practice: Run Builds On Every Commit, and Fix Problems Immediately

This is a software service that runs your one-click build - automatically

AKA “nightly builds”, “automated builds”

Cruise Control, Perforce, many others

Best Practice: Run Builds On Every Commit, and Fix Problems Immediately

91% of successful Meerkats use Continuous Integration

Unit Tests / Automated Tests Myth: Unit Tests Slow You Down Myth: Unit Tests Are Only Effective If You Have 95% Code Coverage Focus on the Squirrels Like A Good Virus, Unit Tests Should Multiply Over Time Best Practice: Include Unit Tests In Your Continuous Integration Builds

Myth: Unit Tests Slow You Down

Myth: Unit Tests Are Only Effective If You Have 95% Code Coverage

Focus on the Squirrels

Like A Good Virus, Unit Tests Should Multiply Over Time

Best Practice: Include Unit Tests In Your Continuous Integration Builds

Moving From the Tactical to the Strategic

Moving From the

Tactical to the Strategic

Hire Selectively Spread Ownership Shared Vision and Goals Be Honest Have Empathy Constant Feedback and Communication Peopleware: Good People Are Always More Important Than A Good Idea

Hire Selectively

Spread Ownership

Shared Vision and Goals

Be Honest

Have Empathy

Constant Feedback and Communication

If You Aren’t Leveraging Other People’s Code, You’re Losing “ Roll Your Own” = “ I’ll be looking for a job in 6 months ” Use Frameworks Find and Use Cheap IT Outsourcing Use Good Tools

“ Roll Your Own” = “ I’ll be looking for a job in 6 months ”

Use Frameworks

Find and Use Cheap IT Outsourcing

Use Good Tools

Remoting Do Distributed Teams Work For Startups? It’s a Tradeoff between Expertise, Communication and Coordination –but which is most important? There is no best answer

Do Distributed Teams Work For Startups?

It’s a Tradeoff between Expertise, Communication and Coordination –but which is most important?

There is no best answer

Question Received Wisdom “ You need a project manager” “ You need to be solid and stable before you release” “ Language ‘X’ is the only good choice” “ You need a design spec” “ You need to staff up” “ You need funding” “ You need to own your hardware”

“ You need a project manager”

“ You need to be solid and stable before you release”

“ Language ‘X’ is the only good choice”

“ You need a design spec”

“ You need to staff up”

“ You need funding”

“ You need to own your hardware”

Thank You, and Good Luck! Anthony Stevens [email_address]