Comments on: Setting myself targets http://www.macrobug.com/blog/2006/09/26/setting-myself-targets/ Macrobug Blog Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:22:49 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Adrian Taylor http://www.macrobug.com/blog/2006/09/26/setting-myself-targets/comment-page-1/#comment-21 Adrian Taylor Thu, 28 Sep 2006 16:03:40 +0000 http://www.macrobug.com/blog/2006/09/26/setting-myself-targets/#comment-21 What-ho Day. Thanks for the thoughts. Release Early, Release Often & Agile - I entirely agree. I've not released anything yet (for reasons I may come to in a bit) but I have been sort-of-practicing those principles internally. I wrote my first prototype in Perl, then recoded it in Java with a bit more functionality, and now an integrating it into the Carbide IDE. Actually, I suppose that's a different principle - "throwaway prototyping" - but it shares the same acknowledgement that requirements might change, so doing a single big monolithic thing isn't going to work, you need to do steps on the way there. Spending time working on coding is all very well, though, but in this game I have to keep up-to-date with what's going on in the rest of the Symbian universe. I need to co-operate with customers and Symbian, as much as I need to be able to sell them stuff. Increasingly, though, I'm getting enough feedback from potential customers to have an idea of which tools might or might not sell, so I'd like to think my time will shift a bit more towards development soon. The lack of screenshots/information/releases is because there's a small chance I might want to patent what I'm doing (hideous though software patents are). I doubt I will, but until I've made my mind up, I can't disclose stuff outside of confidential relationships :-( What-ho Day. Thanks for the thoughts.

Release Early, Release Often & Agile – I entirely agree.

I’ve not released anything yet (for reasons I may come to in a bit) but I have been sort-of-practicing those principles internally. I wrote my first prototype in Perl, then recoded it in Java with a bit more functionality, and now an integrating it into the Carbide IDE. Actually, I suppose that’s a different principle – “throwaway prototyping” – but it shares the same acknowledgement that requirements might change, so doing a single big monolithic thing isn’t going to work, you need to do steps on the way there.

Spending time working on coding is all very well, though, but in this game I have to keep up-to-date with what’s going on in the rest of the Symbian universe. I need to co-operate with customers and Symbian, as much as I need to be able to sell them stuff. Increasingly, though, I’m getting enough feedback from potential customers to have an idea of which tools might or might not sell, so I’d like to think my time will shift a bit more towards development soon.

The lack of screenshots/information/releases is because there’s a small chance I might want to patent what I’m doing (hideous though software patents are). I doubt I will, but until I’ve made my mind up, I can’t disclose stuff outside of confidential relationships :-(

]]> By: Day Barr http://www.macrobug.com/blog/2006/09/26/setting-myself-targets/comment-page-1/#comment-20 Day Barr Thu, 28 Sep 2006 08:51:16 +0000 http://www.macrobug.com/blog/2006/09/26/setting-myself-targets/#comment-20 I'd definitely suggest you get a working tool together as a priority. Talking to people might be a good way to get them interested in your tools, but no one is going to buy them just on your say so. Show them something working and if they want it, they'll jump on it. Showing early prototypes (make sure you everyone that they <i>are</i> prototypes) gets you quick feedback, ideas for improvements, lets you know what doesn't work very well so you don't waste time on it etc. Plus we can all see what it is... you're missing a screenshots section :) <a href="http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/cathedral-bazaar/ar01s04.html" rel="nofollow">Release Early, Release Often</a> and be <a href="http://www.agilemanifesto.org/principles.html" rel="nofollow">Agile</a>. /buzzwords I’d definitely suggest you get a working tool together as a priority. Talking to people might be a good way to get them interested in your tools, but no one is going to buy them just on your say so. Show them something working and if they want it, they’ll jump on it. Showing early prototypes (make sure you everyone that they are prototypes) gets you quick feedback, ideas for improvements, lets you know what doesn’t work very well so you don’t waste time on it etc. Plus we can all see what it is… you’re missing a screenshots section :)

Release Early, Release Often and be Agile. /buzzwords

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