Next Time There Won't Be A Beta Stage
I've come to the realization that the beta stage that CommunityWalk has been in for a little while now may actually be somewhat detrimental. I don't think it was a mistake to do it as I would probably not be where I am right now (with a team in place, a new design about to be finished and lots of people interested in the project) had I not done it, but I think that, if it can be avoided, it should be avoided.
I'm constantly surprised by the time it takes to accomplish something in the software world. No matter how often I go through this process I still underestime the time it takes to do something. One of the tricks I learned at my old job was to take the time I thought it would take and tack on about 50% (depending on the job) more time to account for the unexpected. I never regretted doing that and frequently it just barely covered the actual time it took.
This fact can be exasperated greatly in a situation like CommunityWalk where I've had to meet with so many people as well as do most of the development myself. If the time it takes to develop something is hard to estimate correctly, try estimating the time it takes to close a deal.
What does this have to do with a beta period? Well when I first entered the beta period I thought I might be in there for two months at most while I get the new design finished and clean up a lot of the loose ends. Well about 4 months later I'm still not quite there. At this point CommunityWalk is probably being discounted as a has-been because of the time it has been "dormant" as I have been pounding out the new design with the team.
I think in the end the damage won't be too bad. I'll release the new design and people will forget all about this quiet period. Still, given the resources and connections that I now have, I should be able to get straight to version 1.0 of my next product without having to go through a beta period. I think this is a much better strategic route.
Although you may be forsaking some valuable customer feedback I've realized that most of that feedback is either fairly obvious or, worse, can actually be a distraction, drawing you into areas of the application that only serve a few vocal people. Generally I think if you have confidence in your design of the product and how it should work (and if you don't then what the hell are you doing building the product) then a beta period and the feedback that comes with it really is not all that beneficial.
I'm constantly surprised by the time it takes to accomplish something in the software world. No matter how often I go through this process I still underestime the time it takes to do something. One of the tricks I learned at my old job was to take the time I thought it would take and tack on about 50% (depending on the job) more time to account for the unexpected. I never regretted doing that and frequently it just barely covered the actual time it took.
This fact can be exasperated greatly in a situation like CommunityWalk where I've had to meet with so many people as well as do most of the development myself. If the time it takes to develop something is hard to estimate correctly, try estimating the time it takes to close a deal.
What does this have to do with a beta period? Well when I first entered the beta period I thought I might be in there for two months at most while I get the new design finished and clean up a lot of the loose ends. Well about 4 months later I'm still not quite there. At this point CommunityWalk is probably being discounted as a has-been because of the time it has been "dormant" as I have been pounding out the new design with the team.
I think in the end the damage won't be too bad. I'll release the new design and people will forget all about this quiet period. Still, given the resources and connections that I now have, I should be able to get straight to version 1.0 of my next product without having to go through a beta period. I think this is a much better strategic route.
Although you may be forsaking some valuable customer feedback I've realized that most of that feedback is either fairly obvious or, worse, can actually be a distraction, drawing you into areas of the application that only serve a few vocal people. Generally I think if you have confidence in your design of the product and how it should work (and if you don't then what the hell are you doing building the product) then a beta period and the feedback that comes with it really is not all that beneficial.
posted by The Entreprexplorer | 11:52 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home