mistaeks i’ve made developing software products

mistaeks i’ve made
developing software
products
Phil Calçado - SoundCloud
@pcalcado
http://philcalcado.com
Wednesday, February 15, 12

ohai!

i’m phil.


i work here:


and so should you.


http://bit.ly/work-at-soundcloud


but


let’s talk about
the past


let’s talk about
past
mistakes


let’s talk about
my
past
mistakes


oops
not these.


#1 the MMORPG


“we want kids to interact
with our brand and learn
about our products. and
have fun.”


9 “worlds”
9 x 3 interactive activities
online store
parental moderation
achievements
online currency


project inception


2 weeks to collect
200 cards with requirements


all required for a sticky UX


all required for a sticky UX
whatever that means.


2 weeks to collect
estimated cost for beta:


2 weeks to collect
$2,000,000.00 AUD


searching for
“reuse opportunities”
(i.e. cut corners but
don’t cut scope)

new estimated cost for beta:
$1,300,000.00 AUD


“that’s better. let’s do it.”


% converted users over time

4

3

2

1

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec


% converted users over time

4

3

2

1

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

~4% of the target
# of users

#1b the portal


“we want it to be like
igoogle”
“ok. why?”
“our users want freedom
to arrange widgets”
“how do you know?”
“everyone wants
freedom!”

original plan
15 widgets
4 pages
4x15 combos

~R$500,000.00
3 months to prod

crazy idea:
minimal value product
5 widgets
2 pages
2x5 combos

~R$80,000.00
2 weeks to prod

no user moved
a single widget
out of the
default location


~30% users requested
2 more widgets.
the product was
the industry leader
for ﬁve years.


“sticky” is bs


“sticky” is bs

show me the data


#2 the crm


“we need to take our
products to the cloud.
let’s start with the crm.”


“we need to take our
products to the cloud.
let’s start with the crm.”

“no wasting money here, kid.
let’s build a reusable platform.”


15 developers
3 architects
5 front-end developers
5 back-end developers
not sure what the others actually did

$700,000.00 AUD

how they were building it:


software:

database network

software:

integration layer

database network

software:

business logic

integration layer

database network

software:

presentation logic

business logic

integration layer

database network

software:

user interface

presentation logic

business logic

integration layer

database network

software:
plan ->
user interface

presentation logic

business logic

integration layer

database network

software:
plan ->
user interface

presentation logic

business logic

actual -> integration layer

database network

“why is this so late?”
“we need more money”

“wtf, what happened?”
“we are still far from the
functional requirements.”
“yeh? what about...”

#2b the lonely dev


The London
School

http://amzn.to/vZv4Yw


software:

a user interface
d
d
presentation logic
n
e
business logic
w

u integration layer
s
e
r database network

software:

a user interface
d
e
d
d presentation logic
i
n
t
e
business logic
w
u
s
u integration layer
e
s
r
e
r database network

software:

a a user interface
d d
e
d d
i
n t
t
e o
business logic
w
u
g
s
u r integration layer
e
s o
r
e u
r p database network

1 developer
40 hours
COTS, open source platform
the app was ﬁnished.


software:

user interface

presentation logic

business logic

integration layer

$0.00
database $0.00
network

software:

user interface

presentation logic

business logic

integration layer $0.00
$0.00
database $0.00
network

software:

user interface

presentation logic

business logic $0.00
$0.00
database $0.00
network

software:

user interface

presentation logic $0.00
$0.00
database $0.00
network

software:

user interface $0.00
presentation logic $0.00
$0.00
database $0.00
network

software:
$
a a user interface
d d
e
d d
i
n t
t
e o
business logic
w
u
g
s
e
s o
r
e u

software:
$$$$
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d d
e
d d
i
n t
t
e o
business logic
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g
s
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s o
r
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software:
$$$$$$$
a a user interface
d d
e
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business logic
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software:
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d d
e
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n t
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business logic
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software:
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n t
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software:
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a a user interface
d d
e
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i
n t
t
e o
business logic
w
u
g
s
e
s o
r
e u

software:
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$
a a user interface
d d
e
d d
i
n t
t
e o
business logic
w
u
g
s
e
s o
r
e u

software:
$$$$$$$$ $$ $$$$$ $$ $$
a a user interface
d d
e
d d
i
n t
t
e o
business logic
w
u
g
s
e
s o
r
e u

focus on value
and focus on
delivering value ASAP


you cannot design a
better wheel without
driving the old one for a bit.


questions?


orbigado!

Phil Calçado - SoundCloud
@pcalcado
http://philcalcado.com

pics:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfgangstaudt
http://www.flickr.com/photos/seite-3/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nirak
http://www.flickr.com/photos/doug88888/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/donnagrayson


mistaeks i’ve made developing software products

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