“Agile” software development states you should try and get software out in front of people as soon as possible. Specifications are just documents, software is real - and you can’t get feedback, see what works or improve until what you have is out in the real world. 37Signals, creators of Ruby on Rails and Basecamp, call this the “Race to Running Software“. They even went as far as to launch Basecamp with no billing capabilities - using the 30-day period post-launch to add it in time for invoice day.

For the most part, I agree. Specifications are a dream, not reality. Paying customers pinpoint the important issues much more accurately than the development team. Working in small iterations means you always know where you are.

But it does have its downside - as experienced by the Northcrew at the moment. For as soon as you launch, you become public property. And if you are a success, as Northpack undoubtedly is, the public immediately wants a piece of you. “What are your plans?“, “Why doesn’t X do Y?“, “What about ownership issues?“, “What’s in it for me?” - all get thrown at you. And, having concentrated solely on getting something out of the door, this barrage must feel pretty overwhelming. Especially when it’s something done in your spare time, that costs you money and is given away for free (in Northpack’s case).

To be honest, I’m not sure what the answer is - you have to focus on the next stage, otherwise you don’t have a product. But you need to be prepared for three or four stages ahead or the barrage will drag you down. This becomes even more important if this is a commercial service - if you are taking people’s money they need to know what they will be getting for it. However, I’m not sure how divide your time between the very real needs of now and the potential needs of the future. Any ideas?

“Cyclists Racing” by sritenou.

The other side of the coin. Thank you David.

Does your product pass the Subway Test?

The key fault with Basecamp is that people have to use it for it to be useful. And clients, in particular, are happier using e-mail. My number one improvement would be to create project-specific e-mail addresses - so clients could e-mail the project (the mail becoming a message or comment - although how it tells is something for the smart people to figure out). And I did put that in my customer satisfaction survey.

There used to an old joke about software - it’s not finished till it does e-mail. Unfortunately, it’s funny ‘cos it’s true. My application, when it goes live, has full in-built e-mail support - it’s just a necessity.

I love 37Signals, I love Rails and I love Basecamp. But I do not like this banner in my Basecamp account. It’s not really a System Announcement is it?

DHH’s two latest blog posts (here and here) reekof smugness and elitism. Fair enough, if anyone deserves to be smug and feel like they are part of the elite then it’s DHH, Jason Fried and the 37Signals people. But that attitude stinks and I’ll never like it.

Who is this mainstream that you despise so much? It’s the vast majority of normal people who may be as smart as you but haven’t had the breaks. Or who may not be as smart as you but are still pretty smart. Or who may not be that smart at all but have a job programming computers. But they have bills to pay and their mortgages and loans and divorce payments and screaming children mean that they can’t afford the risk of chucking away their “shitty” J2EE/.NET/COBOL jobs with its £30000 salary. Remember £30000 is half again higher than the average household income in the UK. Swap J2EE/.NET/COBOL for McDonalds/petrol station/supermarket checkout. Those people are real scum, right?

Just because you’re a superstar doesn’t mean you should shit on those who aren’t. It’s plain rude and shows a lack of basic respect for other people.