When is software ready to ship?
I’ve been writing software my entire academic and professional career. When writing software in college, software is done when it compiles without errors. (Oh, and when it meets the assignment description.) Out in the business world, software is done when it meets the requirements and the testing person/department rubber stamps it (Not really, but close enough).
What about in a one man micro-ISV? I want to get the first release out as soon as possible, so I’m not packing it with hundreds of features; just the ones that are core to its operation. Extra and whiz-bang features can come in future releases. So I have simple requirements and verified that all of them are met. My experience tells me that it’s ready to go. But something is holding me back from releasing it. Since this is my own personal creation, I want to make sure it is as good as gold. I’ve been testing it to death, making doubly sure it’s solid. Because this is my reputation at stake here. And although probably untrue, I feel that this first release will make or break my dreams of being free from 9 to 5. My feelings and anxieties are probably normal, but for those that have released software successfully, what advice do you have for dealing with this?
(In addition to the software I’m actually selling, I’m also writing software to set up a fully automated sales process integrated with PayPal, and an affiliate program where sales referrals earn you 15% of the sales price, and you get 5% of sales referred by affiliates that you recruit to sign up. There should be more details by the end of this month! But I’m glad to report that I’m in the home stretch now, testing my software and making sure the sales and distribution infrastructure is in place.)
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- Carla Blazek, free from 9 to 5
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June 9th, 2005 at 3:37 pm
I’ve never shiped a product, but I’d like to say the following.
The quicker you get a product out there, the quicker you can find out what people like/don’t like about it. You sound like you’re at the point where you should either do a beta program to solicit feedback. Or launch the damn thing and find out what people think of it!
June 9th, 2005 at 5:23 pm
Yes, I think I’m going to launch the damn thing already! Thanks for the kick in the rear.
June 9th, 2005 at 6:00 pm
Dawg! I will be waiting to evaluate it.
You ask a very good question. For me, I was sitting on my butt at work one day and it just came to me. I thougt to myself: ‘Nothing is holding me back. I might as well tie up the loose ends and release this to the Internet.’ So I did. In the same day. I hope you are doing well.
June 10th, 2005 at 4:42 am
You said that you feel your first release will make or break your dreams of being free from 9 to 5. I have significant experience at micro-sized software companies, and I’ve got to tell you: no one will remember your first version. It will not be a case of “you never get a second chance to make a first impression”. You’re going to get some of those initial customers, and you’re going to lose some of those initial customers. Unless your target market is so small that losing 10 customers during your 1.0 release will break your business model, you’re going to be just fine. You’ll release 1.1, 1.2, etc and people will pick up on it.
More importantly, the initial 1.0 users, even the ones who hated your product will shape what you change in 1.1, 1.2 etc. It’s only then that your app will become powerful and useful.
Get it out there ASAP. Get feedback, make changes ASAP. Release early and often.
June 10th, 2005 at 5:57 am
Go for it Eric! There will always be another version for new features and changes. Good luck!
June 15th, 2005 at 9:37 am
I agree, launch it as soon as possible. We found that no matter what you do, the first version is never perfect. However the great news is that your customers will really give you directions for the next releases. Really listen to them, they will let you know what are the most important features for them. Implement those, not what you think, but what they tell you.
Regards,
Stephane Grenier
http://www.followsteph.com
June 15th, 2005 at 5:26 pm
I have to agree with what’s already been said here, go with your instincts and get it out there. The feedback you get will ultimately shape the product in future releases.