It's All About Software (and Passion)
Just to touch on Apple and Microsoft again... I've watched the conversation between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates from this year's D5 conference a number of times. The thing that keeps amazing me is that these guys, earlier than almost anyone else, got that it's all about the software. They realized that we had this great, new technology... but it was way too hard for the average person to use.
Gates referred to a speech that Jobs gave years ago where he said, "We build the products that we want to use ourselves." I always hear successful people say that the key to success is being passionate about what you're doing and what you're producing. Microsoft and Apple are two examples where this approach has obviously worked. I'm convinced these giants are more similar than different.
It would be foolish not to apply these ideals into our own software projects. To have a successful project we need to become our target users. Think like they think. Learn their passions and pain points, then build solutions that alleviate the pain and fuel their passion.
I've found that when I'm passionate about something, my desire is to make it perfect. This is where an Agile approach pays off. From the beginning, you take an approach that you'll endlessly be tweaking and improving (evolving) what you have, always making it a better extension of yourself and your goals.
As we've learned from Microsoft and Apple, the result is a group of users who are passionate about our software.
Gates referred to a speech that Jobs gave years ago where he said, "We build the products that we want to use ourselves." I always hear successful people say that the key to success is being passionate about what you're doing and what you're producing. Microsoft and Apple are two examples where this approach has obviously worked. I'm convinced these giants are more similar than different.
It would be foolish not to apply these ideals into our own software projects. To have a successful project we need to become our target users. Think like they think. Learn their passions and pain points, then build solutions that alleviate the pain and fuel their passion.
I've found that when I'm passionate about something, my desire is to make it perfect. This is where an Agile approach pays off. From the beginning, you take an approach that you'll endlessly be tweaking and improving (evolving) what you have, always making it a better extension of yourself and your goals.
As we've learned from Microsoft and Apple, the result is a group of users who are passionate about our software.
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