mistaeks i’ve madedeveloping software
productsPhil Calçado - SoundCloud
@pcalcadohttp://philcalcado.com
Wednesday, February 15, 12
ohai!
i’m phil.
Wednesday, February 15, 12
i work here:
Wednesday, February 15, 12
Wednesday, February 15, 12
and so should you.
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http://bit.ly/work-at-soundcloud
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but
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let’s talk aboutthe past
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let’s talk aboutpast
mistakes
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let’s talk aboutmypast
mistakes
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oopsnot these.
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#1 the MMORPG
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Wednesday, February 15, 12
“we want kids to interact with our brand and learn about our products. and
have fun.”
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9 “worlds”9 x 3 interactive activities
online storeparental moderation
achievementsonline currency
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project inception
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Wednesday, February 15, 12
2 weeks to collect200 cards with requirements
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all required for a sticky UX
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all required for a sticky UXwhatever that means.
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2 weeks to collect200 cards with requirementsestimated cost for beta:
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2 weeks to collect200 cards with requirementsestimated cost for beta:$2,000,000.00 AUD
Wednesday, February 15, 12
Wednesday, February 15, 12
searching for “reuse opportunities”
(i.e. cut corners but don’t cut scope)
new estimated cost for beta:$1,300,000.00 AUD
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“that’s better. let’s do it.”
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0
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% converted users over time
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% converted users over time
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% converted users over time
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% converted users over time
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% converted users over time
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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
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% converted users over time
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% converted users over time
~4% of the target # of users
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#1b the portal
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Wednesday, February 15, 12
“we want it to be like igoogle”
“ok. why?”“our users want freedom to arrange widgets”
“how do you know?”“everyone wants freedom!”Wednesday, February 15, 12
Wednesday, February 15, 12
original plan15 widgets4 pages4x15 combos
~R$500,000.003 months to prod
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crazy idea: minimal value product5 widgets2 pages2x5 combos
~R$80,000.002 weeks to prod
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no user moved a single widget
out of the default location
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~30% users requested 2 more widgets.the product was
the industry leader for five years.
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Wednesday, February 15, 12
“sticky” is bs
Wednesday, February 15, 12
“sticky” is bs
show me the data
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#2 the crm
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“we need to take our products to the cloud. let’s start with the crm.”
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“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.”
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estimated cost for beta:$700,000.00 AUD
15 developers3 architects
5 front-end developers5 back-end developers
not sure what the others actually did
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how they were building it:
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software:
database network
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software:
database network
integration layer
Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interface
Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interfaceplan ->
Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interfaceplan ->
actual ->
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“why is this so late?”
“we need more money”
“wtf, what happened?”“we are still far from the
functional requirements.”
“yeh? what about...”Wednesday, February 15, 12
#2b the lonely dev
Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interface
Wednesday, February 15, 12
The LondonSchool
http://amzn.to/vZv4Yw
Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interfaceadd
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Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interfaceadd
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Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interfaceadd
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ed i t
us er
add
to
g roup
Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interfaceadd
new
us er
ed i t
us er
add
to
g roup
Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interfaceadd
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us er
ed i t
us er
add
to
g roup
Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interfaceadd
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ed i t
us er
add
to
g roup
Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interfaceadd
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ed i t
us er
add
to
g roup
Wednesday, February 15, 12
1 developer40 hours
COTS, open source platformthe app was finished.
Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interface
Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interface
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software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interface
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software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interface
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software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interface
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database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
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Wednesday, February 15, 12
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database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interfaceadd
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Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interfaceadd
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Wednesday, February 15, 12
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database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
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Wednesday, February 15, 12
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database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
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Wednesday, February 15, 12
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database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
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Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interfaceadd
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add
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Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interfaceadd
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ed i t
us er
add
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Wednesday, February 15, 12
software:
database network
integration layer
business logic
presentation logic
user interfaceadd
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us er
add
to
g roup
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Wednesday, February 15, 12
focus on valueand focus on
delivering value ASAP
Wednesday, February 15, 12
you cannot design abetter wheel without
driving the old one for a bit.
Wednesday, February 15, 12
questions?
Wednesday, February 15, 12
orbigado!
Phil Calçado - SoundCloud@pcalcado
http://philcalcado.comWednesday, February 15, 12
http://bit.ly/work-at-soundcloud
Wednesday, February 15, 12
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfgangstaudthttp://www.flickr.com/photos/seite-3/http://www.flickr.com/photos/nirakhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/doug88888/http://www.flickr.com/photos/donnagrayson
pics:
Wednesday, February 15, 12