Making Web Applications People Love

Making Products for Them

it's all about me, originally uploaded by MrVJTod.

When we describe the products we are making, more often than not, and too often, we say 'and then it does this'. We should catch ourselves when we do this because it's a sure sign that we have just forgotten, even momentarily, who the product is for. It's not for us, it's not for 'it', it's for them. The customer. Or user if you want to be vanilla.

Case in point.

In outlook or Mac Mail, if you are in your 'sent' items and you click reply, it does what a program logically does which is reply to the person who sent the mail, which in sent mail just happens to be you.

WRONG!!!

"Hang on, here is an email, you hit reply, it should reply it to who sent it. Surely."

Nope.

Don't focus on what happened, focus on why happened. Why did they click reply? To resend the email they have right now to themselves? No, never, I can't think of a reason to do that.

They do it to resend the email to the same person with or without new information.

Gmail gets this right. In sent mail if you hit reply, it will put the person or persons you sent it to in the to box. So simple.

Each step of the way, think about why they did something, or more importantly, think about what they want to do and why, then create the action. Maybe the button should change in 'Sent Items' to say [Resend].

Dough, Ray, Them!

Lesson: You Don't Have All The Answers

wooden spoons, originally uploaded by emdot.

This is a dual purpose post, but the point is that you don't have all the answers, ideas, brains, skills or gumption to make an amazing web application by yourself. You need to collaborate, celebrate, pontificate and sometimes sedate other people.

And you need a mix. Tech heavies, n00bs, oldies, youngsters, dev, sales, etc, etc.

And they need to do a mix of things. Make stuff, break stuff, shape stuff, fund stuff, inspire you, scare you - the works.

Not much new here, but the tough thing that you need to work towards is the balance. How do you listen and stay focused and passionate about your vision? How do you hire and motivate key people while being OK to let them go free? How do you try to build and perfect this new creation whilst getting a couple more users on every day?

This is the magic, and is worthy of a separate post, but it will only come once you let go of the attachment that you have all the answers.

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In lieu of this mighty lesson, I encourage everyone in Sydney and indeed Australia to get along to the next Stirr event. It's a wonderful function where tech entrepreneurs play, talk, and celebrate risk taking in a fast moving world. It really is a wonderful thing that I highlighted to my mate Phil recently, that everyone in this industry is really helpful, and most people will give you a coffee and their thoughts for nothing but the hope that you'll do the same for someone else one day. Noice.

Stirr Sydney - Technology Entrepreneur Event Extravaganza


P.S. I nearly misspelled that and wrote 'stiff Sydney'. Now that's a different event altogether!

Another blog, but this one's (not) personal

OK, so this is a new blog. This ones about all the work stuff I do that is not quite for the company but certainly more serious then my private blog.

This one is going to be my thoughts, frustrations, experiences and ideas around the pleasure and pain of inventing, designing, developing, growing and managing web based applications that people just go bananas about. They don't just use it, but they love and adore them.

Let's get started.......

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My other blogs;

Tangler Discussion Network

Mick Liubinskas Personal Blog