how to suck at developing a web app, when you’re not a web shop

Eric Light@RhyvenNZContactMe@EricLight.com

Audience Check

Developers? (Duh...)

Entrepreneurs?

Project Managers?

Audience Check

Developers? (Duh...)

Entrepreneurs?

Project Managers?

How to suck at developing a web app, when you’re

not a web shop.

On contracts, missed deadlines, and working with friends

Eric Light@RhyvenNZContactMe@EricLight.com

How to suck

On contracts, missed deadlines, and working with friends

Eric Light@RhyvenNZContactMe@EricLight.com

A bit about Eric

(Apple ][e) BASIC

A bit about Gravity

Small team (techs == Jordan & Eric)

Software development (still mostly in BASIC

omg)

IT Support, Server installs, etc.

...

Web Development conspicuously absent

The Root of the Problem

Typical ‘technician-founded’ company› No systems.

NoneSeriously, folks!

Eric was every role› Sales, Marketing, HR, Accounts, ZOMFG,

FML

The Inspiration

“I need you to call Geoffrey, and find out what he means by Ђξμδ.”

Need a tracking system

Brilliance!

Wait a minute... we’re developers!

“Let’s build our own!”

<trumpets>

The Plan

Develop a web app for job tracking

We were the target market

Must be simple, fast, cheap

Implementation

Brought it to a web dev

Quoted 100hrs max(accepted reluctantly)

2 deadlines:› Prototype – 6 wks› To Market – 12 wks

“Begin!”

<more trumpets>

All was hopeful...

The month passed...

Welcome to Hell

“Each time I re-readthe scope I noticesomething new..”

“I’ve hit a bitof a snag..”

“I can’t figure out how to do this bit here...”

*crickets*

...Half way to deadline

...1 day before due

...3 days overdue

...2 weeks overdue

The Meeting

Me, the dev, plus 2 business partners

Another month, guaranteed

def quit_date:return mid-feb

My blunder:“We’ll make these bits part of the final”

Quick Recap

Now well overdue

Still on prototype

100 hours, max

33% due on delivery

D-day

Not really finished

He said it was(remember: “prototype”)

Payments / Billing -> final stage

Demanded $$ for delivered prototype

déjà vu!

My expenses:About $6000+GST

His effective rate:

$10 per hour

What did we do right?

Understood the problem clearly

Kept a lid on scope creep

Knew the target market

Calculated commercial viability

Defined a quit date (finally!)

Where we went wrong

Failure to plan for failure› No milestones› No fallbacks› For either party

No prototyping

Working with a friend, sans contract

LoremIpsum

The Road Ahead

Early Warning Signs

Your wife says it’s not going to work

You haven’t done a paper prototype

You don’t have a dated chart for functionality delivery dates

Professionalism slips

*crickets*

A haiku

On a pre-planned date /if milestones aren’t yet met /inspect the darn code!

So remember...

Plan for failure – have a graceful exit!

Set clear milestones, with CRUD.› This lets you track progress very finely!

Your dev’s estimates are wrong.› So are yours.

Hofstadter’s Law

Communicate›CommunicateCommunicate!

Say: If I don’t enforce a term, it doesn’t change the contract, and I can still enforce it any time in the future.

Resources

These slides are at pycon.ericlight.com› Contractor template – email me

GettingITRight.co.nz

Business Technology Resource Centre› “Avoiding Project Failure”, 2003

CIO Magazine› “Lessons in Defeat”, 2011

Thanks

David Richardson› Additional critical brain

Jordan Schwab › learning SilverStripe to resurrect the

project Stock.XCHNG (www.sxc.hu)

› Imagery Grant Paton-Simpson & Roger Smith

› Letting me present to them

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make

as they fly by.”

Actual quote from my developer... As well as Douglas Adams

Question Time!