Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and web development
A closer lookMinimum Viable Product is simply a strategy in which a product is introduced to market as soon as possible and then the additional features are built while learning from customer feedback. Typically this means that a roadmap of features is drawn and features are released one by one, but in extreme cases, products aren’t even fully functional until a presale has been made.
While certainly not ideal for many products, MVP is a strategy that works well in web development as it is very easy to release updates and gather feedback. Invariable customers will have opinions and perspectives that differ from your own and getting feedback early will allow for adaptation without significant extra expense.
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Why it is a good idea to plan and build (web) software in stages
A closer lookIt is natural to approach a new project with the finish line in your sights, and in our experience that always leads to wasted money and time. We always recommend a modular build strategy where features are split into different development phases. Why? Let’s take a look at the top 4 modular strategy advantages.
Unforeseen options. During the design process it is inevitable that there will be changes in features, specifications, and even sometimes products themselves—it is difficult to anticipate every possible outcome and useful to be able to change gears without undoing hours of project management and product scope.
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Five tips for hiring the right web developer
A closer lookHiring the right developer can make a significant impact on business growth, system efficiency, and even team morale. Tech is at the heart of modern business and if systems break down things fall off the rails all too quickly.
So, how do you know who to hire? You’re almost certainly not a developer yourself, so assessing skills can be a challenge. And even then, there is a wide variety of developer mentalities and as developers ourselves, we can say that we’re kind of a strange lot. So with that in mind here are five tips for hiring the right developer.
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Don’t lose yourself while branding
One minute overview seriesThe problem with branding is how easy it is to abandon company essence by building a facade of what we think our customers wish to see. This is a bad strategy and a losing battle from the start. This distortion of the concept of branding is both ineffective and detrimental.
Good branding requires first determining your essence and being the best version of yourself and THEN communicating that in a clear, consistent way that your customers can actually hear.
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Know your allowable tolerance
One minute overview seriesAllowable Tolerance: The tolerance required for any given task. In other words, how perfect you need to be, and how much time and cost can be sacrificed in pursuit of that level of perfection.
Knowing the allowable tolerance for any given task is an easy way to ensure perfectionism doesn’t slow you down. Some tasks require great precision and some don’t. Speed and perfection are both valuable, so understand exactly what is required and act accordingly.
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Slack as a quick and easy notification system
One minute overview seriesTime is money and notifications are key. An easy alternative to building a notification system is integrating Slack and using it to notify employees of certain events on your site.
The Slack API is powerful which means that you can set up your website as a ‘user’ and send notifications to specific channels and mention specific team members with ease. e.g. New user signup? Send the details to Noah. Error in the checkout? Send the log to Zakk
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