So many features, too little time
There are two key problems, or rather hurdles, when designing software. One is that you want to put everything into the first version, you want it to be perfect from the get go. The other, is being inherently unaware of every scenario or functionality that your customers will experience or desire.
So many ideas, too little time
It is a constant battle to not put in everything but the kitchen sink when designing and building a new application. Many times, ideas will continue to come to you throughout the development process, which is a good thing! However, often, if a person were to implement everything that came to mind, and was determined to wait to launch until the system were perfect in every way….well, the thing would never get launched!
This is one of our biggest struggles. We have to learn to prioritize and to keep a list of all ideas for future versions, so we can get that critical first version out there.
That is the beauty of working on web based software, or software-as-a-service. We can implement enhancements and new features quickly and easily. Unlike traditional installed desktop software, or even worse with server based software, where an update needs to be packaged, the client notified of an update, and then getting them to install it; web based software is a much simpler process of deploying it, and giving a nice surprise to the customer when they next use the application and see something new available to them!
The second obstacle, and perhaps much more important, is acknowledging the fact that we don’t know, and cannot anticipate everything!
As much as we labour over the features list, functionalities and possible uses to which a customer may put our applications, we can never think of everything. This is where user feedback is so critical to the development process. The goal of any software developer should be in meeting as many user requested features as possible, to provide the best experience and most robust feature set that we can. So, be sure to let your feelings and desires be known. If your software provider has a forum or method whereby you can communicate this information to them, take advantage of it.
