The Ways of the Software People
Jeff Lawson@jeffiel
(and the Ways of the Dodo)
*Fictional Reenactment
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Build vs. Buy
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It’s bad to build.
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Agile Development
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big projects aren’t predictablesmall milestones are predictable
problems change more rapidly than delivery
Agile Development
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Build
ReleaseRevise
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RFP
ContractDelivery
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Buying vendor solutions is waterfall all over again.
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Reduce Risk
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70%FAIL
Software People think differently.
We’re a software
company.
Software Peoplesolve business problems with
magnetic particles.
Who are Software People?It’s not a skill set, it’s a mindset.
throughthe lens of software
Not just developersProduct People
CEOs
Developers
Operations People
CFOs
Customer Service People
SalesMarketing
say:“how can software solve this business
problem?”
believe any
business problem can be
solved once it’s in the
domain of software.
More and more of markets are addressable by Software People
World WorldSoftware
Text Input Text Output
Audio Video
EverythingElse
Problems10’s-20’s
Media Problems90’s-00’s
Textual Problems70’s-80’s
NumericalProblems50’s-60’s
Sensors ActuatorsSoftware
Sensors Actuators
Sensors
Sensors
Sensors
Sensors
Sensors
Sensors
Actuators
Actuators
Actuators
Actuators
Actuators
Actuators
Software
3 AccelerometersProximity Sensor
Light SensorMoisture Sensor
GyroscopeGPS
2 Cameras2 Microphones
2 Speakers
Not Software People Software People
Not Software People Software People
Not Software People Software People
Not Software People Software People
Not Software People Software People
You might not be Software People when...
Minimal Telephone Hardware
Preserve the flexibility of software.
User expectations have changed.
“The only source of competitive advantage is the one that can
survive technology-fueled disruption: an obsession with
customer experience.” Harley ManningForrester Research, author of Outside-In
Iterate quickly.Ship constantly.
Get feedback from customers quickly.
Software People move fast.
Serving users requires agility.
1997 Buy Servers2000 Rent by the Year2003 Rent by the Month2008 Rent by the Hour
Queues
Load BalancersStorage
CDNMap Reduce
Business Intelligence
NotificationsServers
Buy the PBXBuy the Minute
Buy the Message
Phone Numbers
Call Queueing
Picture MessagingText to Speech
Voice Transcription
Conferencing
Compose These
Elements
ComposableBusiness
Still going to buy,but they’re going to buy
smaller blocks.
Value small blocks over big ones.
Value continuous iteration over monolithic vendor
solutions.
This comes naturally to us Software People, but is
news to much of the business world...
... which is good news.
Those that adapt most quickly will
survive.
Natural Selection
Every industry will become a software
industry.
Build vs. Buy
Build vs. Die
Jeff Lawson@jeffiel
The Ways of the Software People(and the Ways of the Dodo)