StartupJournal posted an article about an entrepreneur who launched a successful product, made some money, then tried to do it again. But the 2nd time around, perfection stalled the entire project. It took a liver transplant (and his company going under) to make him realize he needed to "just ship it."
How many web projects have we all been part of, where the owner wouldn't just let it go live? They kept adding more and more ideas, more content, or more features. They don't realize that each idea---no matter how tiny---significantly increases the complexity of the project (ok, I'm guilty of this too). It's beyond scope creep. It's more of an obsessive-compulsive kind of disorder. Perfection will kill a project before it sees the light of day.
But it can also be your friend. At The RSG, we say, "throw your hat over the fence." Get it live, and get some users tinkering with it. It's okay if there are bugs or kinks (the first few users kinda like that stuff anyway). Watch your traffic logs, and review all the initial feedback. Most importantly, start making some money. Then, go back and perfect it a little. The entire time, at least your site is live, growing with users, and making money. That does wonders for limiting scope creep and keeping things practical. Web software is definitely like changing the tire on a moving car. It's extremely difficult (and insanely dangerous), but if the car is stopped, you're not getting anywhere.
How many web projects have we all been part of, where the owner wouldn't just let it go live? They kept adding more and more ideas, more content, or more features. They don't realize that each idea---no matter how tiny---significantly increases the complexity of the project (ok, I'm guilty of this too). It's beyond scope creep. It's more of an obsessive-compulsive kind of disorder. Perfection will kill a project before it sees the light of day.
But it can also be your friend. At The RSG, we say, "throw your hat over the fence." Get it live, and get some users tinkering with it. It's okay if there are bugs or kinks (the first few users kinda like that stuff anyway). Watch your traffic logs, and review all the initial feedback. Most importantly, start making some money. Then, go back and perfect it a little. The entire time, at least your site is live, growing with users, and making money. That does wonders for limiting scope creep and keeping things practical. Web software is definitely like changing the tire on a moving car. It's extremely difficult (and insanely dangerous), but if the car is stopped, you're not getting anywhere.
