Thursday, 10.53pm
Sheffield, U.K.
Fantasy, abandoned by reason, produces impossible monsters; united with it, she is the mother of the arts and the origin of marvels. – Francisco Goya
Do you ever think about what you need from a product or service?
I find myself quite conflicted sometimes between what I need, what clients need, and what others think clients need.
Let me explain.
I was having a chat with someone about using a particular software application.
The app did something specific, as long as you gave it the data it needed.
There was still a lot of work involved in getting the data.
Once you had the data, the thing the software did wasn’t as necessary any more.
You had learned enough to do the rest of the work on your own.
I don’t think many products or services get this right.
Or, looking at it from the other end of the telescope, the products that survive do something right.
But, even then you sacrifice something.
Microsoft made it easy to use computers.
In doing so, they created a working environment where it’s easy to do easy stuff.
You just open a spreadsheet and add numbers in complicated ways.
It’s impossible, for most users, to do difficult stuff.
How many people do you know that can think of three ways to combine data from a hundred different spreadsheets?
It’s funny.
There are a thousand products that are vying for your attention.
The one thing you can be certain of is that not a single one will do everything you need.
If you push it, you’ll reach the limits eventually. Maybe even very soon.
Maybe we should think of software like we think of cars.
Worryingly, some are three-wheelers, economical perhaps but prone to tipping over if you go around a corner too fast.
Some are amazing, and come with a price tag to match.
There’s a tradeoff between factors such as speed, comfort, style, and cost.
How do you choose one? Pick the one that meets your needs.
The thing I am starting to see is that we should be using lean principles more when selecting software tools.
The most important principle is flow.
What happens next after you use the software? What happens before it? If the product doesn’t contribute to flow, then do you need it at all?
The second is to use what you already have.
If you’ve invested in systems, then you should make the most of them before buying anything else.
Then you should use Free/Libre/Open Source Software (FLOSS).
You should only choose something proprietory and controlled when you have no other choice.
Even then, think about what you will do if your access to that software is cut off – something that’s not unthinkable these days.
What will you do then?
I think we are moving into a world where it will be profitable to operate open source models.
The challenge these days is getting anyone to use your software at all.
The more users you have the more likely it is that you’ll find ones that are willing to pay.
You may not make billions but you’ll find a business model that creates value.
This may be a hard thing for some business people to understand.
Why would you invest in FLOSS?
It comes down to a belief that software is too important to be left to markets.
A child anywhere in the world should be able to access and use computers to find information, learn, and create.
People go to great lengths to control access to physical resources.
That’s bad enough.
We cannot afford to have others control our intellectual resources.
We need to be free to think.
That’s an unexpected conclusion.
What we need, from any product or service, is for it to help us stay free.
Cheers,
Karthik Suresh
Handcrafted insight 