People & Process Thoughts

Time to stop talking and build a prototype

Someone commented when looking at our News page that the constant tick over of new releases was a clear indication of our Agile nature. This is true, we are Agile as that page does indeed show, but all that means is that we iterate our way to success. For example, Gemini Workspaces were not always so, once upon a time they were called App Nav Cards and did not have half the functionality that Workspaces do. So we gave you the cards and then release by release we worked our way to where we are -- stable, highly functional Workspaces that bring all stakeholders onto the same page. I wish that all our innovations were perfect first time but this is not always the case. Roadmap, Changelog and document storage (Docstore) were once part of the Gemini core, then we built an apps framework and Open Sourced them, to make the product less bloated and more flexible.

I thought I would share a core belief now that a New Year is coming around. Soon we will all pick up our hopes for the months ahead and lay them out on the table as resolutions. They are nice, shiny hopes, full of promise and untainted (yet) by the stain of failure or rejection. We have usually invested much time in creating and nurturing these hopes, some of us have harboured them for years. Some of these hopes have been picked up and polished for so long that there is hardly any hope left on them, they've been worn that thin!

In the world of Software Development a lot of these hopes are of innovations and inventions that the whole world could benefit from. The most glittering of these may bring fame and fortune to their holders. I say 'holders' because most of these hopes are clutched so tight that no amount of intervention can prise them from the grasp of their owners.

If this is even vaguely true of you then I strongly recommend that you stop talking, even to yourself, get Agile, and start building prototypes that you can give to the world in stages. Hopes are dreams and you can't eat dreams. Nobody can, which is why so few people will buy your dreams off you. If you have one hope for the coming year then let it be that you will find it in yourself to do something. It is that 'doing' mindset that the News page represents. Harvey walks into the office and exhorts us with: 'stop worrying, stop dithering, blame nobody, do something. You are what people see, not what you say you are.'

We aim to keep up the tradition of being more next year than were this year Keep a watch on that News page and take us to task if you don't see the signs. Our customers need super smart integration between Gemini and cloud based document management (or a Wiki for want of a better explanation), so I'd better stop talking and get prototyping.