Getting Real

1. Scope

1.1. Ignore requests until repeated

1.2. Keep app small, underdo competition

1.3. Build only what you can manage

1.4. Have a clear competitor/enemy

1.5. One-point vision for the project

1.6. Divide work into manageable sections

1.7. Design for things to go wrong

1.8. More mature should not mean bigger

1.9. One-point vision for the project

2. Testing

2.1. Don't use beta as an excuse

2.2. Test with real users

2.3. Prioritize bugs

2.4. Set expectations with first release

3. Architecture

3.1. Lower the cost of change

3.2. Ignore details, keep big picture in view

3.3. Open system - API and RSS

3.4. Keep code as simple as possible

3.5. Normal, blank and error states

3.6. Keep scalability in mind

3.7. Focus only on the essentials

3.8. Start with essential core of page

3.9. No blueprints

4. Customers

4.1. Identify core market early

4.2. What do they NOT want

4.3. Let customers know of any problems

4.4. Respond quickly to customers

4.5. Tough love, say "NO" to customers

5. Mentality

5.1. Brainstorm, sketch and HTML

5.2. Embrace Constraints

5.3. Ignore problem you don't yet have

5.4. Make decisions quickly

5.5. Solve own problem to maintain passion

5.6. Listen to the code

5.7. Understand your product's personality

5.8. Share your knowledge with the world

5.9. Be open to changing the app

5.10. Know what your competitor is doing

6. Financial

6.1. Self-fund

6.2. Enable paid upgrades

6.3. Freemium model

6.4. No long-term contracts

6.5. Pay bills when due

6.6. Expose hidden costs

7. Team

7.1. 3 Musketeers

7.2. Evaluate on Open Source contributions

7.3. Don't silo development

7.4. Alone time for focused development

7.5. Hire only the people you need

7.6. Test new members with a task

7.7. Seek happy, quick-learning generalists

7.8. Choose motivating tools and processes

7.9. Make developers support the app

7.10. Celebrate the small victories

7.11. Hire good writers

8. Schedule

8.1. Release early and often

8.2. Launch program on time and on budget

8.3. New release 30 days after first public

8.4. Have an ongoing development log

8.5. Work in iterations

9. Communication

9.1. Use the blogosphere

9.2. Splashy launches, powerful promo

9.3. Friendly, personable, approachable

9.4. Speak same language as the customer

9.5. Let people know about, sign up early

9.6. Track logs

9.7. Don't respond too quickly to negatives

10. UI and Docs

10.1. Incorporate admin into interface

10.2. Design the interface first

10.3. Context of a site over consistency

10.4. Give it a memorable name

10.5. Inline help/faq

10.6. No dead documents

10.7. Write a general story not details