Working Software

Working Software over Comprehensive Documentation is another statement from the Agile Manifesto.  Agile ideas and frameworks have their roots in Software Development hence the focus on ‘Working Software’ but the ideas can be translated into small businesses by talking about ‘Products and Services’ rather than ‘Software’.

This focus is on getting something WORKING rather than ideas, plans and ‘Comprehensive Documentation’.  This is important in all business development areas.  What is important is to get something working, providing VALUE in front of your customers as soon as possible.  It’s only through your customers using and playing with your products and services that you get the REAL opportunity to understand what does and doesn’t work, what is and isn’t providing value to them.  Plans and documents don’t cut it.

So when you are creating products or services to help and support your customers, get something out in front of them quickly.  The concept of a Minimum Viable Product, first used in 2001 and made popular through ideas like “Lean Startup” and “Business Model Canvas”, plays on this idea of getting something in front of customers with JUST ENOUGH features to satisfy the customers and provide feedback for future iterations and development.

As small business owners this is right up our street.  By our nature we are small and nimble and need our business development processes to match that.  Small valuable products or services up and running with just enough features to help our customers and enable us to gather feedback is where we should be focusing.

But this comes into direct conflict with many entrepreneurs and business owners’ desire to provide EXCELLENT service that they equate with PERFECT products and services.  PERFECTION is a dream state that if we were honest with ourselves we would know is never going to happen.  If we wait for PERFECTION we will be waiting for ever.  The term EXCELLENT from the dictionary is “exceptionally good, outstanding quality, remarkably good”.  The word PERFECT is not in any definition I have seen.  “Outstanding”, “Remarkable” and “Exceptional” are all mentioned along with GOOD.  If we provide a GOOD service or product, refine and improve on that then we start to move into EXCELLENT. 

So the starting point is to provide JUST GOOD enough value … and then embark on the journey of refinement and iterative improvement.  It’s only when we get something in front of customers, a MVP, that we can start on that journey.  The plans, documents, ideas are all pre-cursors, the journey starts with the MVP.  So WORKING products and services are where we should get to as soon as possible.

One other benefit that can help small businesses by following this process is that getting to cash quickly is key for a small business.  Getting something that your customers will pay for, quickly is vital to the survival of new businesses.  So if we take the MVP and improve route, then all we need is just enough of a product or service that a customer will pay for, in exchange for value, and then build on that.  With this process, you should be looking to get to cash quickly through your MVP and then use the feedback, and cash to build and improve, in a virtuous circle of feedback.

So what WORKING product or service can you get to MVP stage quickly, in front of your customers and start on that journey towards EXCELLENCE fuelled by feedback and cashflow?