Question your work Mar 17 2008
28 comments Latest by Kawika Holbrook
A slide from my South by Southwest presentation:
These are questions we ask each other before, during, and sometimes after we work on something. That something can be as small as a couple-hour project or as big as something that takes a few weeks or more. Either way, it’s important to ask questions like this in order to make sure you’re doing work that matters.
Why are we doing this?
Ever find yourself working on something but you don’t know why? Someone just told you to do this or that? It’s pretty common I think. It’s important to ask yourself (and others) why you’re working on this. What is this for? Who benefits? What’s the motivation behind it? Knowing the answers to these questions will help you better understand the work itself.
What problem are we solving?
What’s the problem? Are customers confused? Are we confused? Is something not clear enough? Was something not possible before? What problem are we solving here? Sometimes when you ask yourself this question you’ll find that you’re solving an imaginary problem. That’s when it’s time to stop and reevaluate what the hell you’re doing.
Is this actually useful?
Are we making something useful or are we just making something? It’s easy to confuse enthusiasm with usefulness. Sometimes it’s fine to play a bit and build something that’s cool, but it’s worth asking yourself if it’s useful too. Cool wears off, useful never does.
Are we adding value?
Adding something is easy, adding value is harder. Is this thing I’m working on actually making the product more valuable for people? Can they get more out of it than they did before? There’s a fine line between adding value and subtracting value. Sometimes adding is subtracting. Too much catsup can ruin the fries. Value is about balance.
Will this change behavior?
Developers have a tendency to add stats to a screen just because they can. Counts, totals, sums, averages. Numbers can look cool, but do they change behavior? Does it matter if someone knows there are 38 of these instead of 42? Does it matter that someone knows it took 0.08 seconds instead of 0.02? Sometimes it might, but it’s important to constantly ask yourself: Will knowing this information change someone’s behavior? Can they do something useful with this information? Will they make a better decision because of this information? If not, pull it out of the interface. Data without purpose is noise.
Is there an easier way?
There are lots of ways to do things, but for simplicity’s sake let’s say there are two primary ways: The easier way and the harder way. The easier way takes 1 unit of time. The harder way takes 10 units of time. Whenever you’re working on the harder way you should ask yourself is there an easier way? You’ll often find that the easier way is more than good enough for now. Most people’s problems are pretty simple — we just imagine they are hard.
What’s the opportunity cost?
What can’t we do because we’re doing this? This is especially important for smaller companies that are more resource constrained. Limited time makes prioritization more important. If we work on feature A can we still do Feature B and C before April? If not, would we rather have B and C instead of A? Is A really worth the opportunity cost? Ask this all the time.
Is it really worth it?
This one should come up all the time. Is what we’re doing really worth it? Is this meeting worth pulling 6 people off their work for an hour? Is it worth pulling an all-nighter tonight or could we just finish it up tomorrow? Is it worth getting all stressed out over a press release from a competitor? Is it really worth spending $1000/week on Google Adwords? Is it really worth…?
The questions listed above are just some of the questions we’re asking ourselves all the time. At the end of the day it’s all about making the right decisions about the right things at the right time. These questions help us get there.
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28 comments so far
Tim 17 Mar 08
Do you also consider these questions when writing blog posts?
For example, “What’s the opportunity cost?” to spending time blogging vs. building a better product.
Then again, 37svn is solely about marketing your products and becoming the “chef” of web technologies. So maybe the opportunity cost is very low since this blog builds new business.
JF 17 Mar 08
Tim: Yes. Whenever I do something I have these sorts of questions in mind.
Luckily writing a blog post like this usually takes me about 15 minutes. Even if I write a couple of these a day it doesn’t really get in the way. But SvN is a big part of our business so it’s important work.
That said, I have let a good half day slip by writing before. Sometimes that’s OK. Sometimes it isn’t. It all depends which is why you should ask yourself these questions regularly. Not in a look-in-the-mirror sorta way, but in a subconscious way. Usually you’ll feel the answers to the questions and know when something needs to change.
Beerzie 17 Mar 08
And the last question should be:
Do I work for an organization that cares about any of the above?
Jared Goralnick 17 Mar 08
Great points. Can’t wait until your whole presentation is available here on the SXSW podcast channel… You did a great job presenting this, Jason!
A. K. 17 Mar 08
What font is that?
AJ 17 Mar 08
No. However when initially using, say Google, that speed metric is something the user may notice. It builds the perception that the product is fast. And that improves the user experience.
nickd 17 Mar 08
AK: Whitney.
JF 17 Mar 08
However when initially using, say Google, that speed metric is something the user may notice. It builds the perception that the product is fast. And that improves the user experience.
Yup in that case it may change behavior so it works.
Sean Christman 17 Mar 08
I think this is one of your best posts yet that really reenforces the whole Getting Real philosophy. This one truly hit home with me and I couldn’t have made your points any better myself. Classics like this post are great for sending to employees and avoiding meetings to address the stuff you’ve so eloquently condensed here. You could have elaborated endlessly on each statement, but instead you kept it short and concise, which I think is important. A lot of these points are practiced subconsciously (for the most part) by seasoned programmers, however we all need reminders from time to time.
Chris Papadopoulos 18 Mar 08
Does it matter if someone knows there are 38 of these instead of 42?
A few days ago, I wrote a feature for an upcoming site that provides some statistical information every time a particular item is viewed. (counting the number of times a keyword appears in a document)
As only extremely large differences are likely to change behavior, you’ve just inspired me to represent that information a bit differently. (It’s important to the app to know when the keywords appear, just ultimately the difference between something like 42 and 38 isn’t a big deal.)
Christian Watson 18 Mar 08
Love this post! Would it be okay to get a t-shirt made up with the questions listed on it?
jimkastkeat 18 Mar 08
Great set of questions. I work at a church as a students’ pastor. These questions are totally great as I help filter everything I’m doing to help students live the best kind of life, the life God made us to live…
Daimon Caulk 18 Mar 08
Jason, I don’t think “easy” and “common sense” are concepts that are included in many product development methodologies. We think, as a society, that if something is easy it must not be sophisticated. If something is too simple, it must be for beginners. One day, we’ll all wake up and realize that easy and simple take effort to build. It’s a discipline.
I’m all for keeping it easy and simple. And yes, asking the basic questions can help lead you down a path where less truly is more. Understanding what you are going to build and who you are building it will give you a pure path to follow. If you keep adding to it you’re just going to create a big mess.
The great master artists knew one concept very well; they knew when to stop painting.
Peter T 18 Mar 08
Great list of questions. The challenge here is when you bring up these questions to some people, they feel threatened and attacked. A prerequisite to posing these questions is building a solid relationship. Thanks.
Sudhindra Rao 18 Mar 08
Hi Jason, Nice post. I often think of a more encompassing question when I am in quandry and wondering about requirements/features/behaviours, which is “Is it needed?”. Special emphasis on the use of the word “Need”. Because more often that not we find ourselves dealing with “Wants” and “Desires” as far as building functionality is concerned. If we focus on “need”(I also like ‘necessity’) things can be put into better perspective and these detailed questions you are talking about become more obvious.
Just my 2 cents.
Sudhindra
Robert 18 Mar 08
Don’t you think you’ll eventually go nuts when you keep asking yourself this repeatedly? Not to diss on the facts but sometimes you really just have to have some faith you know.
Murray Woolnough 18 Mar 08
Mmmm – beautiful font. I nearly went to the Whitney Museum in New York just because of the typeface.
Keith 18 Mar 08
These are exactly the same questions we asked internally when we began revising how we handle customer service and support documentation.
It lead to MASSIVE changes that have had a profound impact on the way in which our customers view support, get support, and submit questions for help. Very positive all the way around.
Jessica 19 Mar 08
Hi Jason,
It’s been about a week since I sat in on your presentation at SXSW and I have to say, it was one of the most memorable presentations at the conference. Should have taken the opportunity to tell you in person when I stumbled past you late night on 6th street…but the fact that I’m still sitting here with the same enthusiasm speaks more to the endurance of your message.
As a project manager for a small team of web designers and developers, I was more than excited to bring back some Basecamp love. I’m still in in the honeymoon phase – just setting up projects is fun times – but already the anxiety of disorganization is lifting.
So thanks for such a fantastic product. And such an engaging and inspiring presentation. Hope to see you there again next year!
Peter 19 Mar 08
I read this to distract myself from working on my own project. Now I’ve bookmarked it right in the middle of my project bookmarks so I’ll remind myself to think like this. Smart post.
sithlords 19 Mar 08
Hello Jason,
Very good questions. Would it be possible to download your slides?
Thanks,
//a Basecamp user from Hungary
madartsfactory 19 Mar 08
All the questions sound so obvious and simple – probably thats the reason we don’t ask them on everything we do. Thanks for this post.
Steve R. 19 Mar 08
@Beerzie
Your question should be placed before #1 – some of us work at places where considering these questions in the context of our work and management would cause our heads to explode. Adding yours to the top would save the company a lot of money in cleaning the resulting organic residue from cubicles.
ray leigh 20 Mar 08
I pulled this off the baldchemist articles; This guy is a genius; it may give some anlightenment. html://www.thebaldchemist.com
Standing out amid a massive chorus of competitors is the challenge for any brand. The number of sales pitches one receives on a daily basis is staggering and increasingly ineffective. Emotional Association
To create a positive emotional association with your product or service.The mere mention of your brand, product or service can stir up wants and desires. Needless to say, that’s powerful. To create a brand promise that creates such emotional connections it should be:
Grounded in the brands core values Clearly relevant and engaging to your target market Able to create some sort of positive emotional attachment beyond just being “good” Repeated internally and externally within your organisation Adaptable to the business climate Continually reinforced Consistent across advertising and marketing media Known and echoed by business partners and stakeholdersDelivered Promises
When these promises are delivered and compared to the brands competitors then the punters begin to position your brand in their minds.
What is required in the modern sense of positioning is in depth research of your target audience; to glean a more precis understanding of positioning.
That gives companies a much better understanding of the punter perception of the brand. Brand Position (as opposed to positioning) is:
The entire collection of thoughts a punter has in their mind about the professional services firm, service or product on offer from you. Positioning
Positioning is hard work. It is not entirely the domain of a branding, ad agency or media company even though some believe it is.
It is the domain of the CEO and the executive team to align the corporate mission, core values and structure to one that supports punters, connects with them and creates client evangelists. Open Wallets
Positioning is not what you do to a product; positioning is what you do to the mind of the punter. Win your punters hearts and minds and you will find open wallets.
Marc Tiedemann 20 Mar 08
For all german readers: I’ve put up a translation in our blog. Just klick my name and you’ll be taken there.
David Dai 20 Mar 08
“Whenever you’re working on the harder way you should ask yourself is there an easier way?”
If you’re willing to cut some corners, there’s always an easier way. I am all for keeping things simple. But, be careful not to equate simplicity with ease. Very often, simple things are hardest to do. Just ask the AI people. Heck, even coming up with the “easier way” is not always so easy. It’s true that not all hard problems are valuable. However, don’t forget that most valuable problems are hard. With that I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Einstein:
“Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
Chris 20 Mar 08
They should teach that stuff in MBA school, would probably be more useful than “How to be an arrogant dick 101”.
Kawika Holbrook 21 Mar 08
Along the lines of Sudhindra Rao’s question, “Is it needed,” when I’m in a rush, I’ll ask myself - or my clients - one question to get to the heart of the matter: “So what?” I’ll ask it again if the answer isn’t compelling enough to warrant action or offer direction. Eventually, I (or we) get to the heart of the matter and can make more informed, effective decisions.
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