In Quality, the secret sauce is feedback!
Why feedback matters
Recently, I was pondering, what do our clients need? The knee-jerk answer?
Deliver software, FAST!
But let's pause and think.
Imagine a scenario: You're dealing with a hangry (hungry + angry, it's a thing) child. You could pop open a bag of packaged food, and poof, problem solved. Happy kid, happy life, happy you! But let's face it, that's the nutritional equivalent of a band-aid on a broken leg. Wouldn’t a healthy snack be much better? It's the same with our customers. Fast is good, but fast and fabulous is better. That means
Deliver software fast without compromising quality.
Quality: how do you objectively define it?
Someone once told me that quality can be felt but is very hard to measure. Take cars, for instance. Some folks love Toyotas for their reliability and durability, while others drool over Bugatti's bling, and then there are the Tesla fans who admire eco-friendly rides. And that’s just cars!
So what is quality, after all? It seems it's meeting your target customer’s needs they didn't even know they had!
Mind-Reading for Beginners: Customer Feedback
The secret sauce to understanding customer needs? Feedback.
Feedback Frenzy: Practical Tips
Cut the Batching: Think of software releases like Netflix miniseries – short, sweet, and frequent. Embrace the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) mindset. Release a feature, gather feedback, rinse, and repeat.
Listen to your customers, and I mean really listen. It's not just about what they say; sometimes, it's about what they don't. In our car analogy, it's not just who buys the sedans but who's not buying them because they like trucks!
In the world of software, listen to them when they
Give requirements
Use prototypes
When and how they use software (signals from the usage)
Give feedback on the product usage
And report bugs!
Feedback Layers: Think of feedback like an onion with layers to peel back. From code quality checks to user happiness surveys, every layer gets you closer to that sweet spot of customer delight.
In summary, quality is about creating endless opportunities for feedback and acting on it with the speed of a cheetah on a coffee buzz.
Next time, we'll dive into the impact of batching on software delivery as a whole. Stay tuned and keep coding!