Merlin Mann on Episode 96 of Back to Work[1] says:
“Step Zero - build a bug tracker.”
Merlin is talking about software engineers propensity to build things. It’s a bit of a throw away comment but definitely strikes a nerve with me, in a I’ve been there and done that sorta way.
Engineers Build Things
I’ve been building software for 15 years and I have built a couple bug trackers. Was it ever a good idea? Well, no. The only good reason to build your own bug tracker is if that bug tracker is your product.
Why then, if we all know this, is the statement so true? Well, engineers build things. If, as a software engineer, you look at a piece of software and think you can’t do it better, you either aren’t a very good engineer or that is a hell of a good software product.
Where it Matters
Imagine McDonalds admitting Burger King has a better cheeseburger.[2] Of course that’s not going to happen. The cheeseburger is at the core of their business. And that is the key decision point on deciding when to create from scratch.[3] Anything that is your product should be built or understood unequivocally by the engineering team.[4]
The highest quality products I’ve worked on were built with this philosophy. That’s not to say these were the most successful products in terms of revenue but they were the most enjoyable to work on. I also learned the most being part of teams working in this manner.
How Jottpad Fits In
After taking a look at many of the existing options in the App Store I decided to build my own based on the following.
- Easily share a list with my wife.
- Syncs with a website of some sort so I can access from anywhere.
- Simple enough my wife won’t be put off by too many bells and whistles.
- Not free, I’m not into people doing spammy stuff with my data.
There are a bunch of apps which meet some of these criteria but nothing was just right.[5] I didn’t take this decision lightly and the 6 months of night and evening hours put into the initial release were a bit of a strain at times.[6] My free time over that period was non-existent and I was a bit of a shell during dinner conversations and what not. But, it was all worth it and now I’ve been given the opportunity to focus 100 percent of my time on making Jottpad the best it can be.
Step Zero Mentality
Without the step zero mentality nothing would be re-invented or improved upon. With the step zero mentality we have a plethora of shit in the App Store. Please by all means, build things, it’s what we as engineers do but be conscious of reinventing the wheel just because we can, it’s usually not worthwhile.
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Great podcast, you should be listening. ↩
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I’m a cheeseburger guy. Feel free to insert hamburger or french fries instead. ↩
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Blah ↩
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Recreating a web framework or database is typically not necessary but understanding the chosen tools is just as important as the the code built from scratch. ↩
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This is also why there are so many list apps in the App Store. Everybody wants what they want. No more, no less. ↩
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I was working a full time job at the time. I estimate about 500 hours for that initial release. ↩