This link has been bookmarked by 49 people . It was first bookmarked on 12 Dec 2006, by Daniel Jomphe.
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06 Sep 10
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A lot of software developers are seduced by the old ‘80/20’ rule. It seems to make a lot of sense: 80% of the people use 20% of the features. So you convince yourself that you only need to implement 20% of the features, and you can still sell 80% as many copies.
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Unfortunately, it's never the same 20%. Everybody uses a different set of features.
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Making simple, 20% products is an excellent bootstrapping strategy because you can create them with limited resources and build an audience.
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What works for bootstrapping, I believe, will not work as a good long term strategy, because there's very little to prevent the next two-person startup from cloning your simple app, and because eventually you can't fight human nature: “The people want the features,” says Norman.
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When a new version comes out with new features, we see a sudden, undeniable, substantial, and permanent increase in revenue.
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05 Sep 10
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Making simple, 20% products is an excellent bootstrapping strategy because you can create them with limited resources and build an audience. It's a Judo strategy, using your weakness as a strength, like the way the Blair Witch Project, filmed by kids with no money at all, used the only camera they could afford, a handheld video camera, but they invented a plot in which that was actually a virtue. So you sell "simple" as if it were this wonderful thing, when, coincidentally, it's the only thing you have the resources to produce. Happy coincidence, that's all, but it really is wonderful!
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What works for bootstrapping, I believe, will not work as a good long term strategy, because there's very little to prevent the next two-person startup from cloning your simple app, and because eventually you can't fight human nature: “The people want the features,” says Norman. Just because handheld video was perfect for Blair Witch, doesn't mean every Hollywood blockbuster will use it.
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nowherefastby Joel Spolsky. 09 December 2006. Challenging the blind application of the 80/20 rule and minimalist simplicity = usable, effective software.
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I think it is a misattribution to say, for example, that the iPod is successful because it lacks features. If you start to believe that, you'll believe, among other things, that you should take out features to increase your product’s success. With six years of experience running my own software company I can tell you that nothing we have ever done at Fog Creek has increased our revenue more than releasing a new version with more features. Nothing. The flow to our bottom line from new versions with new features is absolutely undeniable. It's like gravity. When we tried Google ads, when we implemented various affiliate schemes, or when an article about FogBugz appears in the press, we could barely see the effect on the bottom line. When a new version comes out with new features, we see a sudden, undeniable, substantial, and permanent increase in revenue. If you're using the term "simplicity" to refer to a product in which the user model corresponds closely to the program model, so the product is easy to use, fine, more power to ya. If you're using the term "simplicity" to refer to a product with a spare, clean visual appearance, so the term is nothing more than an aesthetic description much in the same way you might describe Ralph Lauren clothes as "Southampton WASP," fine, more power to ya. Minimalist aesthetics are quite hip these days. But if you think simplicity means "not very many features" or "does one thing and does it well," then I applaud your integrity but you can't go that far with a product that deliberately leaves features out. Even the iPod has gratuitous Solitaire game. Even Ta-da List supports RSS.
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I think it is a misattribution to say, for example, that the iPod is successful because it lacks features. If you start to believe that, you'll believe, among other things, that you should take out features to increase your product’s success. With six years of experience running my own software company I can tell you that nothing we have ever done at Fog Creek has increased our revenue more than releasing a new version with more features. Nothing. The flow to our bottom line from new versions with new features is absolutely undeniable. It's like gravity. When we tried Google ads, when we implemented various affiliate schemes, or when an article about FogBugz appears in the press, we could barely see the effect on the bottom line. When a new version comes out with new features, we see a sudden, undeniable, substantial, and permanent increase in revenue. If you're using the term "simplicity" to refer to a product in which the user model corresponds closely to the program model, so the product is easy to use, fine, more power to ya. If you're using the term "simplicity" to refer to a product with a spare, clean visual appearance, so the term is nothing more than an aesthetic description much in the same way you might describe Ralph Lauren clothes as "Southampton WASP," fine, more power to ya. Minimalist aesthetics are quite hip these days. But if you think simplicity means "not very many features" or "does one thing and does it well," then I applaud your integrity but you can't go that far with a product that deliberately leaves features out. Even the iPod has gratuitous Solitaire game. Even Ta-da List supports RSS.
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aj[response to don norman article]
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12 Dec 06
Felipe LavínMaking simple, 20% products is an excellent bootstrapping strategy because you can create them with limited resources and build an audience. It's a Judo strategy, using your weakness as a strength, like the way the Blair Witch Project, filmed by kids with
design simplicity software usability blog article essay from-delicious
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11 Dec 06
Leandro Rodrigo Saad Cruzit's time to go upgrade my cellphone to one that includes high speed internet access, email, a podcast catcher, and an MP3 player.
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bromankoInteresting counterpoint to the book you lent me (im about halfway thru)
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viniciusjlJavaScript-coder.com provides you quality programming tips and articles on JavaScript and web development.
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Ian DelaneyDonald Norman concludes that simplicity is overrated: “But when it came time for the journalists to review the simple products they had gathered together, they complained that they lacked what they considered to be ‘critical’ features. So, what do p
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10 Dec 06
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