I have a simple process for shipping consistently. It comes from my favorite book about process, The Agile Samurai by Jonathan Rasmusson. (This is the book I recommend to everyone who asks me about process; I think every team can benefit from working in the way this book describes. This is how I try to run every team I’ve ever been in charge of.)
Here’s the first sentence of the first chapter of the book:
What would it take to deliver something of value each and every week?
That’s it. That's the process. Forget 2-week sprints or double diamond or scrumfall. However you answer this question, do that.
Need more context? I'm trying to stop myself from quoting most of the first chapter of this book, but it’s so worth it.
Pretend you are the customer. It's your money and your project, and you've hired a top-notch team to deliver. What would give you confidence the team you hired was actually delivering? A pile of documentation, plans, and reports? Or the regular delivery of working, tested software made up of your most important features each and every week? When you start looking at software delivery from your customer’s point of view, good things start to happen.
Amen. What else?
Delivering something of value every week is not for the faint of heart. It puts the spotlight on you like never before. There is no place to hide. Either you produce something of value or you don't.
When you commit to delivering something of value every week and showing your customer how you've spent their money, you become accountable.
Spicy!
(I could share more quotes, but I’ll leave it to you to read this book. It’s excellent; I highly recommend it.)
The book is written from the lens of working with customers who have hired you to build software on their behalf, but I think the lessons apply equally well to making a product for customers to consume and/or purchase.
I’m currently creating a new product/startup/company—Design System University, or “DSU” for short—and I’ve been following this approach. I officially announced it to the world 2 weeks ago on March 22, 2023, so I’ve had two opportunities to deliver value. Here’s what I’ve done so far.
On week 1, I launched a landing page with a signup form and an elevator pitch, as well as a Twitter thread including a short sizzle reel and announcing a few things to come. My hypothesis was that people would get enough value from a promise of courses they'd be interested in to sign up to stay updated via email, Twitter, and or Instagram. Some stats from the first day:
On week 2, I launched the Purpose & Promise page, wrote a Twitter thread about it, and emailed the list with the same content. In Start With Why, author Simon Sinek says, “People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.” My hypothesis was that Sinek is right. In the email version, I asked people to reply and let me know how they might want to be involved. I got 14 emails from people, excited to be involved.
Next week is week 3. I don’t think I can go very long sharing things around or about DSU without actually showing what it is, so my hypothesis is that people can get value from interacting with a very early version of one of the core pieces of the product: a membership community for people who want to talk to others about design systems in a facilitated way. This week, I emailed 9 people I admire and trust to invite them to be my customer advisory board; 5 accepted, and I haven't heard from the other 4 yet. Next week, I’m planning to let them into the product (and maybe a small group of early enthusiasts too) so I can get some feedback from them about whether what’s there is actually valuable or not.
These are all small things, but, as Rasmusson suggests in The Agile Samurai, the practice of trying to deliver value every week creates accountability. I’m on the hook to do something (as opposed to doing nothing). And I’m “training” my potential customers to expect something every week. I’m trying to create a habit for both them and me. For example, this will be the 31st week in a row that I’ve sent out this newsletter, so it’s a habit for me to write it at this point. These kind of habits build momentum, something any new product, startup, or business would love to have with its customers.
These are all small things, but, as Rasmusson suggests in The Agile Samurai, the practice of trying to deliver value every week creates accountability. I’m on the hook to do something (as opposed to doing nothing). And I’m “training” my potential customers to expect something every week. I’m trying to create a habit for both them and me. For example, this will be the 31st week in a row that I’ve sent out this newsletter, so it’s a habit for me to write it at this point. These kind of habits build momentum, something any new product, startup, or business would love to have with its customers.
So, whatever you’re working on, try to deliver value next week. That could be as small as an Instagram post or tweet, or as large as a new feature your customers have been asking for in your product.
I’m inspired by hearing about different ways people are creating value. What will you do next week?
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