Shiny objects are cool, but so is building products people use

#MINNEBAR SHINY OBJECTS ARE COOL BUT SO IS BUILDING PRODUCTS PEOPLE USE @jennapederson

What is shiny? #MINNEBAR | @jennapederson

Accidental vs. Essential Complexities Fred Brooks, 1986 #MINNEBAR | @jennapederson

Accidental Complexities Not essential to the problem being solved Problems engineers create and can fix languages, tools, processes, techniques, bells and whistles #MINNEBAR | @jennapederson

Essential Complexities Directly related to the problem being solved Very little can fix or remove this complexity deciding what to build, the humans, design and testing, the complexity of hardware/software #MINNEBAR | @jennapederson

Doesn’t solve the problem you know, that one our customer has Has less impact What’s the problem with shiny? a focus only on the shiny is not nearly as impactful to the problem our customer has as focusing on the nonshiny Always starting but never finishing And more… unknown, unsupported, unmaintained, risky, distracting #MINNEBAR | @jennapederson

Starting vs. Finishing starting is orders of magnitude easier than finishing Why do we choose shiny? New is better obviously, if it’s new and improved it’s better, right? maybe. maybe not. We like to learn and maybe it’s just for our resume or to scratch an itch #MINNEBAR | @jennapederson

Focus on the actual problem not just the ones we think our customers have or the ones we’ve manufactured for ourselves How do we build products people use? Stop focusing on the solution focus on the actual problem! Focus on the customer get out of the office and talk to them Focus on the value add value to someone’s life #MINNEBAR | @jennapederson

Use it to our advantage How do we innovate? chase shiny objects but with a goal in mind. have a strategy. let it drive us to learn more about our craft, how to solve real world problems with new tech, how to experiment, and how to discover what problems we should be solving #MINNEBAR | @jennapederson

The End Thanks! find me on the tweeter: @jennapederson feedback welcome! #MINNEBAR | @jennapederson

#MINNEBAR SHINY OBJECTS ARE COOL BUT SO IS BUILDING PRODUCTS PEOPLE USE @jennapederson