Software for Your Head

PATTERN: VERSION

PROBLEM

You are engaged in a feature war with a competitor or have an unwieldy list of feature requests from customers.

Short-term product needs work against longer-term well-being. How can you sustain your vision over the entire time it takes to realize your vision?

SOLUTION

Create a sequence of product Versions. Each Version must accomplish a discrete step toward the FarVision.

Always create a version that the team agrees is the most important step to take now toward achieving the FarVision. As you deliver each Version, you should become increasingly more explicit with your marketers about your FarVision. Tell them how each Version relates to the world you are building.

Always create a version that the team agrees is the ...