I’ve worked with software for many years, and seeing the evolution from client to client-server, to web to services to the cloud has shown how far it can grow and connect us.
But there are some trends that are killing software and when I thought about it the other day it made me feel like the frog sitting in the pot of water that continually gets hotter until it reaches a boiling point and then… well… Frog Legs for dinner.
Neverending Beta Programs
The most infamous of Betas was Gmail (I had to check to see if it was still in Beta) and I think people have taken the Gmail example as justification for Betas that run forever. Betas are point-in-time delivery of software to get feedback on work done to that point. You can slap “Beta” on anything, but what matters most is having a beginning and end date on how long your product is going to be in that state.
If you’re running a Beta, know what you want to get out of it, set a window for how long you are running it, stick to it, and run with it.
Don’t run your Beta forever.
Toggle for Features
The new version of software coming out and you want to let people toggle between old and new features so they can compare and see what they like and don’t like?
