Title : Gather no moss
Link : Gather no moss
Gather no moss
And let's not even mention Google Reader.
As an organisation, having users is a nice problem to have, but it is a problem nonetheless. Existing users are change-averse, for a variety of good reasons. Dealing with change is an additional cognitive burden; changes to a product can break existing workflows or make them less efficient; changes might significantly disadvantage some users; if the product is a platform, the changes might break existing applications. And of course, we have it on the highest authority that every update breaks someone's workflow.
I have no beef with the people who complain about all the legitimate ways that a change broke them (hell, I do it myself), but I can also see this from the perspective of a company providing a service. What happens if a company commits to never breaking things for existing users? They start diverting more and more resources from staying at the leading edge of the market to simply maintaining compatibility. And while such commitment to existing users is admirable, it leads to escalating costs both for maintenance and development of new features (because those new features must be compatible). More egregiously, it complicates and compromises product decisions, preserves old mistakes for all time, and almost inevitably slows the pace of innovation.
The stone slows down; it gathers moss; eventually it stops altogether. Meanwhile (and apologies for the mixed metaphor) the world keeps moving past this organisation and its products. The day comes when the company simply loses relevance. In servicing its existing user-base, the organisation has ceded progress and innovation to others, and eventually those existing users will make the move to the newer, better, shinier thing.
This problem is a variant of the Innovator's Dilemma, but applies more to product decisions rather than commercial ones. Organisations are in a very difficult position, but if they want to survive in the long term they have only one choice: gather no moss. As Stalin once said, "if you want to make an omelette, you have to break a few eggs". Just because he was a genocidal maniac doesn't mean he was wrong*. Sad as it is, companies need to be prepared to upset existing users in order to maintain a suitable pace of innovation. This is not to say companies should have carte blanche to make frequent and unnecessary changes to their products; all changes should be made carefully and thoughtfully. But, the amount of existing legacy must be strictly managed if an organisation is to hope to serve its users in the long term.
All this does of course raise the question of whether shareholder-beholden private companies are a suitable vehicle for providing sustainable and reliable service over the longer term. As long as their pseudo-biological imperative for growth and self-preservation overrides other considerations, it would seem to me the answer is no. However, Stalin quotes notwithstanding, I can't think of any other way that would do a better job. I guess we just have to suck it up.
*OK, and it seems he probably didn't even say it. Oh well.
Such is the article Gather no moss
That's an article Gather no moss this time, hopefully can benefit for you all. okay, see you in other article posting.
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