Leave out the part that readers tend to skip
Elmore Leonard's tenth rule of writing is "Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip." I find that readers skip prose when it is written in the wrong order.
Daniel Steinberg source
This, and most of Daniel’s article, is totally applicable also to building software products. Sometimes we write lines and lines of code forgetting about the body, the “meat”, the hook. I am trying to apply this focus-on-the-body philosophy while building Podrover. When I plan my activities I try to be extremely careful and always ask “Is this relevant for the customer?”. That’s why for example I didn’t pick a CSS framework, because a fast loading app is relevant for the customer. (The fact that I am more comfortable with it is secondary).
When I write prose I tend to be like the writers described by Daniel. I write, I write, I write and … the editor will take care of the rest :) In the case of building a product it’s exactly the opposite. Write just the body and present it to beta testers. They will help you with the “editing”.
How do you approach building a product? Happy to discuss it on Twitter.
PS: If you run a podcast and you wanna beta test Podrover you can signup here.