Constraints Force Creativity

Isn't it really great when things start to click? Check this out...

We recently completed the first phase of a very complex/involved website project for one of our RV Dealer clients. We started 5 months ago and expected to be done with the first phase in 3 months. Needless to say we went 2 months over and that really bothered me for the past couple of weeks. Why does website development almost always seem to take longer than expected?

The more I ran various scenarios through my mind I realized it was because we kept limited resources on the project. Funny thing is I did it on purpose. Why? Because it was working. Not so much from a timing stand-point, but from a creativity and quality perspective.

I was recently turned on to 37Signals.com and their products. What caught my eye though was the e-book they put together outlining their web dev processes. Eager to absorb, I purchased it and started reading it. 15 or so pages into it there it was...

Constraints Force Creativity
Run on limited resources and you'll be forced to reckon with constraints earlier and more intensely. And that's a good thing. Constraints drive innovation.

There's the Click!

That's exactly what happened with this web project. The site was released with better and more meaningful usability features than was originally scoped.

I'm excited to get through the other 150+ pages of their e-book. Maybe more will click!

Until next time ... The best things in life aren't things.