I came accross this post on Planet.Termisoc.org:
10 rules I follow when building something new.
This is a list of rules I try and follow when ever I have to build, design or program something. Some are clearly inspired by things other people have said but they have been tweaked a little to meet my own goals and hopefully they’ll help you think of your own.
- Functional over flashy– Working perfectly is more important than looking amazing.
- Simple over complex – Keep it clear and concise. Don’t confuse people.
- Forget about profit – Create something with value instead.
- Try and solve problems that have yet to be solved -Building your own CMS isn’t helping anyone.
- Do something differently – use this opportunity to learn something new.
- Don’t reinvent the wheel – unless the wheel is broken.
- Do one thing really well– One perfect feature is always better than twenty mediocre ones.
- Use version control– you’ll thank me for it later.
- Take inspiration from others– don’t be afraid to see how other people have tried to do it before you.
- Test, test, test – because I always rush stuff out without checking it for bugs first 😀
From Paul Hallett‘s blog post.
My comments on this list are as follows:
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Functional over flashy
I endeavor to get the thing to function correctly before adding the aesthetics; Function over Form; also Form does not mean Flashy!
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Simple over complex
While I generally agree with this; I think this should be expanded to “the most elegant solution over complexity” sometimes the Simplest solution is not the most elegant, and the most elegant should not be overly complex.
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Forget about profit
I like to try and open all my workings up; so that it can be reviewed by any one, used as a basis for further Making; so far the projects I am playing with are all listed on here with the source code, build logs, and my random thoughts on the subject. but please take what I have done; make it awesome; share it with your mates; and let me know where you have taken my thoughts!
My Projects at the moments look like this:
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Try and solve problems that have yet to be solved
While I may work on projects that look similar to ones I use as sources; and jump points, I like to carve my own path.
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Do something differently
I would hope that I always do this 🙂
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Don’t reinvent the wheel
I hope that in the doing something differently; and the sharing of both my methodology and results (weather works or not) that I can come up with a new way of doing things.
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Do one thing really well
Most of my projects are finished first by getting the core working; then adding the form, I hope that through feedback that I get to the ‘Really Well’ level.
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Use version control
Hmmm, I keep trying this. bma hosts my online GIT repositories at http://git.subvert.org.uk/skippy/ and when I am trying to use it I use SourceTree as my GIT client. However I find that it is sometimes more hassle than it should be 🙁 I am sure it will be useful; however a simpler interface/paradigm for the loan worker with a single computer would probably make this less of a chore.
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Take inspiration from others
I have loads of random clippings and files all over my laptop; and to a lesser extent my blog charting other people research and projects with a view to using them as reference points. although cool things I find also end up on my Twitter stream; oh and if you do take inspiration from some one else; Link back to them.
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Test, test, test
Oh very much so; little steps, lots of testing with little steps. and debug!
I hope that the list of 10 rules to think about following when building something new is something that makes you think too.
