Why a consulting company should run its own products
Advice is cheap when someone else pays for the mistakes. Three things we only learned by operating what we build.
It is easy to recommend an architecture when you will not be the one woken up by it. Running our own products changed how we work for clients in three ways.
1. We design for the second year
The first release is the easy part. Most of the cost of software arrives later, in changes, support and hosting. We now ask of every decision: who maintains this in two years, and how much will they dislike us?
2. We build the admin first
A product is only as good as the tools the business has to run it. If changing a price or a text needs a developer, the product is not finished.
3. We measure before we argue
Real traffic settles debates quickly. We put analytics in from the first day and let the numbers decide what to build next.
None of this is new. But it is different to know it from a book and to know it from your own bank statement.