Maybe it started out well — but over time it grew stale. Or it was wrong from the very beginning. Despite the common belief that software is an asset — it’s just as easily a liability.

中号 aybe它开始了良好-但随着时间的推移变得陈旧。 还是从一开始就错了。 尽管人们普遍认为软件是一种资产，但它也很容易成为负债。

Let’s start with how do you define “Meaningful” software? Developers know when something they are working on doesn’t matter. Sometimes the indicator is a lack of interest in investing further or it’s heavy investment in something that gets little usage. Either way meaningful software must be a win-win for both creator and consumer.

让我们从如何定义“有意义的”软件开始？ 开发人员知道什么时候他们正在做的事情都没有关系。 有时，指标是缺乏对进一步投资的兴趣，或者是对很少使用的东西的大量投资。 无论哪种方式，有意义的软件都必须对创作者和消费者都是双赢的。

“Meaningful software delivers value to a substantial segment of the target user group and directly supports the goals and objectives of those delivering the software. “

“有意义的软件为目标用户群的大部分用户带来了价值，并直接支持那些交付软件的人的目标。 “

I’ll argue that any software feature or platform that fulfills this criteria will produce positive results. I’ll also suggest that it can be challenging to achieve and maintain this balance.

我将争辩说，任何满足此标准的软件功能或平台都将产生积极的结果。 我还将建议实现并保持这种平衡可能是一个挑战。

Example 1: “Hey — we should build our own shopping cart system”

示例1： “嘿，我们应该构建自己的购物车系统”

If you are competing against Amazon in the high volume retail market and need proprietary AI recommendation systems — then it’s a worthy investment. If you are selling flowers at the corner market, probably not. It sounds simple on the surface but the question you always need to ask is: will it give me a competitive advantage and help me directly achieve my goals?

如果您在大量零售市场上与亚马逊竞争，并且需要专有的AI推荐系统，那么这是值得的投资。 如果您在街市上卖花，可能不会。 从表面上看这听起来很简单，但是您始终需要问的问题是：它会给我带来竞争优势并帮助我直接实现目标吗？

Example 2: “Hey, power user X says they would love this feature”

示例2： “嘿，高级用户X说他们会喜欢此功能”

Power users and early adopters are extremely valuable. But it’s important that you obtain and test feedback against a larger market. Investing in a feature that is utilized by a few users doesn’t contribute to growth. Will it deliver value to a large portion of my target users?

高级用户和早期采用者极为宝贵。 但是，重要的是要获得和测试针对较大市场的反馈。 投资一些用户使用的功能不会促进增长。 它将为我的大部分目标用户带来价值吗？

为什么这很重要？ (Why is this important?)

Software that isn’t meaningful isn’t sustainable.If it doesn’t meet the objectives of its creators, they should be building something else. If it doesn’t deliver value to a substantial number of target users then they don’t really need it or should be using something else. When one or both of these conditions have not been met it creates an imbalance that generally results in a slow painful death for the platform.

没有意义的软件是不可持续的 。如果它不满足创建者的目标，他们应该在开发其他东西。 如果它不能为大量目标用户带来价值，那么他们就不真正需要它，或者应该使用其他东西。 当这些条件中的一个或两个都不满足时，会造成不平衡，通常会导致平台缓慢而痛苦的死亡。

Software that isn’t meaningful creates unnecessary costs for its creator. This takes many forms — time, opportunity, and financial cost. The long term impact of holding meaningless software with active users is dangerous because its toxic byproducts are usually hidden in the depths of technical teams. If your are interested in learning more about the costs associated with building features, this is a great article that highlights the risks.

没有意义的软件为其创建者带来了不必要的成本。 这有多种形式-时间，机会和财务成本。 拥有活跃用户的无意义软件的长期影响是危险的，因为其有毒副产品通常隐藏在技术团队的深处。 如果您有兴趣了解有关与建筑物功能相关的成本的更多信息，那么这篇很棒的文章强调了风险。

Software that isn’t meaningful disrupts focus on key objectives. It creates confusion, takes over meetings, hurts morale, and ultimately can derail strategic direction. The real danger of meaningless software is it appears to be “low hanging fruit” and usually brings a level of comfort that attracts all sorts of “feature requests” and “ideas”. If the creators lose sight of its intended purpose then the strategic objective quickly shifts from whatever it was originally to the ambiguous effort of making the software “better”.

没有意义的软件破坏了对关键目标的关注。 它造成混乱，接管会议，损害士气，并最终使战略方向脱轨。 无意义软件的真正危险在于它看起来像是“垂头丧气的果实”，通常带来一定程度的舒适感，吸引着各种各样的“功能要求”和“想法”。 如果创建者没有意识到其预期目的，那么战略目标就会从最初的目标Swift转变为使软件“更好”的模棱两可的工作。

Mastering the ability to distinguish meaningful from meaningless requires discipline. You have to be honest with yourself and objective about what it is you are producing. You cannot fall in love with your creation. You have to be willing to refactor design, listen to concerns, take time to organize, reject tradition, kill exciting (but distracting) ideas, and ignore the urge to “make things” right without purpose. It requires focus and it requires constant re-evaluation. It’s uncomfortable — but once you know you are building something that matters — it all clicks.

掌握区分有意义和无意义的能力需要纪律。 您必须对自己诚实，并客观地了解所生产的产品。 您无法爱上您的创作。 您必须愿意重构设计，倾听顾虑，花时间组织，拒绝传统，扼杀令人振奋(但分散注意力)的想法，并忽略无目的“正确地制造事物”的冲动。 它需要重点，并且需要不断的重新评估。 这很不舒服-但一旦您知道自己正在构建重要的东西-一切都会点击。

Shaping software into something meaningful requires thinking holistically. Understanding the goals of stakeholders, needs of target users, cost of building, validation techniques, and methods of promotion are just as important as the mechanics of how the software functions. Alignment and positioning of effort is key to the “meaningful” attribute of the art.

将软件改造成有意义的东西需要整体思考。 理解利益相关者的目标，目标用户的需求，构建成本，验证技术和升级方法与软件功能机制一样重要。 努力的统一和定位是艺术“有意义”属性的关键。

Producing meaningful software requires a fundamental understanding of how software is created, tested, and distributed. It’s also not enough to make plans and collaborate with stakeholders — it’s very important to understand capabilities, risks, and mechanics of how software is made and maintained. You don’t have to be a developer to deliver meaningful software, but you do need to know how to communicate with one. Mastering this is how the “delivery” happens.

生产有意义的软件需要对软件的创建，测试和分发方式有基本的了解。 制定计划并与利益相关者进行协作还远远不够，了解软件的制造和维护能力，风险和机制非常重要。 您不必成为开发人员即可交付有意义的软件，但是您确实需要知道如何与之通信。 掌握了这就是“交付”的过程。

The end product speaks for itself. If you can’t deliver it or what is shipped doesn’t provide direct value then start over or re-work. Much like an artist would paint over the canvas or toss it away — there is no value (only risk) in maintaining meaningless software. Attachment to sunk cost, “technology” hording, and pet projects are guaranteed ways to fail or prolong the achievement of goals.

最终产品不言而喻。 如果您无法交付它，或者所运送的物品不提供直接价值，那么请重新开始或进行返工。 就像画家在画布上绘画或扔掉画布一样，维护毫无意义的软件没有任何价值(只有风险)。 对沉没成本，“技术”束缚和宠物项目的依恋是保证失败或延长目标实现的方法。

If you want to improve your ability to contribute to and drive the delivery of meaningful software I’d encourage you to follow along on this journey — sign up for my weekly newsletter.

如果您想提高自己的能力，以推动并推动有意义的软件的交付，我鼓励您跟随这一旅程— 注册我的每周时事通讯 。

Originally published at https://7samurai.dev.

最初发布在 https://7samurai.dev 。