Devin Reams

Devin Reams edited the table of contents of Getting Real Sunday, January 3, 2010.

• Introduction chapter 1

  What is Getting Real?
  A smaller, faster, better way to build software

  About 37signals
  Our small team creates simple, focused software

  Caveats, disclaimers, and other preemptive strikes
  Responses to some complaints we hear

  The Starting Line chapter 2

  Build Less
  Underdo your competition

  What's Your Problem?
  Build software for yourself

  Fund Yourself
  Outside money is plan B

  Fix Time and Budget, Flex Scope
  Launch on time and on budget

  Have an Enemy
  Pick a fight

  It Shouldn't be a Chore
  Your passion — or lack of — will shine through

  Stay Lean chapter 3

  Less Mass
  The leaner you are, the easier it is to change

  Lower Your Cost of Change
  Stay flexible by reducing obstacles to change

  The Three Musketeers
  Use a team of three for version 1.0

  Embrace Constraints
  Let limitations guide you to creative solutions

  Be Yourself
  Differentiate yourself from bigger companies by being personal and friendly

  Priorities chapter 4

  What's the big idea?
  Explicitly define the one-point vision for your app

  Ignore Details Early On
  Work from large to small

  It's a Problem When It's a Problem
  Don't waste time on problems you don't have yet

  Hire the Right Customers
  Find the core market for your application and focus solely on them

  Scale Later
  You don't have a scaling problem yet

  Make Opinionated Software
  Your app should take sides

  Feature Selection chapter 5

  Half, Not Half-Assed
  Build half a product, not a half-ass product

  It Just Doesn't Matter
  Essentials only

  Start With No
  Make features work hard to be implemented

  Hidden Costs
  Expose the price of new features

  Can You Handle It?
  Build something you can manage

  Human Solutions
  Build software for general concepts and encourage people to create their own solutions

  Forget Feature Requests
  Let your customers remind you what's important

  Hold the Mayo
  Ask people what they don't want

  Process chapter 6

  Race to Running Software
  Get something real up and running quickly

  Rinse and Repeat
  Work in iterations

  From Idea to Implementation
  Go from brainstorm to sketches to HTML to coding

  Avoid Preferences
  Decide the little details so your customers don't have to

  "Done!"
  Decisions are temporary so make the call and move on

  Test in the Wild
  Test your app via real world usage

  Shrink Your Time
  Break it down

  The Organization chapter 7

  Unity
  Don't split into silos

  Alone Time
  People need uninterrupted time to get things done

  Meetings Are Toxic
  Don't have meetings

  Seek and Celebrate Small Victories
  Release something today

  Staffing chapter 8

  Hire Less and Hire Later
  Add slow to go fast

  Kick the Tires
  Work with prospective employees on a test-basis first

  Actions, Not Words
  Judge potential tech hires on open source contributions

  Get Well Rounded Individuals
  Go for quick learning generalists over ingrained specialists

  You Can't Fake Enthusiasm
  Go for happy and average over frustrated and great

  Wordsmiths
  Hire good writers

  Interface Design chapter 9

  Interface First
  Design the interface before you start programming

  Epicenter Design
  Start from the core of the page and build outward

  Three State Solution
  Design for regular, blank, and error states

  The Blank Slate
  Set expectations with a thoughtful first-run experience

  Get Defensive
  Design for when things go wrong

  Context Over Consistency
  What makes sense here may not make sense there

  Copywriting is Interface Design
  Every letter matters

  One Interface
  Incorporate admin functions into the public interface

  Code chapter 10

  Less Software
  Keep your code as simple as possible

  Optimize for Happiness
  Choose tools that keep your team excited and motivated

  Code Speaks
  Listen when your code pushes back

  Manage Debt
  Pay off your code and design "bills"

  Open Doors
  Get data out into the world via RSS, APIs, etc.

  Words chapter 11

  There's Nothing Functional about a Functional Spec
  Don't write a functional specifications document

  Don't Do Dead Documents
  Eliminate unnecessary paperwork

  Tell Me a Quick Story
  Write stories, not details

  Use Real Words
  Insert actual text instead of lorem ipsum

  Personify Your Product
  What is your product's personality type?

  Pricing and Signup chapter 12

  Free Samples
  Give something away for free

  Easy On, Easy Off
  Make signup and cancellation a painless process

  Silly Rabbit, Tricks are for Kids
  Avoid long-term contracts, sign-up fees, etc.

  A Softer Bullet
  Soften the blow of bad news with advance notice and grandfather clauses

  Promotion chapter 13

  Hollywood Launch
  Go from teaser to preview to launch

  A Powerful Promo Site
  Build an ace promotional site that introduces people to your product

  Ride the Blog Wave
  Blogging can be more effective than advertising (and it's a hell of a lot cheaper)

  Solicit Early
  Get advance buzz and signups going ASAP

  Promote Through Education
  Share your knowledge with the world

  Feature Food
  They're hungry for it so serve it up

  Track Your Logs
  Study your logs to track buzz

  Inline Upsell
  Promote upgrade opportunities inside the app

  Name Hook
  Give your app a name that's easy to remember

  Support chapter 14

  Feel The Pain
  Tear down the walls between support and development

  Zero Training
  Use inline help and FAQs so your product doesn't require a manual or training

  Answer Quick
  Quick turnaround time on support queries should be a top priority

  Tough Love
  Be willing to say no to your customers

  In Fine Forum
  Use forums or chat to let customers help each other

  Publicize Your Screwups
  Get bad news out there and out of the way

  Post-Launch chapter 15

  One Month Tuneup
  Issue a major update 30 days after launch

  Keep the Posts Coming
  Show your product is alive by keeping an ongoing product development blog post-launch

  Better, Not Beta
  Don't use "beta" as a scapegoat

  All Bugs Are Not Created Equal
  Prioritize your bugs (and even ignore some of them)

  Ride Out the Storm
  Wait until knee-jerk reactions to changes die down before taking action

  Keep Up With the Joneses
  Subscribe to news feeds about your competitors

  Beware the Bloat Monster
  More mature doesn't have to mean more complicated

  Go With the Flow
  Be open to new paths and changes in direction

  Conclusion chapter 16

  Start Your Engines
  A few closing thoughts

  37signals Resources