As a developer with some experience, many questions come up in my mind when learning something new. e.g. How do I write tests and automate builds? What are the shortcuts I can use to speed up my development? What are some expert level tricks that I can learn to churn out code faster?
However, it is important to realize that all of these things cannot be learnt in the first attempt itself. The goal should be to get the MVP out and not worry too much about learning everything there is to learn about the new platform/technology. That is because often, such information is not compiled and presented in one spot but is present at various blog posts, stackoverflow questions, google group threads etc. and one cannot expect to learn many of the tricks of the trade right at the beginning. It takes time and practise to become a master.
However, by not shipping the MVP a disappointing sense of lack of accomplishment/results starts to set in. This is very dangerous as this sometimes leads one to abandon the pursuit one had undertaken. And all the mighty tricks that one tried to learn on the way become useless and eventually forgotten, as one discovers when trying to take another shot at the failed project.
So, the right balance between learning and shipping has to be kept. Of course, I am assuming that one is working hard and that lack of progress in learning or shipping is not because of lack of hard work. But if you are in a dilemma, always err on the side of shipping. The motivation and sense of accomplishment that one gets after shipping can help speed up the process of learning as well.
However, it is important to realize that all of these things cannot be learnt in the first attempt itself. The goal should be to get the MVP out and not worry too much about learning everything there is to learn about the new platform/technology. That is because often, such information is not compiled and presented in one spot but is present at various blog posts, stackoverflow questions, google group threads etc. and one cannot expect to learn many of the tricks of the trade right at the beginning. It takes time and practise to become a master.
However, by not shipping the MVP a disappointing sense of lack of accomplishment/results starts to set in. This is very dangerous as this sometimes leads one to abandon the pursuit one had undertaken. And all the mighty tricks that one tried to learn on the way become useless and eventually forgotten, as one discovers when trying to take another shot at the failed project.
So, the right balance between learning and shipping has to be kept. Of course, I am assuming that one is working hard and that lack of progress in learning or shipping is not because of lack of hard work. But if you are in a dilemma, always err on the side of shipping. The motivation and sense of accomplishment that one gets after shipping can help speed up the process of learning as well.
This is really helpful. I've been erring on the side of learning, which has not been very helpful as it delays the start of the coding and shipping.
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