Vision
This page could be called mantra or manifesto, but its whole point is to share some values I strongly believe into. Some are related to how I make business or simply act in real life, while others say more about the way I think of developing a web application. As an entrepreneur, those values also show some key elements of the startup I am trying to create.
Integrity rules
As time flies, integrity is a value becoming more and more important to me. I might not be perfect in this regard, but still I make my possible to have a course of action unimpeachable. Regarding the services I provide, I will always make my best to provide a quality work and to address all the expectations of my clients. On the other side, I expect the same level of commitment and honesty from them. And as an entrepreneur, I try to build relationships strongly based on transparency and truth.
Technology is just a mean
I am a technology person. But unlike most technology people, I believe that a product should not be driven by technology but rather answer a customer need. This is why visual design or anything related to the user experience is so important to me. Really, I love to develop features using some beautiful syntax and the last generation framework. But again, providing the user with an application which is easy to use, efficient and elegant is what really matters.
Start from the user
This is something called user centered design sometimes, but the key here is really to step up as the end user and think as him. Start from the bottom and layout anything else. Concretely, it means beginning with wireframes and then designing the application with a mockup of every page. I even promote the idea of developing a web application by stacks, beginning with the frontend and then all the other layers (service, persistence ...), using the interfaces defined at each previous step (that way the frontend drives all the backend).
Execution is key
Details are so important today. The Internet Industry has nothing to do with its beginnings 10 or 15 years ago. The market is huge and growing, but there is nowadays more and more competition. The user expectations also increased and consequently the web applications are now richer and more complicated to build. If you want to make a difference and stand out from the crow, you really have no choice to take care of every detail, whether it concerns the visual design, the usability, the performance, the content or the way you market your application or you communicate with your users.
Don’t build for the future
Keeping the source code simple is essential. Today, we have some great code editors and versioning systems that can be leveraged to build quality code. In and of itself, development should only begin once the mockups have been approved, meaning in that case changes will be minimized during the next stages. But even in that case, you will have to change your plans and to be prepared for this. So the best thing to do is really to code for your immediate needs and refactor each time you feel the overall architecture is not optimal.
Email is bad
There is too much noise today. Everybody is replying to everyone without even taking the time to address all the issues raised accurately. I found myself making bullet points to make sure each recipient will get it, but even in that case some people still succeed at missing the point. Nowadays, email should be of a better use. Hopefully knowledge management tools like wikis and simple principles (like saying that no answer should be sent by email but rather been logged into a wiki while its link is sent instead) can change this.
Attention is the new wealth
Even the best tools can be counterproductive if badly used. In the Information Age, we are exposed to too many alarms. For example Twitter, emails, phone calls and instant messages are pretty useful to communicate. But they are also quite disruptive. Fortunately with some discipline, it is possible to work without distractions and to stay in control of your own time and work environment. A great strategy is for example to assign a specific task to each half part of the day and to open the email client only at noon.
Plan for the future
The best advice I was ever given was to write down on a piece of paper my objectives for my life. This might look stupid at first, but it is really the first stage to any strategy. Once you have a good understanding of your goals, you just have to setup a planning and define the necessary steps in order to achieve them. The rest is just a matter of keeping with this plan without ending being too distracted or... impatient.