Software as Art

Software as Art, beyond Design Thinking . . .

Throwback to 1994 - this was our logo concept for Artisan Studios - btw: this one was AI generated . . .

This concept of Software as Art' caught my attention - on the Rework Podcast Episode 159, by the highly inspirational team at 37 Signals.

37signals co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson delve into the concept of software development as an artistic endeavour. They emphasise the importance of embedding a clear point of view into products, allowing the company's worldview to manifest through the software. 

The conversation highlights that as a product (software solution) evolves, so does its perspective, necessitating a flexible creation process. They advocate for addressing one problem at a time to maintain clarity and flow in development. Ultimately, they suggest that approaching software with an artistic mindset can lead to more impactful and meaningful user experiences.

Product's Clear Point Of View.

Jason and David stress that the creation process is fundamentally flexible - your product’s point of view evolves as it takes shape. They highlight that great software isn’t fully defined upfront; instead, clarity and meaningful direction emerge through use and iteration. In other words, you frequently discover what the product needs to be by building and using it, not by planning every detail in advance.

Agile Development.

The Agile Manifesto focuses on 'individuals and interactions over processes and tools' aligns with some of these assumptions. The Software Craftsmanship Manifesto extends and challenges further the assumptions of the Agile Manifesto, drawing a metaphor between modern software development and the apprenticeship model of medieval Europe.

Want vs Need.

How often are Developers presented with the problem and the preconceived solution by the stakeholders, begin coding without context and/or intent, only to have 'zero' up take of the software solution - not to mention functions that even ship. The focus needs to shift from the 'what & how' to the 'why & result'.

'If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses' ~ Henry Ford.

Gantt Charts.

In the podcast, David opens with - 'perhaps the most rejected feature in the history of Basecamp is the Gantt chart. We got probably dozens of requests for the Gantt chart the first week Basecamp launched, and in the 20 years since we have probably gotten thousands at this point and we’ve refused to do it. It does not fit within that initial premise of project management is primarily communication and that’s a way of taking a stance and saying, this product is for these things.'

Less is More.

In our graphic design communication pieces, we applied this exercise: remove any element that doesn't enhance the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) message to the audience. This process can also be applied to our Software Solutions.

Two other methods of crafting focused solutions is to create single-purpose layouts along with progressive disclosure. With these methods, we are able to minimise the onboarding time for new users along with minimising the cognitive overload of existing users. There's also the benefit of reducing mouse fatigue and new feature friction.

Artisan.

Beyond a 'craftsperson' - Dictionary.com provides this second meaning: 'a person or company that makes a high-quality or distinctive product in small quantities, usually by hand or using traditional methods.'

Which begs the question: does focusing on these concepts allow us to put the 'Art' back into the 'Artisan' title for the Software Solutions we create and craft ?

Ensuring elements in your solution are 'considered' does take care, skill and allows for the true 'context' of the content being consumed. Software solutions can also be considered a communication piece with it's own message.

Take Away.

Next time you are asked to provide a solution to a problem, step back, ponder possible options to craft, where your Software becomes 'Art' with your Artisan hat on. . .

For further reading, it's worth re-reading my Design Thinking Your Code and this excellent blog post Art Thinking for Software Development  . . .