Software-as-a-Person

We've come a long way in designing software for intuitive approaches to solving problems.  Or, have we?

That is the thought that haunts me.  Fitting, since we're approaching Halloween.  What haunts you as an entrepreneur?  From my experience, I believe most people fear risk and failure - at least that choose the craft of starting a company and building a business.  There is much uncertainty and long hours and family imbalances with time as your enemy and your only controllable resource.  The risk of failure by letting your employees, board, investors, and friends down has to be near the top of haunting omnipresent fears. 

So what do we do?

We focus, become lean and efficient.  Every task is big and swiftly attacked with furious commitment.  Then, we make time for personal life - family, friends, and random social activities.  That is what allows you to remain balanced.

Software doesn't follow this methodology.  Yet, we make our living creating software that perpetuates the offenses against our only possession we cannot replace - time.  Software needs to be quick - almost instantly achieving the outcome.  When's the last time you logged into a CRM app or any enterprise software and got it done in a few clicks.  Whatever 'it' is, it takes some time and processing, workflow and complexity.  Almost always our products commit the felony of requiring custom programming to make the whole thing slightly better for each user, customer or industry.  That wont work longterm.  Think about if someone dislikes the google search query they just ran - then a team of well-paid google engineers were dispatched to the scene to determine your issue.

Now, with the technology movement approaching the "Software-as-a-Person" approach - the person is the most important part of the design and is the main focus of all development user-centric - the UI, the back-end and the speed-to-value quotient. 

This approach will, by its very nature, interrupt all software and HMI and and the underlying software code and process of development, everywhere.

Now, what does that translate to for us, the entrepreneur?

Where is the opportunity to 'get it right' with a IT solution to facilitate the efficient accomplishment to better balance your life, optimize your business and make better decisions faster?  Everyone can play a part.  You should virtualize your world and access and share it to whomever you want - instantly and with style.  That is the reality everyone wants with Human-Computer Interaction. 

Its possible. With the right amount of planning, simplicity in solutions and selection of best practices in implementation you can create a usable framework for scaling user-driven software for your organization. 

Happy Software.

-James