iMVP.txt - bitreich-style - Style guide for programmers.	Err	bitreich.org	70
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1README	/scm/bitreich-style/file/README.md.gph	bitreich.org	70
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i---	Err	bitreich.org	70
iMVP.txt (4190B)	Err	bitreich.org	70
i---	Err	bitreich.org	70
i     1 Original: gopher://katolaz.net/0/p/MVP.txt	Err	bitreich.org	70
i     2 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i     3 @var title = "Minimal Viable Programs"	Err	bitreich.org	70
i     4 @var tags = "programming"	Err	bitreich.org	70
i     5 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i     6 A minimal viable program is the smallest program that solves a	Err	bitreich.org	70
i     7 particular problem.  It is small and beautiful. It has no additional	Err	bitreich.org	70
i     8 features.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i     9 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    10 If you removed a single feature it would be totally useless. If you	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    11 added a new feature that feature would not be essential, you could use	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    12 the program without making use of the new feature.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    13 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    14 Very few of the programs I use are minimal viable programs, but some	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    15 are. I'll describe one such program. This is the ticket system that	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    16 was used in the Erlang distribution.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    17 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    18 * The Erlang Ticket System	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    19 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    20 The Erlang ticket system was designed and implemented by Peter Högfeldt	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    21 in 1986.  We needed a ticket system that was easy to use, intuitive,	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    22 reliable and we wanted it yesterday, so Peter got the job, since he	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    23 was very busy and didn't have time to take on any new jobs.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    24 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    25 If you want a job done find the busiest person you know and give them	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    26 an extra job.  This is because the reason they are busy is that lot's	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    27 of people want them to do things because they are good at doing things	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    28 and that's why they are busy.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    29 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    30 Peter built the ticket system in a couple of hours and we've been	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    31 using it ever since. I guess the couple of hours were divided into an	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    32 hours drinking coffee and drawing things on a white board and twenty	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    33 minutes programming.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    34 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    35 * The Ticket System	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    36 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    37 Peter's ticket system was simple in the extreme. There was one command.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    38 You typed **newticket** in the shell and got an integer back. Like this:	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    39 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    40 $ new_ticket	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    41 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    42 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    43 The system had made a new file in `${HOME}/tickets/23` and the content 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    44 of the file would be:	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    45 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    46 ticket: 23	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    47 responsible:joe@erix	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    48 status:open	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    49 title: ?	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    50 ----	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    51 Describe your problem here	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    52 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    53 This file was also checked into a global CVS archive that all project	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    54 members had access to. Today one might use GIT or SVN but any revision	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    55 control system would do.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    56 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    57 The ticket system had a few simple rules:	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    58 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    59 + The status is open or closed	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    60 + The responsible person cannot be changed to somebody new without the permission of the new person	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    61 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    62 Project management wanted a reporting system. This was pretty easy,	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    63 this was done with a few simple shell scripts. For example to	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    64 find the number of open tickets a simple shell script does the job:	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    65 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    66 #!/bin/sh	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    67 grep 'status:open' ${HOME}/tickets/* | wc	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    68 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    69 The first ticket system was operational in 1985 and we have used it ever since.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    70 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    71 * Adding features	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    72 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    73 Do we need to add additional features? The first point to note is	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    74 there is no time or dates - but wait a moment, this file is checked into	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    75 a revision control system, so the times when the file is created and modified	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    76 are in the revision control system and do not need to be added to the ticket.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    77 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    78 * What happened later?	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    79 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    80 Feature were added - but none that broke the original spirit of the design.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    81 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    82 * But we can't make money from a MVP	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    83   	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    84   Many companies sell ``features'' - so a MVP will be useless - a product	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    85 needs new features. But the MVP program will do exactly the same thing	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    86 in 100 years time as it did yesterday.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    87 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    88 New features mean new sales opportunities, good for the company but	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    89 not good for the user.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    90 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    91 New features mean new untested code, and backwards incompatibility	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    92 with earlier versions of the program. Things that are stable for a	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    93 long time are good.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    94 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    95 The problem with adding features to MVP is that when we ship more	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    96 complex products like complete operating systems that are packed with	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    97 programs, the complexity of the individual programs contributes to the	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    98 complexity of the whole.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i    99 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i   100 If a system shipped with one complex program it probably would not	Err	bitreich.org	70
i   101 matter - and it's difficult to imagine the idea of a MVP applying to	Err	bitreich.org	70
i   102 a complex program like photoshop.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i   103 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i   104 If the individual components in a system are not MVPs we will soon be	Err	bitreich.org	70
i   105 overburdened by complexity when we start combining programs to build	Err	bitreich.org	70
i   106 larger systems.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i   107 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i   108 If we to have any control over complexity then we should ensure that the	Err	bitreich.org	70
i   109 basic components are MVPs.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i   110 	Err	bitreich.org	70
i   111 I really like systems that do one essential thing and do it well.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i   112 Good examples are Dropbox and Twitter. Dropbox just works. Twitter	Err	bitreich.org	70
i   113 has a no fuss 140 character tweet box. Simple, easy to understand	Err	bitreich.org	70
i   114 and minimalist.	Err	bitreich.org	70
i   115 	Err	bitreich.org	70
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