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Micro-Apps are the Future

2009-03-02T03:02:00Z

The future of web development will involve the development of micro-apps, rather than “monolithic” apps. This is a very good thing for business customers of smart web development companies, as it will decrease complexity, and therefore cost.

A few drivers that we have observed:

GitHub

GitHub makes it very easy for developers who don’t know each other, but have common problems to solve, to collaborate without communication (very low friction).

Ruby on Rails

Rails makes it possible to develop web apps w/ web services rapidly.

Cloud Computing

Companies like Heroku, Slicehost, Amazon EC2 are make it easier & easier to deploy & scale your infrastructure without needing hardware experts.

SaaS

Software as a Service has become mainstream & acceptable, and it’s easy with tools like Spreedly or RailsKits to allow customers to buy without any sales involvement. Because Rails apps commonly have both web UI + web service APIs, these can be used as standalone apps or components of bigger apps.

If you build each component of your system in a decoupled way, you have built something that could potentially be developed out as a standalone project that could be either released as open source (and get developers around the world to debug/improve/expand it) or release it as a SaaS subscription product.

The Catch

The catch is that very few web developers are so close to the edge of this. If you’re starting from scratch, or aren’t afraid of the big rewrite, be sure to choose a partner that is using a lightweight dynamic language like Ruby or Python, and that uses open-source software behind the project. Any other choice, and you’re wasting your money.

Two keys to execution

2008-06-22T23:33:00Z

There are two keys to business execution: 1) tactics are a part of execution, but execution is not just tactics, and 2) execution is not possible without engagement from top leadership.

Execution is not synonymous with “tactics”

Many people view execution as the tactical aspect of business. When execution is viewed as purely tactical, odds of success are severely hampered.

This applies to the area of web ventures and web products just as it does to business in general.

An effective online strategy should never be developed in a vacuum, without considering the financial resources and human capabilities required to execute. It’s critical to link strategic specifics to a realistic operating plan, which breaks the longer-term goals into short-term targets and then into specific action plans. In this way, execution is fundamental to strategy, and has a huge role in shaping it.

Execution is not possible without engaged leadership

There’s one other key ingredient to effective execution: highly-engaged leadership, heart and soul. Execution requires comprehensive understanding of the business situation; top leadership are the only people in the position to achieve that understanding.

Credits: Much of the content of this article is derived from the excellent book: Execution by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, and Charles Burck.

Three levels of engagement

2008-06-22T22:15:00Z

There are three possible levels of engagement with AnotherVenture: venture partnering, agile portfolio management, and simple execution of individual web projects.

Level 1: Online venture partnering, agile portfolio management, and project execution

In a level 1 relationship, we expect to share project costs with your organization, but in exchange we expect co-ownership of the output. Obviously this relationship makes the most sense for an early-stage venture. Since our skin is in the game, needless to say we’re choosy :)

We expect to take full responsibility for executing the online aspects of the business, utilizing agile portfolio and project management methodologies.

Level 2: Agile portfolio management and project execution

Similar to level 1, with the exception of shared costs and shared ownership. In this scenario, you have decided to outsource your online execution to us because you have been unsuccessful or unwilling to succeed using internal company resources.

Level 3: Agile project execution

You just need some software built, or we’re “dating” prior to a L1 or L2 relationship. Our preference is to use the Ruby programming language wherever possible. We believe it offers higher ROI; we’re opinionated about on this :)

These projects might include custom web application development (using Ruby on Rails), implementing a content management system (using Ruby-based Radiant CMS), implementing a blog site (using Ruby-based Mephisto), a custom web reporting system (using Ruby-based Ruport), or maybe even simple public website facelift (custom-developed, modern HTML/CSS).

Welcome to AnotherVenture

2008-04-11T15:26:00Z

Welcome to the AnotherVenture website. AnotherVenture is a Cincinnati-based organization led by Ryan Walker, who has been a web development professional since 1995. We are focused on both helping people realize the success of their web venture, as well as launch a few web products of our own :)

As a full-service web consultancy, we provide no-hassles, complete solutions to small- and medium-sized organizations. Our clients rely on our deep knowledge of web strategy and online customer experience design.

If you’ve had problems with your current web partner, you are not alone. Our research conducted in February 2008 indicated that more than 60% of organizations are dissatisfied with the level of service they receive. Many consultants promise the world (to get the sale) and deliver results that fall short of the mark (because they didn’t have a realistic “promise” in the first place).

We will not lie or mislead you in order to make a quick sale. Give us a call at 513.417.2163 to setup a meeting.