In this day and age of sloppy solutions and poorly defined problems, there is something to be said for thinking out a problem logically and composing an elegant solution to fit the precise needs of your target audience.
I think its a matter of what angle you approach a problem from, and how well you understand all the facets that particular problem has … for us, we’ve decided that most software problems need to be solved from the customer’s perspective. Only after we fully embrace and understand our customer’s needs, can we truly implement a solution to address them. How is it that so many of our competitors are out of touch with the users of their products?
In this industry, you need to know your stuff, and you really need to be your product’s most demanding customer. If you don’t use your own software, you’re headed in the wrong direction because you’ll never understand why your customers need the things they do; more importantly you’ll understand how to avoid bloat by removing that which is not necessary. In that you need to have the highest of standards, and the drive to work tirelessly in order to create a product that satisfies your own personal expectations. This is where companies make sacrifices, this is where they fail, this is what makes us different and is why we’re here.
