Starting a Tech Business (eBook)
288 Seiten
John Wiley & Sons (Verlag)
978-1-118-24077-9 (ISBN)
business
Thinking of starting a technology-enabled business? Or maybe you
just want to increase your technology mojo so you can do your job
better? You do not need to learn programming to participate in the
development of today's hottest technologies. But there are a
few easy-to-grasp foundation concepts that will help you engage
with a technical team. Starting a Tech Business explains in
practical, actionable terms how to
* formulate and reality test new ideas
* package what you learn into frameworks that are highly
actionable for engineers
* understand key foundation concepts about modern software and
systems
* participate in an agile/lean development team as the
'voice of the customer'
Even if you have a desire to learn to program (and I highly
recommend doing whatever unlocks your 'inner
tinkerer'), these foundation concepts will help you target
what exactly you want to understand about hands-on technology
development. While a decade ago the barriers to creating a
technology-enabled business required a pole vault, getting started
today only requires a determined step in the right direction.
Starting a Tech Business supplies the tools prospective
entrepreneurs and business enterprises need to avoid common
pitfalls and succeed in the fast-paced world of high-tech business.
Successful execution requires thoughtful, evidence-based product
formulation, well-articulated design, economic use of systems,
adaptive management of technical resources, and empathetic
deployment to customers. Starting a Tech Business offers
practical checklists and frameworks that business owners,
entrepreneurs, and professionals can apply to any tech-based
business idea, whether you're developing software and
products or beginning a technology-enabled business. You'll
learn:
1. How to apply today's leading management frameworks
to a tech business
2. How to package your product idea in a way that's
highly actionable for your technical team
3. How to ask the right questions about technology
selection and product architecture
4. Strategies to leverage what your technology ecosystem
has to offer
5. How to carefully define the roles on your team, and then
effectively evaluate candidates
6. The most common disconnects between engineers and business
people and how to avoid them
7. How you can apply process design to your tech business
without stifling creativity
8. The steps to avoid the most common pitfalls tech
founders encounter
Now is one of the best times to start a technology-enabled
business, and anyone can do it with the right amount and kind of
preparation. Starting a Tech Business shows you how to move
a product idea to market quickly and inexpensively--and to tap
into the stream of wealth that a tech business can provide.
ALEX COWAN is the founder and CTO of Leonid Systems, a software company providing solutions to the world's largest communications providers. He has worked with companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100s, improving their competitive advantage in a fast-changing high-tech landscape. He lives in Aptos, California, and can be reached at www.alexandercowan.com.
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii
Who Should Read This? Why? xiii
What is a Technology System? xv
Leveraging Industry Shifts xvii
What Will I Get out of These Chapters? xviii
Who is the Author? xxvi
Chapter 1 The Idea: Confront the Lawn Gnome of Indolence 1
Conception 1
Reality Testing 3
Footprint 25
Platforms 26
Engaging Moonlighters 28
Beta Customers 30
Checklist 33
Specialty Reading by Topic 33
Chapter 2 The Strategy: Saddle the Racehorse of Blind Progress 35
What Strategy? 35
Squaring the Four Ps 36
Company Strategy 40
More on Catalysts 47
Iterative Management 48
Bringing It All Together 56
Checklist 60
Specialty Reading by Topic 61
Chapter 3 The Product: Pin the Butterfly of Incoherence 63
Thinking Like a Designer 63
User Stories 67
Using the MVC Framework for a High-Level Design 73
The View 76
The Model 86
The Controller 93
Iterative Learning and Design 95
Pulling It All Together 96
Checklist 97
Specialty Reading by Topic 98
Chapter 4 The Architecture: Unravel the Python of Monolithic Architecture 99
Industrial Revolution 2.0 99
Designing an Architecture 100
Understanding Integration 102
Architecture Piece Parts at Enable Quiz 104
Evaluating Piece Parts 115
Understanding Open Source 117
Understanding Development Tools 119
Checklist 128
Specialty Reading by Topic 128
Chapter 5 The Team: Dodge the Magpie of Discord 129
Who Are These Software People? 129
Roles and Skill Sets at Enable Quiz 133
Evaluating New Hires 142
Evaluating Third-Party Firms 148
Motivation 151
Going Offshore 152
Contracting 155
Internal Tools 155
Checklist 158
Specialty Reading by Topic 159
Chapter 6 Getting to Beta: Discipline the Chihuahua of Unruly Development 161
From Here to There 161
Planning at Enable Quiz 166
The Reality 176
Documentation 180
Checklist 191
Specialty Reading by Topic 192
Chapter 7 Beta! Slaying the Hydra of Operational Readiness 193
Process, Process, Process 193
Process Example: Enable Quiz 200
You Are My Beta 217
Checklist 220
Specialty Reading by Topic 220
Chapter 8 Scaling the Business: Riding the Whale of Scale 221
The Launch: Is It Working? 221
Partnerships 228
Focus, Focus, Focus 233
The Chasm and the Hockey Stick 235
Managing Feedback at Enable Quiz 240
Learning When (and How) to Say No 241
Post-Mortems 243
Scaling 244
What Now? 245
Checklist 247
Specialty Reading by Topic 248
Index 249
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 14.3.2012 |
|---|---|
| Sprache | englisch |
| Themenwelt | Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Beruf / Finanzen / Recht / Wirtschaft |
| Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Planung / Organisation | |
| Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Unternehmensführung / Management | |
| Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Wirtschaftsinformatik | |
| Schlagworte | Business & Management • Klein- u. mittelständische Unternehmen u. Existenzgründung • Klein- u. mittelständische Unternehmen u. Existenzgründung • Small Business & Entrepreneurship • Wirtschaft • Wirtschaft u. Management |
| ISBN-10 | 1-118-24077-4 / 1118240774 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1-118-24077-9 / 9781118240779 |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
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