False vs Real Platform Development

A common objection to investing in a platform is that it is "too expensive."

"We want to get it right, lock it down, and then crank out our product and make some $$$."

Many managers and owners are wary of platform development because they have experienced false platform development -- endless tinkering, the costly pursuit of perfection, etc.

However, real platform development is focused on shipping as soon as possible and then improving.

Real platform development is realizing that complex, connected systems are dynamic, living things that need maintained. They do not operate in isolation.

Real platform developers have the humility to realize they can't see and understand the big picture up front until they build something and get feedback.

The key to controlling costs is not locking things down such they cannot change, but rather the opposite -- improving your process so that improvements are efficient to develop and and painless to test and deploy.