App creation is a sport: why Taylor and Warren made me miss the first inning of the Brewers game

[dturchin]

I finished presenting our roadmap and platform strategy in Milwaukee a few weeks back. We hosted an event before the Brewers-Cubs game at Miller Park. Before I could enjoy my first liquid manna (PSA: please support MillerCoors - excellent ServiceNow customer, fine brews) I got distracted by a group of customers huddled in the corner having an animated conversation. It resembled one of those heated debates in Parliament without the powdered wigs. I arrived just before punches were thrown.

• The topic: how to manage demand from the business for new ServiceNow apps.
• The debate: how much is too much of a good thing.
• The context: word got out that IT could replace SharePoint apps and the flood gates opened. Opportunity or problem?

I was mesmerized. Inspired. Excited. I felt like Wayne and Garth at an Aerosmith concert. These were my brethren geeking out about the one thing that will re-define the identify of IT.

I bit my tongue. I tried to not dominate the conversation. Then when it devolved into third graders sharing baseball cards on the playground I jumped in. We spent the first inning exchanging ideas for apps and demonstrating our wares on smartphones. I must admit Taylor's learning management system for tracking employee training put most of mine to shame.

We came to a few conclusions about how best to accommodate demand:

1. Establish a model for app ownership and support. Before committing to the business, answer these three questions:
   • Who owns the feature backlog?
   • Who takes first-line support calls?
   • What will it cost to deliver the service and who is paying?
2. Require a dedicated business sponsor from the line of business. Develop requirements with the business, in scrum-style sprints where possible, and treat the business sponsor as your product owner. Each story (requirement) must have clear acceptance criteria from the business.
3. Focus on the end-user experience. Before defining requirements, white board the lifecycle of an interaction from the perspective of the user. Then recruit a power user and have him/her provide feedback during the development process.

The Brewers lost. My new friends barely noticed. Taylor and Warren, you're bigger geeks than me. And that's the highest compliment I can pay.