The beauty of IT change and those who remember it

The photo was taken by analog photography lover Petra Gardijan & her comrade Zorki 4K.

Today we're used to being fast, to be effective, and multitasking. Sometimes I wonder, what would my grandfather think of me? That I have superpowers or that I’m tormenting myself?

Recently I've heard a story about the journey of an engineer and IT professor in the seventies. Flying to Paris for a technological fair. While hearing quite a noise, you could see your arm veins spreading due to the pressure. So many things happened after this flight. People often say that everything was different back then. But not him. What he sees are the difference and progress. In the eighties, he was a part of replacing analog with digital technology. He notices: "It was hard to see those valuable parts, throwing away. But when things are not using the purpose anymore, they need to be replaced with something else, with progress."

Another person we talked to about this topic is our translator and retired English teacher. She has very vivid memories of typing machines. Deleting and copy-pasting was impossible back then. Loud sounds, no typing during the night because of the neighbors' peace. Indigo paper was something you needed to have in your house, blue fingers a part of the process.

But what is in common with those people? Their understanding of the world changes. Still having knowledge, strength, and will for progress. It seems that the ones who participated in this journey will never say how they don't understand today's world. They'll try. They'll ask and they'll respect it. That's why they get even more interesting to us. If they can time machine, shouldn't we too? I'm sure my grandfather would also understand.

That should be the power of IT.

The power of common sense

During my years in the world of software project management, I've been thinking a lot about how come that we so often believe that different methodologies and processes will save us and provide us with a path to eternal happiness and success. History is repeating itself, again and again. You probably remember all these (expensive) RUP, PRINCE2, PROPS, Agile, SAFE evangelists from the numerous (expensive) training sessions telling you just that.

The answer is probably that we are humans, and we like simple solutions. A methodology, described in books and diagrams might look complex, but compared to life, it is simple. It is humans who do software development; it is supposed to model life, which makes it far more complex. When I present a project plan, the only prediction that I would dare to put my life on is that things will not be like I've just explained. My audience usually laughs when I say that, but I'm deadly serious.

You will always meet surprises and challenges, and you need to deal with those. How? I propose "common sense" project management.

The term "common sense" was first defined by Aristotle. He said that humans were the only animals on the planet equipped with a sense of logic and that everyone is born with the potential to think logically, ie, the logical sense is common sense.

When I think about common sense, I think of three things:

1. Facts first

2. A refusal of a single and only truth

3. Always practical and workable

Get the facts. Respect the complexity

Common sense is about dealing with the world as it really is, not how you feel it should be. Don't try to squeeze the reality into the methodology diagrams; try to adjust the diagrams to fit your world. 

Get facts, check your sources, and think with your own head. The point is to solve the problem, not to become a methodology slave.

Refuse a single and only truth

I can't stop thinking that the creators of many software development methodologies are often called evangelists. I guess that is because they often want us to believe in their truth, the one and only.

I remember the SCRUM training that I attended many years ago. The teacher, one of the founders of SCRUM, spent quite a lot of time during the course to neglect and make fun of RUP and waterfall project methods that were popular some time ago. The thing was that one of the participants on the course was the son of one of the RUP founders. The poor guy didn't dare to say his name loudly; he just whispered it when he was asked to present himself, hoping that nobody will hear it properly. He was ashamed because of his father's heritage and work.

I don't want to go there. We need to show respect for our predecessors. Of course, they did many things right. There is no only one truth. Actually, having only one truth is a dangerous thing. The secret is in cherrypicking the best parts, based on facts, logic, and experience, do it the scientific way.

Make it practical and workable

Common sense is factual and practical. It is scientific and pragmatic. Project management, based on common sense, is about creating and using practical and workable ways of work. Don't overdo it just because the method is telling you to do so.

It doesn't seem so hard, does it? But sometimes, the simplest things are the hardest. Let me try to explain my "common sense" way in some future posts.

When you find a story in a cup of coffee

“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.” T.S. Eliot

Some days are passing highly inspired, in some of them, we're in search of it. Brilliant ideas, practical solutions, something effective to be satisfied with ourselves and our work. Small things can always help in that process. Coffee could be one of the solutions. If the intention is to go out of the office, to take a walk and get one of the best cups in town, who knows on which corner the inspiration could find you. That's the main concept of our brilliant idea maker, Arne. So, exactly from Stockholm, he discovered Calm Wins Coffee & Cocktails in the center of Pula.

If you ask me, and I live there, I wouldn't know that the place exists. High quality, great tasting coffee. And here's the story about it: "Coopedota was founded in 1960. in Costa Rica. Currently has 900 farmers with families and it's an integral part of the development of a community of more than 8000 people".

Sometimes the magic is in Arne's code, sometimes in Tanja's remarkable skills of leading or Karin's brightness and humor. And some days it can be just in a cup of coffee. Wish you the best of luck with finding yours.

And Sprend d.o.o was born

A wise man once said: Even the longest journey starts with the first step.

After weeks of preparations and a journey trough todays’s Europe with changing flight schedules, empty airports and heavy rain, but also with a great taste of adventure and excitement, Tihana and me finally gathered in Pula to do this first step - register Sprend d.o.o, a subsidary of our swedish company, that will help us to build an even greater service for our customers.

Starting a company is like constructing a building. If the building is a one story building it will require certain footings to be dug.  However, if you are going to build a 50 story building, it will require a completely different type of foundation. We want to build a skyscraper. What is the better place to find the inspiration for that than Pula, a town full of 2 000 years old ancient remains, still standing there and reminding us of past times.

Everything was perfectly planned and organised by Tihana, so the only thing left for me was to sign lots of papers. In fact, my only worry was if my signature would look similar on all these papers :-) People we met were kind, friendly and well prepared. It felt that Pula was welcoming Sprend with open arms.

After the formal part was done, we also had time to check a coffee shop that we would like to cooperate with, and our new office space at Mletačka 12. The office is still empty and the next important step will be to transform it to the greatest work space ever. So stay tuned!

We ended this exciting day with dinner at Farabuto, together with Johanna, our great friend and a source of positive energy, and Tarita, a girl that will help us with financial matters here in Croatia.

So from now, there is only one way - forward. We start where we are, with what we have, and we are confident that this will lead us into something great.

The developers I want to work with

The amazing Shinkansen train at Shin-Osaka station in June 2015.

I want to work with developers who care about what they make. Developers make software, and software is a tool. A tool needs to be sharp, not break, easy to use, and bring a smile to the face of the user. A new feature is not finished before the user gives a thumbs-up.

The user perspective is equally valid within the system itself. Developers write code to be read by fellow developers; they are the users of that code. Usability for the fellow coder is just as important as usability for the end-user. And that fellow coder is probably yourself in the future when you return to make changes.

I want to work with developers that solve a problem for good, not with people who solve it once for themselves and then forget about the solution. Make the problem go away for ever, or if that is not possible share the way to solve it the next time. Developers must continuously improve the process of development and their own tools. And with tool I am also referring to their brains. Be curious, be interested, and keep learning more.

Making a product

To return to the topic of the end product and the end users, I want to maximize the value that my software brings into the world. If it is used by more people it is more useful than having just a few users. This thinking naturally takes me into product development. I want to work with developers that share that drive, and understand that even the slightest improvement becomes a huge deal just because many people experience that improvement.

In the world of product development the difference becomes muddled between new features and enhancements to user friendliness. Is it a new feature to be able to transfer many files at a time, or is it just a friendlier user interface? Really, it doesn’t matter, because it improves usability.

I want to work in a team where we create joy and business benefits for ourselves, our community, and our customers.

Recycled idea

To have a business meeting in the morning and to be happy to see your colleagues, that the greatest luck. It's Monday and you're not sad, hating your life and waiting for the next weekend to come, that's rare. But on the top, when the ones you're working with, share your sense of humor, it's even funnier. Very small things can describe bigger ones. I'll tell you one. After a meeting with our business partner, I forgot to save a paid bill for the cost-covering. So I went back (only because I promised to Tanja and Arne to send it) and asked for the thing. It was already trashed. The next question was: Would you like to have it like this, crumpled? Yes, why not. Seems it has a story. A few days after, at our morning meeting, we mentioned that topic. I told the funny story to everyone and we started to laugh, making jokes and then someone said: You should frame it. That was it. Now, we have the first thing for our new office walls. The one that will tell us a story of how our unintentional mistakes can be brilliant, but just in case you're telling them to the ones who'll make it brilliant. Only, there is one thing about this. Fridays don't represent a day when you're feeling this huge happiness of a non-working weekend, expecting your absolute freedom. You already have it.

What is Sprend?

Six images say more than six thousand words.

Sprend has an office in Pula

If you have an idea and a vision, how long will take you to make it possible? The catch is that you can never know it. The starting point is sometimes hard, but mostly exciting and challenging, keeping you to aim higher.

That’s what we tried. After just a month of searching, Sprend has a new office in Pula, Croatia. The homeland of the best and the worst car in history, Yugo 45. Not to be the worst, but expecting the best, we applied for the office in the Istrian Development Agency. Its primary role lies in the stimulation of the development of small and medium-sized entrepreneurship in the region of Istria.

We’re so happy to become a part of the Entrepreneurial Incubator “Challenge” Pula. Established in 2005. there are ten office rooms and more than 40 start-up entrepreneurs have been incubated with steady growth rates. Sprend is one of ten now.

Do you know what else is Yugo 45? Most adored car in the history of this region. Still, after so many years, seeing it on the streets of Pula will not leave anyone indifferent. That’s our next goal.

What is Sprend doing in Croatia?

The photo was taken by analog photography lover Petra Gardijan & her comrade Zorki 4K. The acrobat is Vili Paoletić, the most skillful guy you could ever meet. If you ask him, he'll tell you that anyone can do what he does.

If we speak about the current situation in Croatia, we need to consider the past few months. The Istrian peninsula is a nice place to live, with pleasant people, beautiful nature, and rich history. When Coronavirus occurred in March, it took only a few days to change this town and to put the citizens in a state of shock. Croatia, unlike Sweden, chooses the lockdown at the beginning of a struggle. Together with a fear of the unknown, everything was stopped just in a few days. Schools, bars, restaurants, and all other things that were a part of our lives before, were closed quickly. Socializing with people out of someone's household was not recommended. Offices were replaced for homes for the ones who were lucky, and many others lost their jobs. Not knowing much about this new virus, the comfort that you could get very often was not to worry, the virus kills only older people. Due to the enormous fear, humane society became rootless not even aware of it at that moment. Luckily, very soon we learn how to live with this, to be responsible, but not the prisoners of the situation. Like the rest of the world, we're waiting for this to pass. Things seem much more normal now. But the consequences are greater than visible. With a lot of unemployed, without tourism, our number one in the region, fear grows as winter comes. So the question is, what is Sprend doing in Pula? It's sending large files and hope.

Our Big Croatian Adventure

Arne in the classic Zastava 750, Fićo, on the Forum Romanum in Pula.

We are setting out on a big Croatian adventure, starting a Croatian company, Sprend d.o.o. If we succeed in this endeavour the development studio of sprend.com will be based in Pula, Istria, Croatia.

And how can we not succeed? It's impossible to fail since: The road is the goal. The connections we are making with people, local government, and institutions make the whole project worth it, even if we don't find a single developer to employ.

So why Croatia? Will it be easier to find great developers here than in Stockholm? No, it's probably just as difficult. Pula is small town in Croatia far from Zagreb, which makes it even more special. The big IT company of the region is Infobip. They've been busy luring away developers from the capital to Istria. Their efforts do in turn it make our task easier. We will try to recruit the developer who feels more at home in a small company where she becomes a crucial member of the team. Perhaps she works for Infobip today?

We're opening up in Istria because because we live there part of the year and because we will get more lines of code per Euro spent, than we would in Sweden.

So what are the plans, the team, and how's the progress? Tune in, and you'll be able to read more in future posts.

Alea iacta est.

Money

Price increase

On October 1, 2020, we are raising prices for Sprend Pro from 540 SEK per year to 720 SEK per year, a 33% increase.

Why are we doing this?

To make more money. We are going to use the money for advertising (Google Ads), a new visual profile, and for hiring programmers. Sprend has great unfulfilled potential and things are just moving too slowly when I am the only hacker at the office. More money means more speed.

Is it going to work out?

Hopefully, yes. The competitors will still be more expensive after our price increase. If it works out badly we can always change the prices again.

Even more importantly, we will soon offer Sprend in more currencies than SEK, namely EUR, GBP and USD. It’s no surprise we currently have most of our customers in Sweden. Let’s change that too.

New price list

Plan	EUR	SEK	GBP	USD
Sprend Pro 12 months	€70	720 kr	£62	$85
Sprend Pro 1 month	€9	92 kr	£8	$11

We are dropping the 3-month plan in favor of a 1-month plan, in line with competitors’ offerings.

By signing up for a year you get 4 months for free compared with the 1-month plan, €70 instead of €9 x 12 = €108. I think that makes sense since the user would normally take a vacation, even from sprending, during the year.

Easy as one-two-three

This is a step-by-step instruction on how to make software:

10 Select one thing to do

20 Build it together

30 Confirm that users are happy

40 Go to 10

This method also, incidentally, summarizes Agile development.

I’ve been developing software for 25 years. The craft is hard enough as it is. You don’t want to make it harder with difficult processes.

Select one thing and build it together. Why only one? Because, in a team, you don’t want to let anyone skip testing. There can be no cherry-picking of fun tasks and letting someone else do the boring stuff. We also don’t want to have unfinished work pile up.

Build the feature together, learn from each other, help each other. You will share the fun and the boring tasks.

Release it and watch users use the new feature. Learn. Adjust.

What about time estimations? Let the person interested in time also create the estimations. Let the rest of us focus on what really matters: happy users and happy team members.

In our 15th year

Sprend started in 2004 as skickafilen.se. Thanks to the Wayback Machine we can show a screenshot of the original user interface.

I had traffic signs in mind when designing the logo and general ui.

In 2008 we changed the domain name to sprend.com to have a more language neutral name. “Sprend” sounds a bit like “send” and can be used as a verb.

In 2011 we released the paid subscription, Sprend Pro. And last year, 2018, was the first year when our revenue was able support a full time employee, i.e. petit moi.

Slow entrepreneurship, we’ve entered our 15th year (“we” = pluralis maiestatis). The future is bright.

This post marks the reboot of the Sprend Blog.