Software is an extension of us.
I could hear a loud thump when his telephone fell 10 meters through the benches. We were at a conference where they had built seating for 7500 people and listening carefully to the business thinkers on stage.
The phone fell right through the benches and a small space between the floor elements. It probably shattered when it hit the floor, so the damage was already done. There was nothing we could have done at this point.
It happened 20 minutes into the keynote. 40 minutes to go. It was crazy how anxious my friend started to get during that time. Not able to sit up straight, all the time checking the time. And once the keynote was over he ran through the crowd an dove under the seats in his attempt to find the phone.
It might be easy to act amused while writing this story. But right now I write with my thumbs only so that would make me a hypocrite.
The truth is that I would have acted just the same.
Take the phone away, and for some, it feels like losing a hand. And no. I don’t mean the physical pain, but the sense of helplessness here!
The last time I sat in an airplane to fly back from a business trip I noticed the same. Everybody on my row looked brainlessly at the screen of the phone flipping through the main menu. Back and forth, back and forth.
Losing the network connection made zombies out of us, screensaver on every face.
Software is an extension of us, and the phone is a high-density piece of just that. If the software works as we want and expect it to, we feel whole. If the software feels off, we get annoyed and frustrated fast.
As if a necessary tool just got amputated.
Your software quickly becomes obsolete and is forgotten if you don’t deliver what it takes for it to be an extension of your customer still.
You need to consistently and reliably deliver what you promise.
I’m a testing professional. So I’ve got to say it here once more :D, Please test!
