Working on a project for 10+ years before it's "ready" | Hacker News Reader

Working on a project for 10+ years before it's "ready"

3 pointsnotme80005 comments

Has anyone had the experience of developing something so complicated that it took ten or more years to complete? I'm not talking about a hobby or a side project, but a full time project that just needed a large investment of time to be actualized. Especially having variables that would be difficult to delegate to others, and/or a lot of trial and error. I am curious whether it was worth it in the end, and whether the time frame was discouraging at any point.

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I've just recently returned to an idea I had started developing 12 years ago, but I hadn't look at it for 11 years because the technology wasn't ready yet. With the introduction of reliable cheap touch screens, that has changed.

Your comment regarding 'variables that would be difficult to delegate' makes alarm bells ring for me.

I am BRUTAL at delegating. For years, it came up as an issue with employers until I made a significant effort to delegate to other people.

I don't know what you're building, so can't say absolutely, but if delegating is an issue, I'd write out what the ABSOLUTE KEY bits of technology are, and figure out what YOU don't need to be developing. Nobody can do it all alone. It's a lesson I'm still trying to learn. Working 10+ years alone makes me think that either a) you aren't delegating enough and are trying to do too much on your own or b) you are trying to build the perfect and complete product before you really know that a market exists.

Don't aim for perfection, get your product out there.

Well here's a good read about a 11 year long project without any customer feedback and non-pivoting waterfall model in action:

http://steveblank.com/2010/11/01/no-business-plan-survives-f...

Spoiler: They lost some money.

Here's an interview with a guy who worked on something hard for seven years (and succeeded): http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/proof/wiles.html

Project Xanadu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Xanadu) failed hard.

If you not die of hungry or get crazy before, it's OK

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