Business Patterns for Software Developers

Allan Kelly has seen the software industry from many different angles - has held just about every job in the software world and has worked with just about every type of company there is. As a result he has seen the many different ways of doing business the industry has, and seen many of the same ways repeated.

Contents ix Foreword xiii Acknowledgements xvii Chapter 1 Introduction 1 The Whole 2 The Journey to Business Patterns 6 Audience 8 A Story Book 9 Limits of the Book 10 Book Structure and How to Read 10 Sequence Diagrams 11 Comments Please 12 Chapter 2 Structure of the Software Industry 13 Types of Companies 13 Outsource and Offshore 22 Vendors and the Software Stack 24 The ISV / ESP Divide 27 Closing Words 33 Chapter 3 Software Company Lifecycle 35 Early Days 36 Growing 37 Post Start-up Middle Age 42 Investor Exit 43 Death of a Software Company 45 Death Throes 46 Walking Dead 48 Closing Words 49 Chapter 4 Strategy 51 What is Strategy? 52 Strategy, not Plans 54 Strategy as a Pattern 56 Generative Patterns 56 Identifying Strategy 58 Strategy Parallels Software Design 62 Strategy for Software Creators 65 Closing Words 68 Chapter 5 Funding the Start 71 Bootstrapping 72 Friends and Family 73 Banks 73 Angels 74 Venture Capital 74 Private Equity 75 Investor Exit 76 Funding Timing 77 Love hate with Venture Capital 79 Closing Words 81 Chapter 6 What to Build Patterns about Products 83 Customisation, Platforms, Frameworks and Product Lines 87 Poacher Turned Gamekeeper 91 Customer Co-Created Product 95 Simpler Product 100 Same Customers, Different Product 105 Core Product Only 110 Customisable Product 115 Simple Product Variations 121 Chapter 7 Marketing 125 The Missing Link 128 Whole Product 131 Homogenous Customers 136 Segmented Customers 141 Customer Understanding 146 Expeditionary Marketing 153 Contents xi Chapter 8 Distribution Model 157 Direct Sales 159 Distributors 163 Choosing a Distribution Model 165 Different Product, Different Channel 166 Chapter 9 Patterns of Direct Distribution 169 Branded Shops 172 Internet Store 177 Named Sales People 182 Account Management 187 Sales/Technical Double Act 192 Chapter 10 Patterns of Indirect Distribution 197 Local Guide 200 Value Added Reseller 203 White Label 208 Independent Retailer 213 Wholesaler 217 Chapter 11 Services 221 Crossover 222 The Missing Pattern: Product from Services 225 Tailored Products 'Specials' 229 Customise or Co-create? 233 When Services Distract from Product 234 Closing Words 238 Chapter 12 Patterns about Services 239 Products with Services 242 Initial Help 248 Lifetime Services for Products 252 Professional Services Team 258 Services Feedback 262 Personal Service 265 Self-Service 268 Corporate Certified Experts 272 Packaged Services 276 Chapter 13 Patterns about Organising Product Companies 281 Capabilities 283 Structure 286 Services Before Product 288 Single Product Company 292 Product Portfolio 296 Product Roadmap 302 Complementor, Not Competitor 309 Innovative Products 313 Separate Imaginative Teams 318 Appendix A About Patterns 323 What Is a Pattern? 324 Pattern Languages 332 Pattern Sequences 333 Improvising with Patterns 335 Anti-patterns 336 How to Read a Pattern 336 How to Write a Pattern 338 Closing Words 342 Appendix B Patterns Philosophy 343 Patterns and their Implicit Context 343 The Quality Without a Name: Wholeness 345 Events or Things 347 Sustainability: Living and Dead Patterns 347 Classifying Patterns: Good, Bad, Dead and Alive 348 Worse is Better: Path Dependency? 351 Knowledge Management and Patterns 353 Storytelling and Patterns 355 Closing Words 358 Appendix C Future Work Patterns Arising 361 References 365 Index 375