Versions Are Disruptive
The iPhone has only ever released 2 versions. The iPhone 1 that introduced smooth multi touch gestures on a phone screen without a physical keyboard attached to it and the iPhone 2 that made the transition from a phone to a smartphone enabling you to install apps an basically have a powerful mini computer in your pocket. All the subsequent changes in number actually are better iterations of the iPhone 2, more battery life, better screen resolution, better sound, better connectivity.
Getting to Version 1 is a tough road filled with many Version 0 of products that almost had all the necessary requirements to make it but in the end they weren’t a viable solution for the problem they set to solve. Some Version 0 are solid enough that investments in their next iteration are justified even if only for the learnings that you will get from going down that road.
The good thing is that all Version 0 provide learnings on what to do, what to not do and your skills get polished for the next attempt; and at least it also provides insights into were not to go next time and what to avoid. To avoid life or death situation, you should move fast, integrate new ideas, breaking existing things with the aim of validating the your ideas. Keep in mind that what got you to Version 0 might not be what gets you to Version 1 but will serve a north start to guide you to make better decisions for Version 1.
For the past year I have been going through this process while building a personal planner for myself, and maybe one day for the public, because existing solutions didn’t quite fit my workflow and
The first attempt at Version 0 was glorified sticky notes system with the ability to schedule them daily which became a complete chaos after 2 months of usage.
Then I wandered around attempting to use other tools like Trello or even attempting to use Apple Notes at something it was never meant to be used for.
The second attempt was a document oriented organising tool that kind of worked for keeping things organised at the right level but failed to provide ways to surface the information when it was needed.
Then I attempted to use a single large note for everything. It became a monster of text indentation, many levels deep nested lists, symbols, and text decoration in an attempt to clarify what each thing meant.
The third attempt was a product that enforced a very restrictive style of working. I tried to set a fixed pace for myself without realizing that if you are not in control of the pace above you, you will never be able to set one for yourself as priorities change and so does your schedule.
The fourth attempt, and the current one, is a mix of features between notes apps, kanban boards, calendars, documents and OKR and learnings from books like BUILD . It’s a system that offers flexibility and provides the necessary tools for when structure is needed. In building this version I had to analyse every feature that I have built for the attempts that previously failed in order to pick what was good, discard what was bad, break up with what I thought were great ideas but turned out to be very bad ones and be open to explore ideas and features and in some cases even mix new ideas with old bad ones which turned out to actually work.
This last attempt has actually graduated to a Version 0 because it actually solves the problem of organizing the multiple projects I work on simultaneously and I feel like it has good iterations in it and eventually, if it stands the test of time, and make the huge leap that is Version 1 because Version 1 is actually the first version that kind of made sense for the people working on it. It is a way to commit to solution and move forward breaking up with past failures. It is like pulling out a clean sheet and saying exactly what you are going to do next now that you have failed so much. When it forces a change in the context, that’s when you have a new version, until then you are iterating on an already proven solution.
Versions are an improvement on the concept as a whole while iterations are an improvement on an already established solution. It is important to not confuse a very good iteration with a new version.