http://craigrandall.net/archives/2004/11/creating-real-design-options-through-modularity/ Thoughts about software architecture, books and life Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:00:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= http://craigrandall.net/archives/2004/11/creating-real-design-options-through-modularity/comment-page-1/#comment-63 Craig’s Musings » Blog Archive » Consequences of over-serving average customers Tue, 08 Nov 2005 22:03:35 +0000 http://craigrandall.net/archives/2005/04/creating-real-design-options-through-modularity/#comment-63 [...] Another colleague of mine was kinds enough to share with me an article from her required course reading during leadership training, “Skate to Where the Money Will Be.” One of the points the authors make that got my attention was the following statement: “Product performance almost always improves beyond the needs of the general consumer, as companies stretch to meet the needs of the most demanding (and most profitable) customers.” The article goes on to talk about the opportunity that an overserved market presents to those with agile, niche and solutions-oriented product portfolios. It emphasizes the value of modularity and the standardization process that often results from the coalescing of modular interfaces. It also warns about a changing tide that ebbs away from integration and flows toward componentization (i.e. dis-integration). Promote integration after this tide change only to your competitive disadvantage in terms of speed, flexibility and price. [...] [...] Another colleague of mine was kinds enough to share with me an article from her required course reading during leadership training, “Skate to Where the Money Will Be.” One of the points the authors make that got my attention was the following statement: “Product performance almost always improves beyond the needs of the general consumer, as companies stretch to meet the needs of the most demanding (and most profitable) customers.” The article goes on to talk about the opportunity that an overserved market presents to those with agile, niche and solutions-oriented product portfolios. It emphasizes the value of modularity and the standardization process that often results from the coalescing of modular interfaces. It also warns about a changing tide that ebbs away from integration and flows toward componentization (i.e. dis-integration). Promote integration after this tide change only to your competitive disadvantage in terms of speed, flexibility and price. [...]

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