Version One Is Better Than Version Zero

That is a phrase that I heard at a recent course that I attended on marketing on the internet.

The implication is that it is better to get your first version of a not-quite-ready ad or even a new product out there and see how it goes over, than to have nothing out there at all. And thus no one out there knowing what you are up too.

Another way I've heard the same concept presented is Ready, Fire, Aim. Implying that you should get as ready as you can be, but then produce something that you get out to your market or the end users to see how it works for them.

When you really think about it, that concept is applicable in many aspects of life outside marketing as well.

Get the first version of a new product or service out the door as fast as possible to your customers and/or end users, and then get feedback from them in order to update and correct it That way you can improve the product in the manner that your customers and users want it improved and make it more useful for subsequent customers.

Technologists and Engineers are really bad about putting something out there that we feel isn't ready, so we need to fight that urge for perfection the hardest in order to actually get version 1.0 out to your market and then get the feedback and correct. Correct and Continue.

For the geek in all of us, Agile methodologies like Scrum and XP are something that fosters this perspective as well.

Short quick iterations that get pushed all the way out to the project sponsors in the business units and potentially on to production for the end users or customers depending on the type of project. Version 1 is then in the hands of the people that will be using it, and can thus be evaluated and enhanced and become a version 2 as quickly as possible. That then gives the end users the quickest feedback and includes them in the process. It also avoids a lot of heading down the wrong direction and building a bunch of functionality that will never be used by anyone.

Another mentor of mine talks about the same concept using a slightly different terminology. He says that you should "get to version 3 as fast as possible".

From that instructors perspective, version 1 is pretty bad, and then based upon the users/customers feedback you update and enhance that original version and re-release it as version 2, which is significantly better, but still not your best work.

The 3rd revision is finally something that you can be proud of and something that you really feel good about.

Both of those ways of thinking though require getting a not-quite ready version out there to your audience and then getting feedback on what needs to be updated and enhanced and revised for version 2 and beyond.

If you wait for it version one to be perfect, you will never get it out there, because it will always require one more tweak before you think it is ready.

If version one is in continual development, but never gets released out to the end users/customers, then how can you ever get to a version 2 or version 3?

Have you seen this in your life? Where you are afraid of putting something out in public or the market that you think may not be your best work?