A Short Reflection – Productizing vs Personalizing

by freshfunkee

Just ahead of Version 0.6, I’m starting to notice that the project is becoming more presentable. I’ve added lots of smaller features to it that have started to fill up the screen a bit more and provide more feedback while using the music controller. It’s all coming together and if I were to present it next week, I would be happy knowing I had put some good work into it and that I accomplished most of what I set out to do.

I don’t believe that there ever will be a “Finished” stage to the project. Given more time, I can think of dozens of extra features I would have loved to incorporate into the project. If I had chosen a more “productizable” project, I don’t think this would have been the case. In fact, the entire logic behind a product is to create something that is complete, fit for purpose and marketable. Although, all of these principals can really stand to a project, and especially to a graduate, I’m beginning to see how it can stifle ones imagination. Developing something from the ground up into an undefined stage, where time and effort are your only limitations, really stands as a testament to your own personal abilities and personality. It becomes more of an “adventure” rather than completing a task. The project can go in any direction, and what it reflects is a more personal accomplishment rather than a footnote on a CV or a foot in the door to your future.

Of course, there are plenty of advantages to productizing a final year project. If I had a definite end goal to my project, I could have been finished months ago and planning tasks to complete would have been much more trivial. But, I think the way I decided to do things fits my personality better. At this stage in my life, I’m more interested in seeing what my ideas can accumulate into without boundaries or limitations. As an end result, I have something to remind me of what I’m capable of. Something I can show people that shows some of my characteristics and interests. If I were to do it all again, it could be an entirely different project just depending on the day and what mood I’m in.

Version 0.6 should be up tomorrow.