
Ask HN: Why does shipping often and quickly matter? - ent101
I usually feel more motivated when I ship a new feature&#x2F;build every day and feel the momentum building up, but this is anecdotal and for one person only.<p>Why does shipping quickly and often matter so much to so many companies? Is there any concrete study behind it?
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notgpt
I have the same anecdotal experience. It'll be interesting if someone can
point to a concrete study about it, though if I had to guess this is less
about software engineering and more about human psychology.

These are some factors I can think of:

Rhythm: In one project that I joined towards the tail end, just before
release, things were looking quite bad. The bulk of the work was done, but
there were too many open threads left and the launch date kept getting pushed
back, and back. One thing that we as a team decided that I think really helped
was bind ourselves to a fixed bi-weekly release cycle. Product or management
didn't ask us, we just decided it ourselves. Twice a week, at fixed times, the
release train would leave. The overall effect was something akin to how
someone who is hyperventilating can get back to a more relaxed state by
breathing to a rhythm.

Statelessness: Every release is provides a mental closure. Sure, there are
TODOs, and things that you realize over sleep that are semi-buggy or could be
done better. But there is something out there. I'd die more peacefully if I
were to get hit by a bus after making a release than in the midst of a cycle
:)

Iteration speed: This is perhaps the reason specifically pertaining to
programming. We're more productive with shorter feedback cycles. Let us think
about an environment where doing a code change, making a build, and then
seeing the effect of that change takes, let us say, 2 minutes. A different
environment where this cycle is 2 seconds is a whole different ballgame. It is
just much more productive. This same principle applies to shipping, just on a
higher level.

Fear. Or lack of it. Bulky releases come with fear. Software is hard, there
are just too many things that can interact to cause unanticipated effects. The
shorter the release cycle, the less the fear of the unexpected stuff
happening. And when unexpected stuff does happen, it is easier to zero in on
the cause.

Of course, there are downsides too. "Release fatigue" could be one. Diluting
the importance of the release could be another - a sentence would look pretty
tedious if every. space. was. replaced. by. a. fullstop. I personally try to
do it as often and rhythmically as I can get away with.

