

"Fail Fast, Fail Often" is really an indication that we need a Web Science - amichail

Why do all that experimentation yourself?  Shouldn't it be done by web scientists once and for all?  You could then use the results of their research as guidelines to determine the sort of app to build as well as its features/UI.<p>Also see:<p><a href="http://www.cs.umd.edu/~ben/ShneidermanCACM6-2007.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.cs.umd.edu/~ben/ShneidermanCACM6-2007.pdf</a><p><a href="http://weblog.fortnow.com/2007/08/impact-of-facebook-platform-on-cs.html" rel="nofollow">http://weblog.fortnow.com/2007/08/impact-of-facebook-platfor...</a><p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2205007948&#38;topic=10970" rel="nofollow">http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2205007948&#38;topic=1...</a>
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gibsonf1
The biggest issue is something new. People aren't able to imagine the new big
idea until they see it. When they see it, then they want it, but before that
they had no idea they would want it. Case in point: the Iphone. Scientists are
not the answer.

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amichail
You already rely on scientists in the implementation. So why not make use of
scientific results in the specification as well?

Sure, the major idea can be new, but the way it is presented can make use of
scientific results to increase the probability of success.

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nostrademons
Many of us already do. That's why it's useful to keep up with recent results
in psychology/advertising/marketing.

Problem is, one of those results is that consumers often decide whether to use
a product based on an initial "gut feeling". That gut feeling is the
combination of many factors, most of which are below the level of conscious
perception. So science is effectively telling us that science cannot provide
these answers...

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amichail
The stock market is pretty unpredictable, yet people still try to identify
trends.

I think it is too early to give up.

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nostrademons
Yeah, and look where it's gotten us. ;-)

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twism
success is not a science

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amichail
Not completely, but partially it could be.

