Prototypes
Our tools have evolved. We can have an application available to the world within an hour, and can test ideas with working software within days. "Software" was once the brittle and ornery partner; now it's finally becoming a little "soft".
To pull this off takes a combination of the right tools and the right software development practices. State-of-the-art tools like cloud deployments, Rails, Javascript, and some home-grown ones like Csster, remove the roadblocks to delivering software quickly. Couple this with agile development practices that help divine the best features to implement next, and you can move quickly.
Example Explorations
Over a six-month period, Andy led the initial development of Aardvark, in collaboration with the Aardvark team, building a prototype that evolved into the core engine. (Later acquired by Google.)
On Bedsider, Andy spent a month building an in-depth prototype of a new application, the BootyLog, including visualizations and database-backed functionality.
&what; is a programmer utility to discover various character entities. This is a prototype to utilize features of HTML5, as well as provide some utility. Initial version took just a couple hours, and the current implementation has been iterated on many times.
A one-day project, LinkedIn Timeline (Not Maintained), Andy scratched an itch of many years to build timelines. This project involved learning the basics of the LinkedIn API (no longer supported), solving a few design problems, and implementing a working version. We built up a list of problems along the way, and this addresses some of them... many were left for another day.
Andy built the first prototype of CarbonFive's Story Mapper (Not Maintained) and contributed to ongoing development and project management. (The link requires Pivotal Tracker login). This was a couple hours devoted to a "spike" implementation, which convinced the team to devote more resources to the project. Intial prototype approx 2 hours
UX Spoke (Not Maintained) addresses common software usability questions. As you develop or refine a software product, it's easy to get stuck in a rut, running user tests that aren't that helpful or focusing too much on Google Analytics. A tool that worked well may no longer be the right tool for the new questions you have now. The UX/Spoke tool is designed to help you explore many of the different tools in common practice. Approx 3 days, mixed with learning several new technologies
A quick chart of the programming languages Andy has used. Created to demonstrate concise CSS and Javascript style. Approx 1 hour
Agile Processes (Not Maintained) is a quick visualization to understand the differences between "agile", XP, scrum, etc. Approx 1 day
Difftionary (Not Maintained) — Online dictionary of distinctions. Site concept.
Chklistr (Not Maintained) — Find, use and share all sorts of checklists. Site concept.