The failure
Interserv, in its current form, came into existence on 29 October 2018 as Interserv Pty Ltd.
As of September 2022, there was still no real website.
An internet technology company without a website in 2022!
Of course, in 2018 there was a lot to be done, client projects to deliver, new clients to sign, and a company to grow. A website was always considered important and the project had been started before the company was even registered. Yet in every Projects Meeting only minimal progress was ever reported.
Why?
- We need it to be great
- Client work is more important
- Waiting for the next version of tech
Result: 3 years and no website.
The lesson
The lesson is one I regularly say to my team and clients alike: delivery is a feature. Getting something out there and being used is often the best course of action. Why? You can learn from it, build on it, and get some runs on the board. While it can be hard to release something you care about that is less than perfect, and it can be difficult to make the call to publish when you're used to a client having the final say, the impact of not releasing anything can be the worst outcome.
Did we miss opportunities because we had no website? Likely.
Could we have quickly put together a templated site and had it live much quicker. Yes.
We could have gotten a lesser but functional site online much sooner and updated it as we went along.
Next steps
Here we are now, lesson learned. We have a live, less than perfect (although pretty great) website launched. Now we must listen, iterate, continue to improve our website to make it the best it can be. More importantly we must practice the lesson: delivery is a feature.
