steve kwan user experience designer

Review: Getting Real

(March 19th, 2006 - 10:46AM)

(3.5 / 5 stars)

One sentence summary: A book that oozes Web 2.0 in every sense of the term.

Ben Skelton recommended I read Getting Real, a new book by 37signals. On a side note, this is the first time I've linked to Ben's blog. Ben, if your PageRank goes up because of this, you owe me.

Getting Real is the first book I've read that was written by a company instead of a person. I knew that corporations were people in the eyes of the law, but I had no idea they could also author their own books. Anyway, there's a reason for this: Getting Real is half book, half advertising. In addition to being a collection of ideas for modern Web development, it's also a not-so-thinly-veiled attempt to showcase 37signals' line of Web products. But don't worry, that's not as irritating as you might think.

Getting Real is a definitive "Web 2.0" book (ugh, I hate that term). The book itself isn't published in physical form; it's only available in digital (PDF) format. At first I found this a bit odd - do you really want to buy a book that was never formally published? - but then I found out that 37signals decided on this approach because it's consistent with the goals of Web 2.0: fast, agile over-the-Web deployment. Once you get past the fact that Getting Real isn't available on any bookshelf, it's actually quite a convenient method of delivery.

Over-the-Web delivery isn't the only thing unique about Getting Real: it's also a very frank, very practical discussion on modern Web development. The book highlights some of the best practices 37signals uses to develop their widely acclaimed Web products, such as Basecamp and Backpack.

The authors openly acknowledge that these practices aren't a "one size fits all" solution. They're most appropriate for small, agile Web companies like 37signals. More traditional software houses may not benefit from (or agree with) the suggestions in the book. And I like that. Too many books in this genre try to provide general methodologies which should work in any institution. The problem is, most of these methodologies wind up being so general that they don't really give you any concrete advice. Consistent with the goals of Web 2.0, Getting Real is capitalizing on The Long Tail: instead of trying to provide a general solution that works for everyone, it provides a concrete solution that works for a very specific niche of developers.

The book clearly lists specific suggestions for Web 2.0 developers. Some of them are common knowledge. Many of them are quite insightful. There were certainly some good ideas I'd never thought of before. For example:

• Underdo your competition - don't load your application full of unnecessary features.
• Don't just ask your customers what they want; also ask them what they don't want.

My only complaint about Getting Real is that it draws from a very narrow base of experience. The ideas presented in this book are the opinions of a single small company, not the result of years of research. As such, many of the ideas have not yet been proven. It might be dangerous to haphazardly base your development methodology off of Getting Real. However, this narrow focus is what also makes the book worthwhile, so take this complaint with a grain of salt.

I certainly recommend Getting Real. It provides fresh perspectives for Web developers, and it practices what it preaches. The format of the book and method of delivery are consistent with the principles inside, and to me that's worth something. The book itself is a case study on how effective the principles it describes can be.

Buy Getting Real