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Gut feel

Over the past year and a bit I’ve been developing a web application that embodies almost the entire business processes of a company. I’ve done this in using a handcrafted MVC architecture.

Then, along comes Ruby on Rails. My mate Mark, who works with me keeps drooling about it. I saw the demos and wasn’t too keen on it. We took a decision yesterday to invest in a lifetime server subscription to TextDrive who provide hosting for Ruby and to develop two of our new contracts with Rails. I agreed to this because I knew Mark was right. We are different people. He approaches things a bit more intellectually than I do. I go for the ‘gut feel’ quite often. It was the ‘gut feel’ that won me over. Whilst I wasn’t convinced from a stakeholder viewpoint, I just felt it was right. This is why he’s the Technical Director, and I’m the MD :-)

But today I read the ToDo list tutorial. And It Changed My Mind.

I recognised in that tutorial all the things I’ve had to do to build my handcrafted architecture and importantly, to neatly tie the user experience in with the application. Ruby on Rails (and the remarkable Active Record class) provides it all out of the box. So I’m now technically convinced. As well as emotionally convinced. Let’s go.

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2 Responses to "Gut feel"

  1. 26 February 2005 at 07:49 PM

    Mark wrote:

    I’m very humbled by your trust in my opinion. It may or may not surprise you that I’m led a lot by "gut feeling" too. Gut feel counts for a lot. I think we all acknowledge that there is such a thing as a "sixth sense" of some sort.

    I had a good "gut feel" for both Ruby and Rails when I first saw them, which came from my professional experience in O-O methods consultancy within a largish organisation. But I still needed to check it out with some hard facts before I was going to offer an opinion. (And there’s still opportunity for me to proved wrong!)

    I also trust my instincts when it comes to meeting people for the first time. I believe in a God-given gift of discernment in this case. But I still check-out my gut feeling with a little research – asking certain questions and studying body language as well as verbal response. I had an instant good feeling when I first met some of the clients that we have (and by implication …). It’s nice that our business is now developing to the point where we can afford to (in-fact, can no longer afford not to) "hire" the right clients. I think this coming year will prove to be pivotal when we look back on it.

    We’re not as dissimilar as you might think!

  2. 26 February 2005 at 08:05 PM

    Mark wrote:

    p.s. There’s some interesting points made in the “hire” the right clients discussion thread, including why over-detailed RFPs are a possible red flag – and I’m theorising that over-detailed responses to RFPs may not win the work for the same reasons.

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