Demos improve meetings. I’ve found “Demo First” meetings are life-giving because they start with something tangible, as opposed to discussing so

The Demo → Demo Loop

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2022-06-22 19:00:10

Demos improve meetings. I’ve found “Demo First” meetings are life-giving because they start with something tangible, as opposed to discussing some hypothetical future scenario until time runs out and you have to schedule more meetings. Start meetings by showing progress. Better yet, a demo doesn’t always need to be a call or a meeting; thirty second screencasts are as good as gold.

Demos improve workflows. Breaking up large tasks into “what can I demo next” is an exciting way to work. There’s always an immediate goal for me to find a demo-able checkpoint where I can get tactical feedback frequently. It can save a lot of rework and we can catch ourselves going down a bad path early.

Demos improve project scoping. Demos and prototypes give you a good idea of what’s easy and what’s hard in the underlying system. Demoing often means you and others may be able to spot problems far off or find “fast paths” mid-flight. Often slight corrections or adjustments to the design can save weeks or months of work without sacrificing quality or user experience.

If I’m honest, “Dailies” are probably overkill, but I wouldn’t hate it. I would certainly prefer daily demos over vague, ritualistic standup-speak. It’s worth noting here that not all days or weeks are bangers. What’s important is establishing an organizational practice of demo’ing and honing your skills and confidence at providing demos.