[LRUG] Rails marketability

[Vahagn Hayrapetyan]

@Mark:

The few times I have tried selling Rails the addresses of my pitch were
interested (because the Rails buzz had reached them indirectly), but wanted
to know what exactly makes it so magic. My way of going around it is to
explain that the benefits Rails gives are two-fold: 1) *External* (rapid
prototyping, possibility for early and continuous feedback, etc) and 2) *
Internal* (culture of best coding practices, testability, clean
architecture, etc, hence productivity and maintainability). After which,
they usually say "Well that sounds exciting, maybe it's worth a try" or
something like that.

So exactly as Dr Nic says, I think the responsibility for actually marketing
Rails with the right message is entirely ours - as developers we shape the
Rails ecosystem but we also should proactively shape it's image in the
world. A healthy amount of buzz (which Rails certainly has) will never hurt
the case, but the main thrust of the message should (in my opinion) be more
than "because it's cool". Instead, one should put forward the added value of
solid architecture, testability, REST implementation, quick and productive
iterations, etc.

Not everyone out there is aware of these things, so here is our chance to
turn buzz into something more lasting, which I think would not only be good
for business but also for the web development ecosystem in total, which is
only now catching up with some of the good practices that have been adopted
in other areas of software development, for some time already.

Cheers,
Vahagn

On Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 1:00 PM, Mark Coleman <
mark at breakthrough-workshop.com> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I had a IM chat with Dr Nic last week  and I was wondering what your
> experiences are... The bit that got me thinking was this:
>
>  Me: In the current economic climate, do you think rails has advantages
>> over other frameworks?
>>
>> Dr Nic: Oh shit yes.
>>
>> Tough times are when start asking the big questions: what tools and
>> processes can be use to get this job done with less (staff, time,
>> resources)? Agile development means you get the core 80% done with 20% of
>> the "normal" belated effort of a traditional, over-running project. Rails is
>> still the best web dev toolset for efficient, rapid web development.
>>
>> Rails developers and agile development thought leaders need to be shouting
>> this stuff from the roof tops. Or rather, from the boardrooms and sales
>> calls. Similarly, developers in all fields should take the time now to learn
>> Rails and learn the basics of agile development now so they make themselves
>> more valuable. Its exciting times, really.
>>
> [ The full chat is posted
> http://www.rails-underground.com/2009/04/interview-with-dr-nic.html ]
>
> My question is: Do you find that clients are interested in Rails? Is it
> something you would emphasise when bidding for work? Is it the framework
> itself, or the benefits that it can bring that people recognise?
>
> Mostly, my clients are not that web savvy or technical, so I would tend to
> focus on the advantages that Rails can provide, like rapid prototyping, a
> faster time to market, well-tested, easier to maintain code, etc. Like any
> good user requirements document, they are not interested in the technical
> implementation :)
>
> I wonder if more technically aware clients ask for rails specifically, or
> are more interested in rails because they are aware of its advantages; or
> whether they concentrate on the benefits only. I guess another way of
> putting it would be: does Rails have a good brand name in business? Can you
> use it as a shorthand for good quality? Or maybe the opposite? Does the
> 'rails can't scale' shit stick?
>
> Cheers,
> Mark
> _______________________________________________
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