“Too big, too complex, too expensive“
In software development, building an app or a platform is often too big, too complex and – the biggest blocker – too expensive.
Businesses instead struggle with what they already have, leaning on the “this is the way it’s always been done” as a justification for staying static in a rapidly evolving world. Competitors are utilising vast platforms, massive AI systems and revolutionising their processes.
But how can they afford it?
Developing these big systems – and I’m not going to sugar coat it – costs tens of thousands in developer time, often putting off the most well-intentioned business. The big players in your industry have deep pockets, investor funding and cash to burn.
But, they didn’t spring these systems into place overnight. Despite their size, they are built up of many, many smaller components.
So let’s talk about something called Atomic Development.
What is Atomic Development?
“Atomic software development primarily refers to Atomic Design, a methodology for creating user interfaces by breaking them into reusable, hierarchical components (atoms, molecules, organisms, templates, pages) for consistency and scalability, or to the computer science concept of atomic operations, indivisible actions ensuring data integrity, especially in concurrent programming. Both focus on building complex systems from fundamental, indivisible units to ensure robustness, maintainability, and efficiency”
Atomic Development, coined by Atomic Design, refers, as above, to the small things. The bits and pieces that build the bigger picture.
Often, a conversation with a prospect in our industry will go like this:
Them: “I’d like to build an app”
Me: “Ok, tell us about your app idea!”
Them: “I want this feature, and this… and this and this and this and that”.
Quickly, this turns from a “Fix one problem” concept into a massive (and expensive) fix-everything-in-one-stroke approach.
The app doesn’t focus on fixing one problem; it attempts to fix the world of problems.
This leads to an insurmountable amount of work and time, often pushing development of a project into years rather than weeks of time.
How to solve the “too many features = expensive” puzzle with Atomic Development
Instead of trying to solve all problems in one big project, atomic development breaks down the components of a project into smaller, reusable and modularised parts. We focus on solving one problem within weeks, and deploy that version of the app (or website, or platform) as soon as possible.
What happens here is an instant relief to the client for one specific problem. No, we haven’t solved the bigger picture, but we’ve made a 1% (or usually 10%) gain on where we were before, meaning a step in the right direction is now underway.
1% gains (or marginal gains) is what it’s all about. Check out this post here https://jamesclear.com/marginal-gains about the 1% rule. In short, many 1% gains lead to consistency and overall huge improvements.
Not everything has to be done NOW
The key to atomic development is really thinking of it as atoms. Each one plays its part and is essential to the overall construct.
Today, focus on removing that one painful spreadsheet from your process. Is it a calculator? Then build a simple tool to handle the maths that your team can access.
Next, build on the other spreadsheet that sometimes causes you problems.
Then, connect the two – you now have two atoms of development connected, starting to build the bigger picture. Atom by atom, you end up with a suite of cleverly crafted and highly focused modules, all working in harmony together for the greater construct.
What’s one problem you’d solve this week?
Pick one tedious task. One thing that annoys you, slows you down or causes team friction. It might be getting an overview of your finances or requesting files from clients.
Whatever it is, focus on that one atomic-level problem and build your bigger picture over time. Your business will thank you!
