cover of episode Build More Features or More Services

Build More Features or More Services

2021/5/23
logo of podcast The Cloudcast

The Cloudcast

Shownotes Transcript

The tradeoff between building more features on existing platforms vs. building more new individual services is always a complex decision. Let’s look at the pros and cons of each.

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SHOW NOTES:

  • How many ways to run a container in AWS?)
  • AWS messaging solutions - which one to use?)
  • Don Draper ('Mad Men') explains the Carousel)

PLATFORMS vs. SERVICES vs. INCREMENTAL CHANGE

  • Platforms deliver a broad set of horizontal or vertical services
  • Services tend to be focused on individual capabilities
  • Features can be added to either, but where to add the feature?
  • Services could be built on top of each other, but then is it a feature or a service?

DO YOU REALLY HAVE TO MAINTAIN A SERVICE FOREVER?

  • Should you ever deprecate a service (e.g. turn it off, not be backwards compatible)?
  • Can you leave the service “on” if nobody is using it?
  • When do you decide to build a new service instead of just extending or improving another one? 
  • Do you have to create tools to migrate from one service to another?
  • Do you have to create interoperability from one service to another?
  • At what point have you added too many features to a platform (or service) to where the market (or internal customers) think that it’s too heavy - even when features don’t have to be used?

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