IT:AD:Design:Investigations:Reuse/Code Libraries

The concept of taking valuable startup resources to build libraries is a contentious one, littered with concepts as “suicidial”, “never will get the product out the door”, etc.

I disagree.

The ability to determine whether specific functionality is common/reusable versus specific doesn't detract focus – it formalizes the scope of the functionality.

It doesn't detract because it actually decreases startup cost by the time the startup product is exposable to the public.

It investigates the problem boundaries more clearly before getting started, rather than concentrate only on the core concepts.

By investigating the problem boundary more carefully, it determines the scope of the problem, and its requirements on other services more clearly. Definition = better scope definition = better estimates.

Knowing something ahead doesn't detract from the startup functionality – just means better realism. Better upfront knowledge = a higher chance of success.