I don’t remember when I first read this post by Craig Mod but it’s been resonating with me ever since.

If you want to deliver a great product, you have to keep its speed in close attention:

Fast software is not always good software, but slow software is rarely able to rise to greatness.

The article offers a great overview of a simple, and fundamental, concept that it’s often underestimated (especially during business talks).

Speed in software is probably the most valuable, least valued asset.

The author goes over multiple examples, covering the inputs coming from different teams, from UI and UX, to front-end and back-end development.

All of them need to work together and understand that speed must be a priority if they want to deliver a great product.

Think about it, when you play around with a new tool, the first thing you notice as you interact with it (even if unconsciously) is its responsiveness ¹.

Speed and reliability are often intuited hand-in-hand. Speed can be a good proxy for general engineering quality.

Apart from all these aspects, speed is also communicated through language. You have to be mindful of all the details that allow users to move fast.

Speed manifests in the language — the literal words — of software, too

It’s important to use the right words and avoid users from second-guessing.

There’s a mention of Things, an app I deeply admire ², as an example of “a piece of iOS software that is pure craft”:

Things on iPad and iPhone is one of the most tactile, fast-as-you-can-move apps around. Each animation is purposeful. Mainly, it is fun. It’s a fun app to be in. To put stuff into, to rearrange. It is old. Things has been around for over ten years. I was glad to open it ten years ago, and I am glad to open it today.

This also connects with the concept of MaxVP and what I wrote about it some time ago:

[…] focus on what your product is great at, deliver a limited set of well polished features, and pay attention to every small interaction.

Looking at some apps I use every day ³, here are some examples:

• Bear’s tagging system: add # in front of any word to categorise your note. Separate words with / to create sub-tags.
• Things’s quick add: use a keyboard shortcut to immediately add a task to your list from anywhere.
• iA Writer’s opening screen: launch the app and write, no need to click on anything else before starting.

Building fast software is a team effort which encompasses multiple different fields. It’s not easy, but it’s what makes a great product.

It’s difficult to make fast software. But when it’s made, we’re all grateful.