Continuous Development: ‘Times Are a-Changin'

The pace of software updates has accelerated dramatically in recent years, with companies like GitHub releasing multiple updates per day using practices such as automated testing and continuous integration. This shift reflects a change in the way people and businesses approach software adoption, empowering employees to release features early and often while iterating quickly. As companies race to keep up with industry leaders, product managers must balance increased release velocity with external expectations for innovative services. By dividing feature development into three phases - concept, launch, and control - product managers can create a strategy that meets urgent expectations without sacrificing quality or user experience. This includes starting with the end in mind by identifying implications of new features on overall service, creating continuous experiments to measure success, and focusing on control points to minimize the impact of mistakes and reduce resolution time.