I have a couple new pieces up at The Blue Review blog. The first is on impostor syndrome in academia. The second, meatier piece draws on my observation that universities are drawing on software development principles–and not necessarily the best ones–in creating and refining programs. Here’s the beginning of it:
In this age of slashed higher ed budgets that demand new efficiencies, it’s not surprising that universities seek technological solutions to their challenges. However, university leaders aren’t looking to tech entrepreneurs solely for course management systems or MOOC platforms; they’re also adopting the rhetoric and thinking of Silicon Valley.
In keeping with this tech fetishism, universities are developing new offerings in ways that mirror software launches more than they do traditional higher ed marketing. One popular approach to software development calls on programmers to create a “minimum viable product,” or MVP, which Eric Ries defines as:
That product which has just those features (and no more) that allows you to ship a product that resonates with early adopters, some of whom will pay you money or give you feedback.
What, then, constitutes a university’s minimum viable product?
It depends, I suppose, on whom the university sees as its customer.
I’d love to see a discussion about this in the comments of that post (and elsewhere, of course). Read more at The Blue Review blog.
