Product Exercise Day 23 — Swifty

This is day 23 in my 30 day challenge to product exercise

WHAT MAKES THEM SUCCESSFUL?

The fact that you can learn to code an app in an app is surprisingly mind-blowing.

Professionally coding on a phone or tablet just isn’t feasible for a lot of reasons. This has led to most programming tutorials being browser based — you’re going to end up programming on your laptop so that’s where you’ll learn it too.

There are a few other apps out there to learn programming on your phone. There’s apps by Lynda, Udemy, and Udacity .However, they are just an app repacking their video courses. They do not let you program on the phone.

The closest I could find is Code Hour by Codecademy. The app is aimed at true novices and is meant to be completed in an hour.

Swifty fills a need to learn programming hands-on on mobile and found a real gap in the market.

WHAT DID THEY GET RIGHT?

The choice of Swift as opposed to another language was astute . The people interested in beginning to learn to program on an iOS app are going to be focused on the same platform. Add to that the fact that Swift is a new language and has some “buzz”. It’s a logical starting point for someone who wants to learn and has no experience.

The interface is great. It’s clear where you need to insert a free answer into the code. The real neat trick is when you are presented with a multiple choice insertion. A typical multiple choice question uses an interface like radial buttons which isn’t the best for mobile. Instead, when tapping on a free response box, a number of options will be introduced in the carrot which is usually reserved for the “copy”/“paste” menu. I haven’t seen anything like this before and it’s a great way to insert an answer in-line.

HOW DID THE PEOPLE BEHIND THIS PRODUCT THINK ABOUT THIS IDEA?

Johannes Berger challenged the assumption that interactive programming tutorials have to take place in a full sized browser.

I believe Johannes started by understanding that the best times to learn are often those small pockets of time in the day when you’re with a phone. When you’re commuting, waiting around, or are generally idle. These are the times when you have the attention available to dedicate a few minutes to an activity. Instead of Candy Crush, why not use that time productively? Perhaps Johannes felt that when he was learning a new programming language, an interactive phone tutorial like this would have aided his learning.

The lessons in Swifty are bite sized to fit in these small pockets of time. This also allows for continual practice. A happy result of all this is a superior way to build a habit. It’s easier to ramp up learning in small sessions than dedicating a fixed amount of time every day to sit down and learn.

There is still a time and place for longer sessions. I think we’ll see a browser based version of Swifty soon enough. It makes sense that when you have the time and a computer, you switch to a longer session of learning using a laptop. The browser interface is superior in an environment like this. Perhaps those lessons will be structured a bit differently as well to match the interface.

Each device fits into a consumer’s day differently. The Apple Watch guidelines recommend it is best used for short glances. Smartphones are best when filling in short bursts of idle time. Laptops and desktops are great for long sessions of productivity. Understanding this makes Switfty a great product.