Building womp with agile
Building Womp with Agile
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Building Womp with Agile 〰️
Agile at Womp
Working at Womp is challenging but extremely rewarding when you get used to things changing on a daily basis. This is really powerful and really advantageous. Despite being the co-introducer of agile to Womp, as someone who previously worked in a traditional agency setup, adapting to agile methodology which emphasises flexibility, collaboration, and being really comfortable with change was a struggle for me.
At Womp, we are confident in our ability to pivot and adapt even after making long-term commitments.
Agile does sound great but it can be difficult to truly understand what this means in practice. It is more than sprints and estimation. Agile is a way of thinking. The approach is designed to be iterative and adaptive, enabling teams to quickly respond to changes in project requirements, customer needs, or market conditions.
learning from womp 3.0
Our biggest competitors Spline, Vectary, and Bezel run on the web, but unlike the current Womp (4.0), they utilise the well-known and common WebGL technology.
Bezel
Spline
Vectary
Issues with WebGL
Although Womp 3.0 also used WebGL to render its canvas, we had some concerns about the approach taken by all web-based 3D software
Triangles
WebGL is designed to work best with triangles or N-gons, which can create visually impressive shapes. However, when you increase the level of detail, it requires more triangles and significantly more processing power. This can become a problem when preparing a model for 3D printing or any high fidelity workflow. Finding the best looking shapes without using too much processing power slows down the entire modelling process.
It’s not good enough
Although WebGL is a remarkable technology, it is not capable of achieving the same level of rendering precision as more advanced technologies such as ray-tracing
Beginners don’t have powerful devices
Unfortunately, many beginners to 3D have computers that lack the processing power necessary to handle more complex modelling or rendering tasks. Even the simplest of 3D tasks can cause their computers to overheat. Many of these beginners are not yet invested enough in 3D creation to justify investing in powerful computers.
We recognised the limitations of "Womp 3.0," which worked on WebGL. Our goal was to create a product that could be accessed by everyone, regardless of their computer's processing power, without sacrificing the high-quality graphics of a professional software like Cinema4D.
We made a complete turnaround and created a version of Womp that can handle everything we needed. Our ability to execute on this decision quickly is due to our agility and strict adherence to the 80-20 rule.
We focus on building only what is necessary to achieve an 80% return on investment. This requires careful prioritisation and decision-making at each step of development. Our primary goal was to learn, and then we delivered based on our findings.
Womp 3.0 was built solely for testing the effectiveness of WebGL approach. It proved to be unsuccessful. But because we allocated only the time we could afford, it allowed us to pivot quickly without regretting anything — something that’s incredibly hard for our competition
womp 4.0
Although Womp 3.0 also used WebGL to render its canvas, we had some concerns about the approach taken by all web-based 3D software
Give users software that doesn’t require powerful hardware with pixel streaming
The latest version of Womp (4.0) is designed to work without the need for any client hardware other than video decoders. With over 200,000 users, it has become one of the most accessible 3D software options available, and all you need is a decent internet connection. By streaming video of the canvas directly to a user's computer, Womp can run on any computer that can run Netflix
Give users the highest level of fidelity with SDFs and live-raytracing
By not relying on the client's hardware or processing power, we can offer live rendering to our users. This unique feature allows them to achieve amazing live rendering outputs, something that has never been done before. On Womp, rendering is instant because users are already modelling in live rendered views, eliminating long waiting times.
Additionally, we can offer a pure SDF based workflow which looks like this — incredibly difficult to do with N-gons based approach to 3D
When it comes to being agile, the best part is understanding that your team or organisation won't become agile overnight. It takes time and effort to transition from a non-agile to an agile approach. Being agile is something that needs to be ingrained in every team member; it is a completely new way of thinking.
At its core, agile is based on a set of values and principles outlined in the Agile Manifesto. These values include prioritising individuals and interactions over processes and tools, working software over comprehensive documentation, customer collaboration over contract negotiation, and responding to change over following a plan.
my agile principles
Although Womp 3.0 also used WebGL to render its canvas, we had some concerns about the approach taken by all web-based 3D software
processes don’t matter
Processes such as writing user stories, defining acceptance tests, creating tickets, and sprints can distract from the goal of delivering value. It's crucial to focus on what matters most - providing value to the end user. While it's necessary to keep the product moving, having every process in place is not always essential.
User stories and NOT features
Users are not interested in features. They have a problem, and they look for a solution. Giving them a "feature" such as "mirror mode" is not an effective approach. It is better to focus on addressing the problem. This way, the emphasis is on finding a solution for the user, rather than delivering a feature that may never be useful.
Continuous delivery is the end goal — but it won’t happen in a day
Providing significant value to users every day is more important than providing incredible value at the end of two weeks. My goal is to deliver fixes, additions, or anything else as soon as possible to the end user. At Womp, we push changes every day and aim to reach a point where we can push a change immediately upon its completion.
There’s a time for perfection, but most of the time it isn’t
Individuals take pride in their work. Designers focus on accuracy, developers on code quality. But what really matters is delivering what's important for users. Keep the 80-20 rule in mind: strive for perfection in the most important thing at hand, but don't let it delay progress. Remember that perfection has its own definition — think of the product and think of the users. Do what's perfect for them, not for individuals.
Ship, Learn, Iterate — Do small, do more
Agile development does not sacrifice quality. Delivering what users need as soon as possible is key. When making decisions, I often follow a similar template. Rather than waiting to complete a feature before shipping it, we ship out a prototype-level addition to Womp that we believe will significantly improve the user experience. This allows us to learn from each iteration
You learn a lot from users, keep talking to them
The product team recently conducted over 50 user interviews in just two weeks to better understand their thoughts on Womp. They also engaged with our Discord community and listened to their feedback. We developed Womp based on the needs of the users and the market, with the goal of continually improving our ability to understand our users' needs.