Don’t “sophomore slump” your devs

Ted Lasso was an immediate hit when it streamed onto the scene in 2020.

Our family devoured those first 10 episodes. It made such an impact that on our recent trip to London, we took the jaunt out to Richmond to see it ourselves:

We watched the second and third seasons, as well… but it couldn’t possibly live up to the magic of the first.

The sophomore slump is a real thing for TV shows and athletes alike…

Fred Lynn’s rookie season was impressive. The Boston Red Sox baseball player led the league in batting, slugging, and runs scored. In addition to Rookie of the Year, he won the MVP award.

He continued to be an all-star, but Lynn never regained the stardom of his first year. After retiring, he showed up on less than 5% of Hall of Fame ballots.

Great TV seasons and rookie years lead to an inevitable sophomore slump.

​Use case marketing pages can have a similar effect when they aren’t backed up by technical details.

Just as TV and sports fans have learned to cool their expectations, developers look at the flashy marketing pages with skepticism.

Technical content and documentation will tell the real story. That’s where they find out what’s really possible.

My latest post shares the technical use cases journey of content that can paint the picture.

When done well, that first use cases page is merely the inspiration for more substance to come.