What does Shipping mean?
Making a bounded version available to another person so reality can respond.
Shipping creates contact with reality
To ship is to make a specific version available for use, reading, review, installation, purchase, or response.
Finishing code on your own machine is progress. Shipping happens when another person can encounter the result.
A shipment can be small
Shipping does not always mean a major launch. These all count:
- publishing the first README;
- giving one tester a working URL;
- releasing a command with one useful behavior;
- sending a draft chapter to three readers;
- adding a documented endpoint;
- putting a paid service in front of one customer.
The version needs a boundary. State what it does, what it does not do, and what response you need.
Shipping is not rushing
Security, data integrity, accessibility, legal requirements, and user trust are part of the work. “Ship fast” is not permission to transfer avoidable risk to users.
The useful principle is to reduce scope until the version can be released responsibly.
Done for whom?
Before shipping, complete this sentence:
This version is ready for [specific person] to [specific action], and I will learn [specific question] from what happens.
That sentence turns shipping from a motivational slogan into an experiment.