Since the dawn of mankind, the question — now what? — has been troubling us a lot. So you have finished a task, achieved a milestone, accomplished a goal. Now what? Do you stop there or thrive for more?

This question relates to progress of software projects in a much more philosophical way. The typical software development life cycle always starts with a finite set of problems which goes on evolving as you develop. At each step, the creator has to take a moment and think where all of this is going. Processes like agile, iterative and incremental software development have emerged from this same phenomena.

An awesome quote by Wayne Gretzky:

I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.

In the software world, this quote tells us how to comprehend the question of “now what.” For example, you just came up with a great idea, but someone else has already implemented it. What do you do?

It’s insanely important to keep asking for the next big thing. In this exact process lies the root of innovation. Innovation isn’t necessarily something out of the box or something you’ve never seen before, but a simple twist in our mundane life. Innovation is a lifestyle, not a goal — it’s a mindset one has to live in.

Software and innovation have to be intertwined together. While writing software, a developer always has to keep thinking about how to make their solution more appealing, more enchanted.