manual until it hurts

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manual until it hurts is an IndieWeb development practice of resisting automating something until you have manually done it enough times to really understand it, and know that it is worth doing and automating.

Brainstorming

Tantek Çelik proposes thinking in terms of cost/benefit: manual as long as the expected cost of doing it manually is less than the cost of setting up and maintaining automation.

See Also

• xkcd's "Is It Worth The Time?" chart
• xkcd on the theory vs reality of time savings from automation
• Paul Graham on doing things that don't scale
• Similarly, Beeminder's Shirk & Turk Principle: “When writing a new app or website or feature, implement as little of it as you can get away with and manually fake the rest behind the scenes”
• Also related: Wizard of Oz MVPs and Concierge MVPs and Paving The Cowpaths
• “Sometimes magic is just someone spending more time on something than anyone else might reasonably expect.” — Teller of Penn & Teller in Teller Reveals His Secrets
• Sentimental side benefits
• My Stack Will Outlive Yours
• Cory's process
• https://www.w3.org/History/1992/WWW/FAQ/KeepingTrack.html