There’s very rarely one big thing which can make or break a software project. The all-night “hail mary” hack session that you or your developer thinks saved your project was, although heroic and well-intentioned, most likely not the major contributing factor to the success of your project.

Here’s the secret to successful software development projects.

Start with an idea. Discuss it with everyone.

Listen. Be tenacious but patient. Above all, be honest with yourself.

Stay flexible.

Reward your successes and learn from your failures.

Enjoy each small success.

What you will learn is that the reward from success is the team you’ve built, not the product.

Lead that team on to other projects. As you succeed with each one, larger projects will come to you.

Succeed with each one and you will realize that all successes are small because there’s always a larger one waiting for you down the road.

Nurture, challenge and care for that team and you will find yourself, a long time from now, reflecting on many small successes.