Starting with the right problem
Find a need worth building for.
Find a need worth building for. This guide is a starting point for turning an idea into useful work, with people who help you move it forward.
Begin with a person
An idea becomes easier to build when you know who it is for. Start with someone and a task they are trying to complete. Where do they lose time? What do they keep working around?
Look at what happens today
Ask them to show you how they handle the task now. Listen for the parts they repeat, avoid or find frustrating. The details of an ordinary day are often more useful than a list of features.
Choose one useful outcome
Write down the change you want to make possible. A parent finding an activity for a rainy afternoon. A maker taking their first order. A local business keeping bookings in one place. Keep the first outcome small enough to test.
Make the question concrete
Before you build the whole thing, show a sketch, a sample or a simple prototype. Ask someone to try it. Notice what they understand without explanation and what needs more work.