DEV Community

Cover image for Planning a Project from Scratch: The Ultimate Guide for Success ๐Ÿ†
Jimmy McBride
Jimmy McBride Subscriber

Posted on • Updated on • Originally published at jimmymcbride.dev

Planning a Project from Scratch: The Ultimate Guide for Success ๐Ÿ†

Hey there, ambitious developers! ๐Ÿš€ Are you excited about starting a new project, but not sure where to begin? Don't worry; I've got you covered! In today's blog post, let's explore a tried-and-tested method for planning a project from scratch, ensuring that your precious time and effort yield the best possible results! ๐Ÿ”ฅ

Step 1: Do Your RESEARCH! ๐Ÿง

This step is absolutely critical, so don't even think about skipping it! To set your project up for success, answer these key research questions:

  • Who is your project for?
  • What problem is your project solving?
  • Why do they need you to fix it?
  • Does your app have competition? How can you solve the problem better?
  • What's the smallest set of features for your app to be useful? (MVP: Minimum Viable Product)

Once you have a rough idea, it's critical to identify your target audience, study them, and document your discoveries. Don't just rely on online reviews and comments; talk to potential users in person, on the phone, or via email. Find people who are open to sharing, and immerse yourself in their thought process. The more insights you can gather, the better you can define your MVP!

Researching these insights will help you create a well-defined MVP โ€“ the golden ticket to attract users and help them overcome their challenges. ๐ŸŒŸ

Step 2: Craft a Lo-Fi Wireframe ๐ŸŽจ

Use a tool like Whimsical to create a low-fidelity wireframe of your app. This outlines the basic layout and screens you'll need for your MVP. Remember, the goal isn't to make the wireframe pretty; it's to understand the app's structure.

Don't forget to focus on each section's functionality and make annotations. ๐Ÿ“ A good lo-fi wireframe will outline the basic layout, screens, and the general flow.

Step 3: Design a Hi-Fi Wireframe (Optional) ๐Ÿ’Ž

You may choose to create a high-fidelity wireframe of your app โ€“ either do it yourself using Figma or hire someone on Fiverr to do it. This step is optional, as you might prefer to shape the look and feel right when building the UI, especially if you're experienced with style systems and reusable components.

Step 4: Plan Your Project's Development ๐Ÿ“‹

Now that your blueprint is ready, it's time to strategize. Use project management tools like Notion (my personal favorite), Jira, or Trello to plan your project's development.

Building on Agile Methodology:

  • Divide your project into sprints (short time-bound periods).
  • At the end of each sprint, review your progress, and make necessary adjustments.
  • Establish deadlines and consequences for missing them.
  • This will help you stay on track, continuously improve, and stay motivated through the project's lifecycle.

Outline the tasks, establish timelines and goals, and try to stick to them. If you're notorious for skipping deadlines, consider setting up consequences for missing your goals.

Step 5: Unleash Your Coding Skills! ๐ŸŽฏ

At last, it's time to start coding! ๐ŸŽ‰ Pick your first task and start working through them one by one. Feel comfortable adjusting your priorities as needed. The key here is persistence.๐Ÿ•ด๏ธ

Step 6: Launch Your Masterpiece! ๐Ÿšข

Congratulations! Your app is now ready for the world to embrace ๐Ÿ…. Keep in mind that launching an app in production can be challenging at first, but it gets easier with experience. Learn, iterate, and improve with each new project.

Bonus! ๐ŸŽ

Publishing an app can be a major breakthrough in your career. Launching a successful web app or a mobile app (using React Native, Flutter, Kotlin, or Swift) can be a game-changer, opening the door to your dream job! So, go out there, make mistakes, and progress towards success with each new experience. โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿ”ฅ

That's all, folks! By following these comprehensive steps and valuable advice, you're well on your way to creating an amazing app from scratch. ๐Ÿš€

If you enjoyed this blog, don't forget to like ๐Ÿ‘ and follow ๐Ÿ”” for more valuable insights to help you grow in your development journey!

Top comments (16)

Collapse
 
mahak_kaurchhabra_39a895 profile image
Mahak Kaur

This is great! Thanks for sharing this.

Collapse
 
iamhectorsosa profile image
Hector Sosa

Great resources shared here! A couple of screenshots from the tools referenced would've been a great addition! @jimmy I've built a OSS tool for creating engaging screenshots with ease. Check it out and let me know what you think! Cheers!

github.com/ekqt/screenshot

Collapse
 
jimmymcbride profile image
Jimmy McBride • Edited

This looks like a gem. Started! โญ Thanks for sharing! ๐Ÿš€ ๐Ÿ”ฅ

Collapse
 
cmgustin profile image
Chris Gustin

Awesome post! This approach works really well for music too. Iโ€™ve been deep diving into music production lately and every producer Iโ€™ve researched starts out with a rough idea or sketch, sometimes just a voice note in their phone.

Then thereโ€™s an experimentation and writing phase where the idea gets fleshed out, usually involving multiple drafts and rewrites to find the heart and the message of the song.

Once the core of the song is figured out, it gets arranged to help tell the story and convey the message.

Then finally a refining stage where the song is polished and finalized, mixed, and at the end, mastered.

I would bet this process works for most creative tasks: product design, music, writing, etc.

The main takeaway is to give yourself space at the beginning to rapidly generate and record ideas in a judgment-free way, then refine those ideas in later stages.

Collapse
 
jimmymcbride profile image
Jimmy McBride

As a life long musician and artist I can agree! There are lots of parallels here to creating amazing music and drawing compositions. โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿ”ฅ

Collapse
 
chideracode profile image
Chidera Humphrey

Great post.
By planning your project, do you mean creating out the details of each feature?

Collapse
 
jimmymcbride profile image
Jimmy McBride

You need to do research first, I'll post an in-depth guide on this soon, so keep an eye out.

Once you have the research done, you make a list of your MVP features.

Then once you have your list of features, what I do, is draw out what I want each screen to have. Then when I have this basic idea, I go to whimsical, and make a low fidelity wireframe.

When I'm working on this lofi wireframe, I make sure to get as detailed as possible. I make TONS of notes all over my wireframe. I want to capture how I want things laid out, and all the details of how each button and feature should function.

The idea is to start with something super rough and general (after you've done the research) and go through an iterative process that brings more details through each step in the process.

Collapse
 
chideracode profile image
Chidera Humphrey

Oh, I get it. Thanks for the breakdown.

Thread Thread
 
jimmymcbride profile image
Jimmy McBride

Anytime! :)

Collapse
 
jimmymcbride profile image
Jimmy McBride

I have a twitter thread for this blog where I go over research processes in more detail. Plan on turning this into a new blog soon! twitter.com/McBride1105/status/165...

Thread Thread
 
chideracode profile image
Chidera Humphrey

Thanks. Very insightful.

Collapse
 
narrinddhar_52 profile image
Narendra gorantla

Great ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

Collapse
 
jimmymcbride profile image
Jimmy McBride

Thanks!

Collapse
 
owais11-art profile image
Owais Khan

Great post

Collapse
 
jimmymcbride profile image
Jimmy McBride

Hey, thanks!

Collapse
 
jimmymcbride profile image
Jimmy McBride

Thanks! That means a lot! :)