What I learnt from talking to users before writing code
When I'm working on a project for myself, I tend to code in stealth mode, and don't talk to anyone or show it to anyone, until its 100% perfect and complete. This time, I, accidentally got myself to talk to users first.
My current project is a tool to help developers overcome procrastination. (Yes, I struggle with this, a lot)
Basically, just like Google Maps gives you a series of steps (turn right / turn left) until you get to your destination, I want something that breaks up my big tasks (e.g Add Stripe integration) to a bunch of tiny steps (Read docs, add Stripe.js....). And calculates the best way to get me to actually do the tasks (do I need a lot of breaks, do I just need to sit and code for 2 hours, etc).
But, while I could build this for other backend devs like myself, what about everyone else? I had to talk to other devs.
I put out an offer to do free, 1-on-1 audio calls to coach devs struggling w/ procrastination. Many people responded, and I've done several, deep convos with brilliant, struggling people. The insights I've learnt have blown my mind, and so many of them are actionable, e.g
- What kinds of things cause procrastination. (Perfectionism, complexity (e.g a lot of rules), boredom (e.g recoding a feature you already finished))
- How much of a problem procrastination is in their life. (The consensus seems to be, my life would be radically different and better if I didn't procrastinate)
- Some even shared screenshots of their todos / trello. Really valuable, and directly related to my project.
I can't recommend doing user interviews before building highly enough. This is going to be my strategy for all projects going forward.
P.S I'm still taking calls to help developers overcome procrastination. I've learnt how severely this can impact a developer's life. If this applies to you, you don't have to keep struggling.
Book a free coaching call: https://calendly.com/aliakhtar/60min New link: https://calendly.com/aliakhtar/dev-call