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Discussion on: How to begin a project with just an idea

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31547 • Edited

this might not work for you, but it works for me since my thinking is very unconscious and loose and unstructured.

i think first about what i want to do. i then try to put it out in front of my eyes hypothetically to see exactly what the user should see. for example, if im writing a REST API, i will write out a few endpoints and responses on my whiteboard e.g. i will write GET https://app.io/resource and then underneath it write

bla: {
  "bla": 1,
  "bla2": 2.0,
  "bla3": "3",
  ...
}

as a json response.

if i want to write a react-powered ui, i might first write it in vanilla js and write really specific functions to get it done. if it involves a <Modal text="bla" link="bla"/> i will write an onclick declaration in a button and everything to simulate it.

its similar to what other people do. empathize with the user!!

what this has to do with me processing things unconsciously is that as i do this kind of work and force myself to work in limitations, scoping, or goals, i end up churning smaller details more effectively, such as what kind of data type to give a particular piece of information, or what headers to respond back with, or if i should use Oauth2, or whatever. this is very efficient because im working AND mulling over something at the same time