The latest articles on DEV Community by KaizenBuilder (@sultan_27). https://dev.to/sultan_27 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3578993%2Fb58ca65b-ec4c-42b5-b98a-1bf69002b71e.jpg https://dev.to/sultan_27 en KaizenBuilder Wed, 22 Oct 2025 18:21:10 +0000 https://dev.to/sultan_27/built-a-digital-kaizen-planner-mvp-heres-what-i-learned-4gf5 https://dev.to/sultan_27/built-a-digital-kaizen-planner-mvp-heres-what-i-learned-4gf5 <h2> The Story </h2> <p>I noticed that successful people often use physical Kaizen boards with sticky notes for planning. The method works great, but it has problems: not portable, gets messy, and you lose your data when you move the board.</p> <p>So I decided to digitize it.</p> <h2> What is Kaizen Planning? </h2> <p>Kaizen (改善) means "continuous improvement" in Japanese. The Kaizen board method helps organize tasks by:</p> <ul> <li>⏱️ <strong>Time needed</strong>: 5 min, 30 min, 1+ hour</li> <li>🎯 <strong>Life areas</strong>: Work, health, learning, personal, etc.</li> </ul> <p>This creates a visual map of your day/week based on available time and priorities.</p> <h2> My Solution: Digital Kaizen Planner </h2> <p><strong>Live MVP</strong>: <a href="https://kaizen-planner-mvp.vercel.app/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://kaizen-planner-mvp.vercel.app/</a></p> <h3> What it does: </h3> <ul> <li>Organize tasks by time and life categories</li> <li>Drag-and-drop interface</li> <li>Visual planning workflow</li> </ul> <h3> Current limitations (it's an MVP!): </h3> <ul> <li>💻 Desktop only (not mobile-optimized yet)</li> <li>🔄 No data persistence (resets on refresh)</li> <li>⚠️ Still rough around the edges</li> </ul> <h2> Tech Stack </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>Frontend</strong>: Next.js 15, React 19, Tailwind CSS</li> <li> <strong>Database</strong>: Turso (edge SQLite)</li> <li> <strong>ORM</strong>: Drizzle</li> <li> <strong>Deployment</strong>: Vercel</li> <li> <strong>Auth</strong>: Better Auth</li> </ul> <h2> What I Learned </h2> <ol> <li> <strong>Start simple</strong>: I focused on core workflow first</li> <li> <strong>Get feedback early</strong>: Even without data persistence, people can test the concept</li> <li> <strong>MVP = Minimum Viable Product</strong>: It doesn't need to be perfect, just functional enough to validate the idea</li> </ol> <h2> What's Next? </h2> <p>I'm looking for feedback! Specifically:</p> <ul> <li>Would you use this if it saved your data?</li> <li>What's the #1 feature that's missing?</li> <li>How does this compare to your current planning method?</li> </ul> <p><strong>Try it here</strong>: <a href="https://kaizen-planner-mvp.vercel.app/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://kaizen-planner-mvp.vercel.app/</a></p> <p>There's a feedback survey built into the app. Your input will directly shape v1.0!</p> <h2> Questions for the Dev Community </h2> <ol> <li>Have you ever built something inspired by an offline method?</li> <li>What's your approach to MVP development – how minimal is "minimal"?</li> <li>Any advice on adding real-time sync and data persistence to an MVP like this?</li> </ol> <p>Thanks for reading! 🙏</p> showdev productivity webdev startup