If you were to start today on a new project, no codebase, no people, no resources, no process, no nothing, where would you start?
Where would you start that would make the greatest impact?
This isn’t a trick question – this isn’t about having the latest and the great tools at your disposal, the tiger team of people or infinite money – simply where would you start.
Before, I’d bring in the team, or think about the process, or understand the platform I’d start at the most basic element.
- What’s the problem we are trying to solve?
- Who are we trying to help?
- Why are we trying to help them?
- What do they need from us?
- How are we going to be able to help them?
- How are we going to make a difference?
- When is this needed?
I don’t need all the requirements flushed out, I don’t need to know we’ll be doing demos in 2 weeks or when our scrums will be held.
All I need is to understand the problem, and the context surrounding the problem.
If I can understand that, if I can get a clear vision there, then the next step will define what skills I need from the team, what process I’ll follow and how I’ll get there.
But if I don’t understand the problem, I’m already building something around nothing.
