This article is going to look at the topic of UI and UX. These two similar, but very different terms are often confused, and so I thought I’d take a moment to clarify. At the heart of it, the difference lies in what each of them aims to accomplish. User interface (UI) is about aesthetics – making the system look good, … Read More
How much detail do you need? (writing requirements)
When you start breaking down your idea and deciding what your platform or app needs to do, it can sometimes feel like Alice in the rabbit hole. In this article, I’m going to look at how much detail you need to get into when defining your product (aka writing requirements). So, how do you get from an idea to something … Read More
Features vs Benefits (define your product based on benefits)
The idea of focusing on benefits has been a common approach for marketing products and services for years. Tell your prospective customers and clients what they get out of using your product or service rather than focusing on what your product does. Did you know that this is important as you define your product as well? Let’s start with the … Read More
How your pricing model affects the development of your product?
Platform and app pricing plays an important part in the success of your product, but did you know that it has an impact on how developers build it? Today’s article will look at how your pricing model can affect what you want your product to do. The approach for monetising your platform or app will vary on a case-by-case basis. … Read More
What is a Wireframe?
A wireframe is a drawing of a screen as it might appear on a website, an online platform or a mobile app. Wireframes are very powerful tools for describing what you want to build, and for illustrating your idea. In this article, I’ll explain the different types of wireframes and how you can use them to create your platform or … Read More
Get from “idea to launch” with my new checklist!
If you’ve got a great idea for an online platform or mobile app, but you’re not sure where to start – you’re not alone. Tech can be intimidating for those that have never had any experience with it before. Sometimes you want someone to guide you through the process – but you just can’t afford to hire someone to help … Read More
What’s in your platform or app? (Product Definition)
Taking your idea and making it into a product involves a very important step around defining what you want your product to do. This product definition (or product requirements) form the foundation for what happens next, so you need to take some time to understand what you need to look at. Previously, I showed you how to write high-level and … Read More
How do I prioritise what I want? (requirement prioritisation)
Prioritisation is probably a concept that you’re familiar with – you take a list of things and figure out which ones are more important than the other ones. Sounds simple enough?! When you’re building an online web platform or mobile app, prioritisation comes up all of the time! In this article, I’ll look at prioritisation as it relates to defining … Read More
What’s scope creep?
The term “scope creep” might conjure up images of spiders and other crawling insects, but it’s actually a real concept in software development. I introduced it in my article on “Tips for Building a Web Platform or Mobile App”, and now I’m going to expand on it to tell you why you need to be aware of it and how … Read More
What’s a minimal viable product? (and why start small)
A minimal viable product (MVP) is the smallest possible thing that you can build to tackle a core need, problem or goal that your product is trying to address. Other definitions include something that delivers customer value or something that allows you to learn more about your customers. In fact, an MVP is probably a mix of all of these … Read More