In this episode, we look at creating the product requirements for our side hustle software. Even though we have a lot of this information in our head, it is good practice to put it on paper. This exercise will help us think through our plan more thoroughly before we begin. It will also give us another experience in building out product requirements on our journey to become better developers.
The Users
It helps to think about the end users from the start. This is the audience for your product and the ultimate deciders whether this is a success or not. You can stay broad in your definition. However, the more specific you can make your ideal users the better your product will be able to appeal to them. The problem you are solving should be one that the perfect user cares about. This may be obvious as they have to care enough about the solution to pay money for it.
The Solution
Once you have the vision of the users set then look at the problem and solution. Is this a one-time problem like migrating data to a new product, a daily problem like checking the weather, or something in-between? How will your users want to access the product? When you have thought about these questions, then you are on your way to defining the approach your product needs to take. This is where you make decisions about whether it is a desktop application or a phone app.
The Core
Now that we have a very rough idea of our solution we can document a rough idea of how it will look. We can build some wireframes for the main page or pages. The key features can also be described at this time. We will go into specifications in the next episode for now. Thus, think about this step as creating a form of an outline of the solution that includes some screen ideas as well as those important features or steps of the solution.
Your Homework
Add to your current document. Add some sections that detail the decisions made as to the perfect customer and your approach. Then start building out your requirements. Good luck.
