Long before starting a company I firmly believed only field veterans or geniuses were capable of creating compelling products, and the even more impressive feat, breathing life into new markets. After working with and learning the fundamentals of web application development for the past 10 months (still a noob) I recognize vast opportunity in consumer facing and business to business web apps. The intelligent coordination of data gathering with organizing information, and well thought user interfaces has a wide range of real world applications. Shared and organized information has already, and will continue to revolutionize the way we live.
I'm neither a professional web developer, nor remotely a genius. What draws me to this domain is boundless opportunity and an open invitation to all who are willing to explore its beauty. I can learn from, collaborate, and eventually compete with incredibly focused and passionate entrepreneurs and artists. I can't stress enough the importance of artistic design or social engineering in presenting an irresistible human interface to an app. I could spend a lifetime learning the nuances of elegant interface design, but I don't have much time, I'm a founder first.
Habits that Help Lay the Foundation for Apps that Users Love
- Regular feedback with new and regular users. The moment you begin designing tools to satisfy a need, you begin drifting in perspective from a fresh visitor to your service. Each piece of feedback is only a measurement, you and your team weaves the pattern that will tie it all together
- Market research is an open ended task. Know what other services are available, and what helps ensure your applications identity and utility. Its not just competition but fitting within a changing market
- Build bridges between people and businesses and then get out of the way. It's not helpful or fruitful to guide all use cases of a novel service. Make a clear road map for third party developers to build value on top of your service, in order to facilitate market growth and distinct opportunities.