Creating and Finishing an App
Hackathons are usually 24–48 hours, which really isn’t much time to build an app. So, we should figure out how to use that time wisely and not try to do too much.
Here’s an image to help with what I’ll be explaining here.
When we’re building a product, especially at a hackathon where we’re limited on time, we don’t want to build the way the first row in the image is building. At step one, there’s one working wheel, but it doesn’t work by itself. In the second step, we attach one wheel to another wheel, which also doesn’t work by itself. All along these steps, we don’t have anything that works. At step four, bam! We suddenly have a car, but only at step four do we have a fully functioning, usable product.
That’s not great, because what if we run out of time at step 2 or step 3? We don’t have a working product.
However, if we went with the second row in the image, at step 1 we have a skateboard, which is small but works 100% by itself. We’ll add a handle to make a scooter which also works on its own, and then next, we’ll add bigger wheels to make it a working bike.
Each step along the way, there’s a working product, and we’re not going from nothing to suddenly the biggest, shiniest, fastest toy.
Start out with a skateboard. Figure out what’s absolutely necessary for your app in order to solve the problem you’re trying to solve. You’ll be tempted to add in everything you’ve ever thought of, but it’s important to have a finished product, rather than have some half-finished parts here and there.
Strip out all unnecessary parts and only keep the part that is required to make your app work. If there’s extra time, then add more to it. That way, every step of the way, you’ll have a working product. Don’t try to build a car from the get-go, start with a skateboard!