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CHAPTER 02 / 12

Give your idea a way forward.

BUILD is a repeatable conversation with your coding partner, your app and the people who will use it.

B · Begin with a real problem

Find one person, one frustration and one main task. Small does not mean unimportant.

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Help me narrow this school problem into one useful first version. Who is the main user? What is the main task? What would make their day easier? Ask me a few questions before proposing features.

U · Understand

Clarify the purpose, audience, context and result you want. You can understand a school workflow without knowing its technical implementation.

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Here is my idea: [describe it]. It is for [audience] in [context]. A successful result would be [outcome]. Use fictional data. Repeat your understanding and tell me what you will leave out of the first version.

I · Iterate with confidence

Wrong layout? Wrong understanding? Describe what you expected, what happened and what should change. Corrections are part of the process.

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This is not quite what I meant. I expected [specific result], but I see [actual result]. Please explain your understanding of the correction, then make that focused change. Preserve the functions that already work.

L · Launch a useful first version

Aim for a working link, then refine it. A deployed app is the live-demo goal.

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Prepare this app for a new Cloudflare Worker. Confirm the account, new Worker name, public visibility, expected costs and checks. Do not alter existing apps. Explain the deployment and wait for my approval before publishing.

D · Develop it with others

Let a colleague try the main task. Listen to what they need. Improve the app, then help somebody else begin.

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Review this feedback against purpose, audience, context, usability, layout, permissions, reliability and maintainability. Suggest priorities, explain the trade-offs and ask before implementing the changes.