5 things to prepare before you start working with a developer
The clearer the task, the faster and cheaper the project. What should you think through before the first meeting?
Sample article — needs to be reviewed by the author
Many projects don’t get hard during development — they get hard earlier, when the task stays vague. If you come prepared with answers to the five questions below, the first conversation will be far more productive.
1. What problem are we solving?
Not “we need a CRM”, but “managers forget to call clients back” — describe the problem in terms of outcomes.
2. Who will use it?
Customers, staff, management — the system looks different for each of them.
3. How is this work done today?
An Excel sheet, a Telegram group or paper — your current process is the best technical brief there is.
4. What must be in the first version?
You don’t have to build everything at once. Pick the 3–5 most important features.
5. Constraints
- Approximate budget
- Timeline
- Existing systems that need to be connected
Don’t worry if you can’t answer all of these yet — we’ll work them out together.