

Ask HN: Should you strive for perfection when you are experimenting with an idea - ssing

If you are experimenting and not sure of your idea, do you need to strive for perfection (UI, flow) or just hack to make minimum viable project and release.
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kingsidharth

      Ship > Feedback > improve
      Ship > Feedback > improve
      Ship > Feedback > improve

x n times

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pedalpete
It is nearly impossible to get UI/UX or 'flow' right the first time. You'll go
through a few iterations. But it is best to whiteboard your options or use
something like balsamic to play with a few of your potentials and see what
feels best. Show it around to friends and get feedback.

Then build. go back to those people you showed it to and add a few people to
the list and watch them interact with it, get feedback. Repeat.

At first the changes may seem minor, and then when you really get it out into
Beta, and start getting more feedback and ideas, that's when things will
really start moving.

I took a look at your site, and I think you are coming at it from the wrong
angle. You go right to 'how to get started' but I don't even know what it is
yet or why I'd use it. Doosra Cricket means nothing to me. 'Pick a fixture'
also has no meaning. What's a 'fixture'. I may not be your target market, but
anybody who comes across your site should know what the purpose is without
trying to decode your lingo.

Then you go into asking for email right off the bat with a sign-in, before I
can even start doing anything. That is not good. Let people see what is
happening on the site, get them interested and then you'll get sign-ups.

Hope that helps

~~~
ssing
Thanks for looking into the site and giving early feedback. The reason I asked
this question was I found myself spending too much time trying to get things
like login, fb like on the front page and organizing the layout. It is good
for learning but it is preventing me from addressing other key issues.

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curt
I always make sure the interface actions and flow is near perfect even before
I even begin to develop. Artwork and graphics are easily changed at any time,
but how the user interacts with the interface is much more complicated and
much more important.

If you piss off the early adopters, they aren't coming back and you're going
up a creek without a paddle.

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kaiserama
Love this question. I have a partner who comes from the retail world and he is
constantly leaning toward perfection before launching for an idea that may or
may not be a good one. I agree with kingsidharth but it's hard to convince
him. Seems most people who build a retail location need it to be as close to
perfect when you open as possible.

------
Zev
What platform? Whats your goal for the idea? What do you _need_ from the idea?
How much time do you have to put into it?

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ssing
It is on Ruby On Rails. The idea is simple and niche. If it has user
acceptance I would be interested in continuing with it. I am getting sucked in
just trying to make the UI better. Just in case if you are interested but it
is work in progress <http://doosracricket.com/>

