

From concept to launch in 24 hrs and why there's no reason you can't do this too - kylebragger
http://kylewritescode.com/post/2568648171/from-concept-to-launch-in-24-hours-and-why-theres-no

======
kleiba
_It’s a project I’ve been wanting to build for a while, [...]_

I think that makes it more than 24 hrs from concept to launch. I suppose you
already designed a good deal of the website in your head, if not layout-wise
then certainly functionality- / interaction-wise, right?

~~~
JoeAltmaier
But we all have something like that in our head. The point is, that's not the
part that keeps us from deploying - its execution, and the thesis is
(paraphrasing) that should not be a problem any more.

------
evancaine
One reason: design.

I have virtually no design ability. Believe me I've tried and failed
miserably. Over the years I've read a number of books and tutorials, I've
tried to emulate styles and designs from sites I like, I've spent countless
hours in photoshop and I've asked for input and feedback on public forums.
Nothing seems to help. It takes me a disproportionate amount of time to
complete a design task compared to anyone with even a basic proficiency.

When I see apps like this one and others for example, from rails rumble put
together over the course of a few days I'm truly envious of people's design
ability. I've lost count of the number of projects I've abandoned because of
frustrations with the design.

I've finally just accepted that I was never cut out for design work, that I'm
much happier and far more productive writing code. For the next project I
start, I'll save enough money to hire a designer first.

~~~
HeyLaughingBoy
Don't let that stop you!

Not only do I have zero GUI design ability and no color sense, my software
background is as far from web applications as it gets and I've still been
working on an app for the past month. Use very basic design elements,
understand the CSS box model and learn to look at everything around you --
designed objects are everywhere.

We're surrounded by design and you don't need to be able to create something
from scratch, just see the elements you like around you and analyze them to
understand why they're appealing. Just like programming, design can be broken
down into component parts and each one understood on its own. Once you see how
they work, you can put those parts back together in different ways.

...at least it seems to be working for me so far and my screens look a little
less butt-ugly every day :-)

------
nate
Another thing that I've been using to punch out mvp type projects fast is this
for the UI:

<http://www.designinfluences.com/fluid960gs/>

A grid system is awesome to begin with to help with laying stuff out well. But
this also includes some basic css boilerplate for typography, forms, tables,
etc.

It's purposefully in black and white (see the grey box method
[http://v3.jasonsantamaria.com/archive//2004/05/24/grey_box_m...](http://v3.jasonsantamaria.com/archive//2004/05/24/grey_box_method.php))
which doesn't look half bad until you decide the mvp is worthy enough of some
better style.

~~~
kylebragger
Yeah, using a grid-based css framework is a huge time saver. I find things
tend to get a bit less readable when you've got "grid_5 alpha push_2 foo bar"
classes everywhere, but hey, it does wonders for getting an MVP done.

Also, that JSM post never gets old.

~~~
sorghum
Compass ( <http://compass-style.org/> ) lets you use CSS frameworks while
bypassing the problem of non-semantic class names by using SASS mixins. It's
yet another layer of abstraction to learn, but worth a look if you don't know
about it already.

~~~
nate
And while we are on the topic :) these are some sweet buttons you can create
if you are using compass:

<https://github.com/imathis/fancy-buttons>

------
scorchin
A key part of this is that you should start with the MVP[1]. Get the (minimal)
features together that make your app work and release it.

Then follow a user-centred design (UCD) process by testing it on real people!
Iterate early. I'd be more than happy to discuss what I mean here if anyone
requires clarification. Most people end up following a UCD process without
realising it, and it tends to be the way that the most successful products
(physical and digital) tend to be created.

    
    
      [1] MVP: Minimum Viable Product http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_viable_product

~~~
gnok
The second "key" is a developer's proficiency with design. I am a developer
and I know little to nothing about design. This is a major distraction since I
spend a disproportionate amount of time getting a barely passable design.
Would anyone recommend a good design resource for developers?
Books/links/blogs all work. I try to read stuff like Smashing Magazine and
Core77 but I mostly feel out of depth there.

~~~
scorchin
A good starting resource here: <http://boagworld.com/design/when-developers-
design/>

------
jorde
I wonder if <http://threewords.me/> influenced this one? That was my first
thought when I saw Kyle's tweet about Facto (nice name/url btw).

~~~
kylebragger
Reading Mark's HN post the other day definitely helped get me pumped to build
something.

~~~
TheBiv
Do you possibly still have the link?

~~~
jorde
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2051288>

------
SeoxyS
If you're serious about building a product, 24h isn't gonna cut it. Don't drag
it out, sure… but there's more to a product than just a proof of concept.

~~~
code_duck
That was my feeling back when 'we made this site in 3 days using Ruby on
Rails!' was all the rage.

Frequently it was really 90% of an app. I like for things to be polished, have
no error messages, handle all different types of input gracefully, and so on.
The sites made in 3 days never did that. It's like 'the first 90% took 3 days,
the last 10% took 3 weeks'. Details are difficult.

But then, that's where cutting out features or releasing an MVP comes in. If
it's a really slim product, it's possible to make something usable, at least,
in 24 hours. But why not just take a week or two and make it really good?
There's no rush.

~~~
kylebragger
Oh, I'm definitely not advocating building everything in 24 hours. Moreso, I'm
saying that I think at this point it's possible for nearly anyone to round out
their toolkit and prototype their ideas into a working MVP. Doesn't have to be
polished or detail-heavy; focus on the minutia later, just get something
tangible in front of users now.

~~~
code_duck
Sure, it's similar to thdconcepts propounded in 37 Signals' 'Get Real'
manifesto, right?

------
bengl3rt
Very cool!

I just slapped together <http://www.mileagebrain.com/> in two days to do a
proof-of-concept and convince myself that it was feasible, and to gauge
interest from the frequent flyer community. They love it so I'm moving forward
with making it a real product.

------
grep
". I’m currently on the $15 shared database, which accounts for probably 99%
of my costs so far (the rest being marginal costs for S3 [likely a few
cents])."

Why not on the FREE plan?

~~~
kylebragger
I'm already over the 5MB free limit.

~~~
pdelgallego
I am using mongolab [1] for my small projects, that give me some more room to
grow (free plan = 256 mb)

[1] <https://mongolab.com>

------
uxe
that sounds great i have some ideas, have little knowledge in both design and
developing fields, but need to strengthen my programing background to get them
alive. i have a question about hosting the my site, with a very low budget,
what is your advice?

------
HudsonPeralta
Facto is a great app... Very original idea!

