Have a great idea you’d like to put into motion? Maybe you have an idea about having an idea but you’re not sure what the process would be. Confused yet? We offer Custom Application Development, but what does that mean to you exactly? Let’s take a look into how custom applications are built and the step by step breakdown used to get this process moving.

For now, let’s start at the beginning with the first 3 steps we take in this process:

Inspiration, Idea, and Concept.

1. Inspiration:

Here is where it all begins my friends. You’ve gotta have that moment of inspiration, the “ah ha!” moment, that moment of brilliance, whatever you call it, wherever you have it – you know it when it happens. Get a pencil and some paper and get your idea out before you forget about it. I can’t tell you how many great ideas I have had while in the shower and have lost my train of thought before I could get to a pad of paper. Strap a tape recorder to yourself, grab your cell and hit record –whatever you have to do, do it.

2. Idea:

You know that there is a need. What are some possible ways to solve whatever need it is that you’re trying to fix, fulfill, or alter? As with any idea, you are trying to reduce or remove some pain from your life, or the lives of others. Continue to examine your idea from all sides and find ways prove or disprove your thoughts. Walk away and come back later, how does it look? Still as fresh as it was a few hours ago? Do some research; has someone already solved this problem in some other way? The second step in the idea phase is to reduce your idea to its basics. “If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.” – Albert Einstein. Break it down, work out each piece, and understand it from different aspects. Put yourself in other people’s shoes and try to understand it from their perspective. Once you can do that, you can move on to the next step.

3. Concept:

If you have made it to this next step, that means you have grasped a thorough understanding of your idea. It is now time to do a deeper dive into the idea by attempting to prove your hypothesis. Your hypothesis being: [insert brilliant idea here] will work [in this way] to improve/alter/aid in [whatever need it is that you have]. You do this by taking your idea out into the world and, using your network of friends and family, you start to bounce it off of them. What if you could do X? What if you were trying to find Y and you could just look at Z? If you needed A, would you think doing B would be a good idea? Take their one word answers and ask the hard questions like Why? and How? and What do you mean by I would do C?

Awesome, you have now conquered inspiration, idea, and concept. Done? Not by a long shot. This is the tip of the iceberg. These are the steps to get you moving in the right direction. The thing to do now is ask yourself, have you had that “ah ha!” moment? Do you have an idea worth researching? Have you applied this to a concept? If you’re heading in this direction, follow along with us next week as we outline the next steps in this process. Custom Application Development does not happen overnight, but it does have to start somewhere.

Need help working through this process? Find out how J&S Tech Designs can engage with your organization and take an idea or concept and get a product to market. Or find out how J&S Tech Designs can engage with you to find that spark for an idea that has just been eluding you. We can help you at all stages of the process.