Projects

If nobody would use it, don't build it

A project isn't just practice. It's something that solves a real problem for real people. That's what teaches you the most (real users find bugs no tutorial covers) and what interviewers remember. This page won't give you an idea. It helps you judge yours.

The "Worth building?" test

Run your idea through it

Answer honestly. You can come back and retest an idea after talking to people.

1

Can you name 5 real people who have this problem?

2

Do they currently work around it (spreadsheet, WhatsApp, notebook, manual effort)?

3

Does the problem happen at least weekly for them?

4

Can you talk to at least 2 of them this week?

5

Does building it need the core skills of your target role?

6

Can a useful v1 ship in 2–3 weeks?

7

Is it something other than a tutorial clone (todo, weather, Netflix, e-commerce clone)?

8

Can you measure whether it helped (time saved, money, usage)?

–

Keep going

Answer every question to see a verdict.

0/8 answered

Where real problems hide

Look where you already have access

Good problems are usually close to you: people you can reach this week, doing something painful by hand.

Your college

Placement cell spreadsheets, club registrations, hostel complaints, lost-and-found, timetable clashes, notes sharing

Family and local businesses

Shop credit (khata), inventory, appointment booking at clinics, tuition fee tracking, GST invoices

WhatsApp groups

Any group where the same questions get asked repeatedly is a ready-made RAG or FAQ product

Your own friction

Things you do manually every week: tracking applications, summarising lectures, splitting expenses

Public data

data.gov.in, IMD weather, RBI, transit data: useful but painful to use, so make it usable

Signs it's a good one

  • People already put up with an ugly workaround (spreadsheet, WhatsApp, a notebook)
  • You can describe the user in one sentence
  • Someone asks "when can I use it?"
  • Building it forces you to use your target role's core skills

Signs to walk away

  • "It's like Instagram but for…" with no specific user in mind
  • You can't find anyone who has the problem this week
  • v1 needs 6 months, a team or ₹ lakhs
  • The only reason is that a YouTube tutorial exists for it