10 Tips for Building it Right the First Time

By Annie Case

Rock Health hosted the first of its Summer School workshops, organized in partnership with Skillshare, on Wednesday night, kicking off with a presentation by RH alum Ryan Panchadsaram of ginger.io.  Thirty entrepreneurs, developers, designers, and health professionals descended on our downtown office to learn about product design and how to “Build It Right the First Time.”  In the class, Ryan stressed the importance of teamwork, clarity, simplicity, and listening. Couldn’t be there? Here are his 10 tips for building a great product with your team:

1. Work together – Collaboration is the key to success
2. Aim for simplicity – Don’t over-think or over-design. Know the weight of what you are building and who you are building it for
3. Great products take time – Never say things are easy, because nothing great is easy! Take the time to make your product great
4. Learn from hacks – Experiment, explore, and try different things as a learning exercise
5. Take a stand for your user – A solution for everyone is a solution for no one. Do something incredibly well and be proud of that rather than trying to do everything
6. Know your product– Understand your team, your product, and what is right for you
7. Learn when to say yes AND no – Be purposeful. Don’t say yes to everything, but don’t say no to everything, either. When you do say no, keep track of what you said no to as useful feedback
8. Build it again, differently –It’s okay to revisit existing ideas and solutions. Don’t overlook something just because you think it has been done before
9. Measure –Data helps you figure out what areas you need to work on and what you’re doing well
10. Allow creativity – Strive for inspired solutions and let everyone on your team embrace their inner geek