Build first-pass rubbish apps

(or: Aparigraha for Builders)

I have accidentally developed a new software methodology, which is to build the first version like an absolute scruffy disaster, but with optimism.

Not building badly.
Building freely.

Here’s the trick: give yourself one hour to build a rough, loose first pass of the thing. You are still aiming for good. You are still trying to make something interesting. But you do it with the clear understanding that this version is for discovery, not for keeping.

Which is not how software has traditionally been built.

Traditionally, you planned it properly, structured it properly, thought hard about the architecture, and generally behaved like someone who uses phrases like “technical debt” without laughing.

That made sense when software was slower and more expensive to make.

But now things are so fast that these messy little software explorations are incredibly useful.

You can play.
You can try odd ideas.
You can follow the energy.
You can discover what the thing actually wants to be.

There’s a Buddhist idea, aparigraha, or non-attachment. Don’t cling too tightly. Which feels surprisingly relevant here, unless I am now doing spirituality for prototype apps, which is not a sentence I expected to write.

The first version does not need to be protected. It does not need to be defended. It just needs to teach you something.