Most developers make a mistake before writing a single line of code.

They start coding too early.

Yesterday I spent ~4 hours on a potential project and didn’t write any code.

Instead, I:

– broke the idea down into a realistic MVP – mapped core user flows – defined the structure (pages, interactions) – suggested a technical approach – even generated a quick visual direction using AI

And honestly — that was the most valuable part.

Because code without this is just an expensive way to figure out your product doesn’t work.

My default approach:

System first. Code second.

Curious how others handle this:

Do you invest time in shaping the product early, or jump straight into implementation?

(quick visual of how I usually think about MVP structure)