Where do you get programming ideas from? [closed]

Question

If you wanted to create a new software product, where would you go to get your idea? Would you focus on the consumer market or the business market?

Answer 1

The two best sources of ideas for me are in my sleep and in the shower. I also have a long commute, and if you're not fleshing out an idea during the drive, it's just wasted time. In general for me, ideas go through 4 phases:

1.) Stupid or crazy idea - This is just some outlandish idea that pops in my head that there's no chance of ever actually happening.

2.) Refinement into just a dumb idea - At this point I take my stupid/crazy idea and throttle it back so that it's just outside the realm of possibility.

3.) Find a marketplace - Figure out who could benefit from having the idea implemented.

4.) Planning the steps - Imagine if that slightly impossible idea were possible. What are the steps to get between here and there.

After that you'll do better talking to a business person about how to take it to the next level. At any point along the process an idea may be discarded. Regardless of how far I get down the process I write it down in a notebook. Sometimes ideas coalesce, sometimes they just die, but writing it down and then reading it later helps you think of more stupid or crazy ideas, the perpetuating the cycle.

As for targeting personal or business, let your idea tell you which way to go. Both markets have benefits and drawbacks, but most idea either fit firmly in one realm, or cross the realms.

Edit: Ultimately for me, working on ideas is like doing your math homework. You may never use the concepts you're studying, but working through the problems trains your mind in how to solve other problems. Likewise, the more ideas you have and try to develop, the better you will get at getting them further down the chain.

Answer 2

Fixing problems is usually a good place to find ideas. What problems do you encounter every day that you could fix? I also ask and listen to other people to find out their frustrations.

A really important thing when coming up with ideas for new projects is to remember that you don't have to come up with something entirely unique. That's an impossible goal and it's much better/easier to build something that does something better/faster/easier than the competitors. If you wait to find something unique you will wait forever.

Answer 3

I don't go seeking ideas, I wait for opportunities.

I can't think of a single month that has gone by, at least in the last decade that didn't yield an interesting problem to solve.

As for focus, I much prefer working on things that I can finish within my means and within a reasonable amount of time. I wouldn't conceptually restrict myself to just one market, but there are some that I might be inclined to avoid.

I would pick an end user application over something that had RT implications, such as software that would manage financial trades, for instance.

For inspiration, I love nature. I love to watch insects, in fact I was just thinking about getting an ant farm for my desk. That doesn't give me new problems to solve, but might help my thinking when working on one.

Answer 4

Here's a nice overview on YouTube of the book Where Good Ideas Come From, by Steven Johnson. The main idea is that it takes a long time, and is often the result of the intersection of two different half-ideas.

In my own work, I get most of my ideas when reading papers and books. For example, for programming language design, a good paper from the OOPSLA conference (and its Onward! track) can give you a half a page of notes when you're done reading it.

I got the idea for my dissertation when I asked my wife what "deconstructive programming" would be (her area is fine arts). I got many of the other ideas in my thesis from reading the book Design Rules, by Baldwin and Clark.

Answer 5

Usually user groups, forum discussions, the like. Someone says "X is a nice app but doesn't do <foo>" and I start on Y, which does. Or if I wrote X in the first place, I fix it.

Answer 6

Wait for the great lightning of creativity to strike you. Until then, just look what the competition does, and do it better.