I've restarted projects three times because I skipped planning. Each restart cost me 20+ hours. Here's the uncomfortable truth: spending 2 hours planning saves 40 hours of rebuilding. This isn't boring project management - it's insurance against your future regret.
Risk Radar: The Coding-Too-Early Trap
The Mistake: Getting excited and immediately asking your LLM to "build a social media app" without planning. Three weeks later, you realize you need to restructure everything because you forgot about user permissions.
The Fix: Force yourself to complete this phase BEFORE writing a single line of code. Literally. Put your laptop in another room if you have to.
Time saved: 30-60 hours of refactoring work
LLM Conversation Starter
Start your planning session with this prompt:
I want to build: [your app idea] Help me create a one-page plan that includes: 1. The ONE core feature users absolutely need 2. 3-5 "must-have" features for launch 3. Features I should SKIP for version 1 4. The simplest tech stack for this 5. Potential dealbreaker problems I haven't thought of Be honest if my scope is too ambitious for a first project.
Why this works:
This forces you to think about scope BEFORE you're emotionally invested in code. Save this response as your project roadmap.
The One-Page Plan
Professional product managers use one-pagers to align entire teams. You're going to use one to align with your LLM and Future You. This document prevents feature creep and keeps you focused.
Your One-Page Plan Template
1. The Elevator Pitch (2 sentences max)
Example: "An app that helps remote workers find quiet coffee shops. Users can rate shops by noise level and WiFi quality."
2. The ONE Core Feature
If your app only did ONE thing, what would it be? This is your North Star.
Example: "View a map of coffee shops with noise ratings"
3. Launch Features (3-5 items)
- • User accounts (login/logout)
- • Submit a new coffee shop
- • Rate a coffee shop (1-5 stars for noise/WiFi)
- • View all ratings for a shop
4. Explicitly NOT Building (V1)
- • Photo uploads (use text descriptions only)
- • Social features (following users, messaging)
- • Advanced search/filters
- • Mobile app (web-only first)
5. Tech Stack (keep it simple)
- • Frontend: Next.js (React framework)
- • Database: PostgreSQL (via Neon free tier)
- • Auth: NextAuth.js
- • Hosting: Vercel (free tier)
6. Time Budget
Week 1-2: Setup + Core feature
Week 3-4: User accounts + ratings
Week 5-6: Polish + testing
Total: 6 weeks to launch
PM Insight: The 'Would I Pay For This?' Test
Professional PMs use this trick: Before building anything, write the landing page copy as if the product already exists. Include:
- • The headline (what problem does this solve?)
- • 3 key benefits
- • The call-to-action
If you can't write compelling copy, you don't understand your own product yet. Keep refining your one-pager until the value is crystal clear.
Sketch First, Code Later
I wasted weeks building interfaces that looked terrible and had to be rebuilt. Now I always sketch first - on paper, in Figma, or even in Excalidraw. It doesn't need to be pretty. It just needs to exist BEFORE you code.
Quick Sketching Tools
- Paper + Pen: Fastest. Seriously.
- Excalidraw: Free, simple, perfect for wireframes
- Figma: Free tier, more polished
- Whimsical: Great for flow diagrams
What to Sketch
- • Main screen layout (where does everything go?)
- • User flow (login → action → result)
- • Forms (what fields do you actually need?)
- • Mobile vs Desktop differences
The 10-Minute Sketch Challenge
Set a timer for 10 minutes. Sketch your app's main screen. Include:
Must Have:
- □ Navigation/menu location
- □ Main content area
- □ Primary action button
- □ User profile/login area
Can Skip:
- □ Perfect proportions
- □ Colors
- □ Exact text/copy
- □ Icons (use boxes)
Technical Planning (The Boring Part That Matters)
Before asking your LLM to start building, make these decisions. You can change them later, but starting with a plan prevents "analysis paralysis" where you spend weeks researching instead of building.
Decision 1: Where Will Users Log In?
Email/Password (simplest)
Pro: You control everything. Con: Users hate making accounts.
Google/GitHub OAuth (recommended)
Pro: Users trust it, fewer passwords. Con: Slightly more setup.
No login required (for MVP testing)
Pro: Zero friction. Con: Can't save user data.
Decision 2: What Data Needs Saving?
List every piece of information your app needs to remember. This becomes your database structure.
Example for coffee shop app:
- • Users: email, name, joined date
- • Shops: name, address, description
- • Ratings: user ID, shop ID, noise score, WiFi score, review text
Decision 3: What Pages Does Your App Need?
List every URL. Keep it minimal for V1.
Typical structure:
- / (homepage - the map)
- /shop/[id] (individual shop page)
- /submit (add new shop form)
- /login (authentication)
- /profile (user's ratings history)
PM Insight: The 2-Hour Rule
Professional PMs know: If you can't explain your entire app structure in 2 hours, it's too complex for a first version.
Test yourself: Set a timer and try explaining your app to your LLM in one session. If you're still explaining after 2 hours, you need to cut features.
The Fix: Move 50% of planned features to a "Version 2" list. You can always add them after launch. You can't launch if you never finish.
Phase 2 Complete Checklist
Don't move to Phase 3 until you can check every box:
"Hours of planning save weeks of refactoring."
– Every developer who learned this the hard way