The Product Work Before the Code
A short note on how naming the job, the boundary, and the first useful result can make implementation simpler.
The best coding sessions usually start before the editor opens. Not with a long spec, but with three answers.
What is the job? What is outside the boundary? What is the first result that would feel useful?
If I cannot answer those, I usually end up writing code that is technically fine and product-wise confused. The UI gets extra controls because the product does not know what it wants. The data model gets vague because the behavior is vague. The app starts protecting imaginary future requirements.
This is where small products are honest. They do not have enough surface area to hide fuzzy thinking. A fasting app needs to start and stop a fast. A focus timer needs to begin a session and remember what happened. An audiobook tool needs to accept files and produce an audiobook.
That does not mean the product cannot grow. It means the first version needs a center of gravity.
Once that center exists, engineering decisions get easier. The simplest persistence model might be enough. The first screen can be direct. The settings can wait. Edge cases still matter, but they orbit a clear use case instead of pulling the app in every direction.