Why I Stopped Building Features and Started Shipping Experiments
The author reflects on their struggle to complete personal projects due to over-engineering and perfectionism disguised as technical rigor. They adopted a new approach by creating 'PotatoLab,' where projects ship once they meet minimal, predefined criteria rather than being perfect. By focusing on shipping small, functional experiments, they prioritize completion and real-world presence over idealized design.
- ▪The author abandoned multiple projects, including an Android SDK and a logistics platform, due to over-engineering.
- ▪They renamed their portfolio to PotatoLab as a metaphor for starting with imperfect, unglamorous ideas.
- ▪Projects in PotatoLab ship once they meet a small set of upfront requirements, not when they are perfect or scalable.
- ▪The core philosophy is to 'start lumpy, ship weird, cook the potato,' emphasizing completion over perfection.
- ▪The author acknowledges that shipped experiments may not be impressive in scope but exist outside their laptop, unlike unfinished projects.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
try { if(localStorage) { let currentUser = localStorage.getItem('current_user'); if (currentUser) { currentUser = JSON.parse(currentUser); if (currentUser.id === 3935412) { document.getElementById('article-show-container').classList.add('current-user-is-article-author'); } } } } catch (e) { console.error(e); } PotatoLab Posted on May 16 • Originally published at potatolab.hashnode.dev Why I Stopped Building Features and Started Shipping Experiments #devjournal #productivity #sideprojects #softwaredevelopment An honest post about perfectionism, unfinished projects, and why my portfolio is named after a vegetable The worst advice I ever got about building projects "You should know it all before you start." You won't. You never do.
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