Workshop 1: Project Ideation

What is a Workshop?

Workshops (like Code-Alongs) are live sessions 50 minutes in length designed to offer feedback and insights into your work and are offered seven days a week in the morning, afternoon, and evening.

Because Workshops focus on building on what you already have, you will need to come to class prepared to have the best experience.

Project Requirements and Constraints

Before you start brainstorming, it's important to understand the technical requirements for your project:

• Frontend: You'll need to create a website using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
• Backend: Your application must include a backend with API Gateway and Lambda functions
• Database: You must use DynamoDB to store your application data
• Timeframe: Your project should be completable within two weeks
• Scope: Start simple and plan for extensions if time permits

When considering project ideas, focus on something that:

• You're personally interested in and motivated to build
• Has clear use cases that can be translated into API endpoints
• Involves data that can be effectively stored in DynamoDB
• Is complex enough to learn from but simple enough to complete

Project Ideation Strategies

Here are some strategies to help you generate effective project ideas:

Solving a Problem

Think about problems you personally encounter that could be solved with software:

• What tasks do you find yourself doing repeatedly that could be automated?
• Are there any tools you wish existed to make your life easier?
• Is there a hobby or interest you have that could benefit from a specialized application?

Improving Existing Solutions

Consider taking an existing application and improving upon it:

• What features would make an existing application better?
• Is there a niche version of a popular app that would serve a specific community?
• Can you combine features from different applications into something new?

Sample Project Ideas

• Task or project management tool with customizable workflows
• Recipe organizer with ingredient search and meal planning
• Fitness tracker that records workouts and progress
• Event planning application with attendee management
• Book or movie collection tracker with recommendations
• Budget tracker with spending categories and reports
• Learning management system for tracking courses and progress
• Travel planning application for itineraries and packing lists

Workshop Process

Below is the brainstorming process we will use in the workshop. We're forcing you to select something very quickly, we know. Remember that the goal is to Learn; the project idea isn't what anyone is judging.

1. (5 min) Creativity warm-up: free word association. First person says, "Sunset", and rotate through the team members, each saying one word, the first that comes to mind after the previous word. Go around 4 times. Don't write anything down.
2. (5 min) Put phones away, mute laptops, turn off the zoom video. 5 minutes no noise, not talking, write down as many additional ideas as you can think of in 5 minutes. Try to have one that is really out there and crazy.
3. (5 min) Each person will read their list of ideas, then paste into one shared document.
4. (15 min) Now try to brainstorm as a group to 99 items total. Your most creative ideas might come after you think you've already reached the limit of ideas you can come up with. Say them out loud and add them to the shared document as you go. Try not to clobber one another, but continue throwing out ideas and capturing them.
5. (5 min) Vote on the ideas: each person gets 3 votes, and should put their alias next to the ideas they vote for. Eliminate any ideas with zero votes. If multiple people select the same item, you can team up with those people to make a team (no more than four per team).
6. Each person can now narrow their choices to one idea that they will work on.
7. Schedule time to write up/review/revise/close on the Problem Statement.
8. (5 min) Come up with a project name. Note that this will also be used to form part of your project's url.

Evaluating Project Viability

After generating ideas, use these questions to evaluate their viability:

Technical Considerations

• Can you define clear API endpoints for this application?
• How would you structure the DynamoDB tables for this project?
• What are the primary user flows and how would they work?
• Can you identify the key components of the frontend interface?

Scope Considerations

• What is the minimum viable product (MVP) for this idea?
• Can the MVP be completed within two weeks?
• What features could be added if you have extra time?
• What are the potential technical challenges and do you have a plan to overcome them?

Preparation Checklist

You will not need to prepare anything specific before this workshop, but it's helpful to:

• Have a general idea of the type of project you might be interested in
• Be familiar with the module content from Module 1
• Come with an open mind and be ready to collaborate
• Review the project rubric to understand the requirements
• Think about your personal interests and how they could translate into a project