Project Insights

Added: 2026-05-09

[00:02:06]Hello.

[00:02:11]Hello.

[00:02:16]Hello.

[00:02:17]Yeah.

[00:02:19]Can you start with day four? We Today is day four, right?

[00:02:48]Okay.

[00:02:49]So, um, welcome students.

[00:02:52]Uh, I hope you all are enjoying your, reading phase.

[00:02:58]And are able to progress in your journey of building the right application.

[00:03:04]Um, I will not repeat what we did in 12. I think that is on past. I'm sure everyone have of you have gone further ahead.

[00:03:15]And is progressing into you know, today's day four of week 13.

[00:03:22]So, by this time you should already have an app which you are optimizing.

[00:03:29]We will talk about optimization.

[00:03:30]Optimization basically means that to remove certain or to, you know, redo things which are not so efficient in the system.

[00:03:42]So, essentially without over engineering. I don't want to don't have to uh, create a lot of features or or like that.

[00:03:51]Uh, but just optimize beyond Okay, next slide.

[00:04:03]So, what's our journey so far? In three days, what we have learned is identifying what needs improvement, right? So, you would have found some gaps.

[00:04:11]Um, uh, and built a priority list. If you remember, we spoke about critical uh, things or things which are missed out on the requirements.

[00:04:21]Uh, now you're then we spoke about how to improve the user experience. So, what's a usable app versus a functional app, right?

[00:04:31]And then there is, uh, we spoke about the structure and clarity.

[00:04:35]Now, uh, your system looks good. You start wanting to make it perfect, right? So, that is um, what we will discuss today. Um, there is nothing called as a perfect app.

[00:04:48]Uh, and software and application is always, uh, as good as the requirements that prevail at that time.

[00:04:56]And as long as it is usable, it is, uh, workable.

[00:05:00]Um, it is good. And there is always room for improvement, right? So, um, uh, if you start making it a perfect, that is what is called over-engineering.

[00:05:10]Right? So, we'll talk about some of those aspects, uh, in today's session.

[00:05:16]Yeah, next slide.

[00:05:22]So, the point is that you may think that I want to make improve everything, right?

[00:05:27]And make my app the perfect one.

[00:05:31]But, ideally, you should be thinking about I can make meaningful improvements, right?

[00:05:38]Uh, which is like iteratively you, uh, keep adding few things without overcomplicating, right?

[00:05:45]Uh, for example, if you're building a house, right? You may suddenly think, "Oh, I can add a new floor to it."

[00:05:51]But while it may not need a new floor, it may just need some redesigning in the room, or maybe you can incrementally put a pillar together, or do some things, and eventually you end up building a floor, but you go incrementally in a way.

[00:06:11]So, this is what helps you.

[00:06:19]Just give me 1 second. I'll resume the session.

[00:06:32]Yes, sir.

[00:06:59]Yeah.

[00:07:00]So, how I can make meaningful improvements, right? Without overcomplicating the whole system.

[00:07:07]Essentially, what you need to do is identify first, right? What actually needs an optimization. Then you distinguish what is a real issue versus what can be termed as a perfection, right?

[00:07:18]So, we're not aiming for perfection.

[00:07:21]We are we are aiming for meaningful improvements.

[00:07:25]So, and then third point is you avoid the complexity, right? So, beyond what is needed today.

[00:07:32]So, always go back to the requirements, right? And then you prioritize.

[00:07:39]So, it's like a step-by-step framework on how do you make meaningful improvements in your application without overcomplicating the system, right?

[00:07:50]So, uh you have to improve only what gives user some incremental value, what matters to the user.

[00:08:01]Uh there is no glory in improving things which do not matter to the user, yeah?

[00:08:07]Uh so, keep this as a principle that will we'll talk about today.

[00:08:14]Next slide.

[00:08:27]Kishan, next slide.

[00:08:30]Yeah.

[00:08:32]So, key area one for today, uh essentially identifying what actually needs optimization, right? Uh so, essentially you you talk about um you ask these three questions before you begin your improvement journey, uh right? Uh the fundamental aspect is that it should be a problem-driven not a preference-driven, right? I like this, so I'll improve this. No, is there a real problem?

[00:08:59]Is this causing a problem, right? Not a maybe a future problem or so. This can happen, that can happen, but if it exists today, you can improve it.

[00:09:08]Does it affect the usability or the behavior of the system? Remember, usability is paramount, right?

[00:09:14]And is this problem necessary right now, right? Maybe uh the users don't care about it, the app is still usable.

[00:09:21]You may see this is called an edge case, uh may not be um you know, that uh problematic, but may take your time, right? And priority, so we just knock it off, right?

[00:09:33]Uh not everything requires improvements must be problem driven and not preference driven. That's the key message in this slide.

[00:09:42]Uh all right, it should be there should be a problem that it is addressing.

[00:09:49]Next slide.

[00:09:56]Next slide, sir.

[00:09:57]Yeah.

[00:10:02]Uh then we are saying that again going back to the same thing of perfection, right? There is nothing called as a perfect application. I mean if I give you an example, uh you may think that Amazon shopping app or Flipkart or Zomato or Swiggy, they're like perfect app. Everything is working fine. No, they always have bugs.

[00:10:23]They are always improving daily, day in day out there is some or the other improvements going on into that's why they have a large engineering team, right?

[00:10:32]Uh so uh use this uh you can always use this classification uh when you are defining that uh what is your active list that you need to work upon, right?

[00:10:44]Uh if something is breaking the functionality, the usability, causes a crash, yes, it's an immediate real issue. You need to work upon it.

[00:10:54]Uh main task cannot be completed, data is stored, displayed, directly fails, right? The status of started success criteria.

[00:11:02]So, these are important uh markers, right? If it is just a preference, do not it's not a problem, then don't work on it at the moment, right?

[00:11:13]Uh so the question to be asked, uh all right, what this key point key area tells you is what if I don't improve it, right?

[00:11:25]If the answer is nothing's going to change, the user will still be able to use the app.

[00:11:32]Just differ it.

[00:11:38]Yeah.

[00:11:39]Uh next slide.

[00:11:44]Now, how to avoid over-engineering here, right? So, over-engineering is adding complexity beyond what is currently needed.

[00:11:52]It always always slows you down.

[00:11:55]Um it doesn't give any benefit unless there is a need for it, right?

[00:12:02]So, extra layers uh like you know, it it slows the development, introducing complexity for future scenarios.

[00:12:11]Um for example, there is this app which handles some crop types. So, you handle some 10 different crop types even though the app only uses three, right? What's the point? It's unnecessary effort, right? Over-designing a solution, implement a full state machine for toggling just two states on and off.

[00:12:28]Uh right. So, these are some of the classic mistakes that people do.

[00:12:35]Uh over-engineering, it's it's you know, it's overthinking. Sometimes it is also called you know, you start analyzing it too much and you are not able to move forward.

[00:12:47]Uh just increases confusion, adds effort, and uh So, what you need to what is key important point here, you build for today, right? Not for an imagined future.

[00:13:00]Build it for today so that it is usable by the your user today.

[00:13:05]And there's always room for improvement as user gives a feedback. Okay, I'm not able to do this. Again, you can go back to the litmus test of getting it tested by your friend, right? Who may give you some feedback that okay, these are some of the elements that you need to uh you know, change, and then you make the changes.

[00:13:26]Next slide.

[00:13:34]So, how to improve efficiency, right?

[00:13:38]So, uh these are some of the key elements of improving the efficiency, right?

[00:13:46]Uh which is like loading time. Dashboard should not take a lot of time, otherwise the user will just keep seeing a loading thing and nothing will happen.

[00:13:54]Uh entire recomposes whenever one small thing changes.

[00:14:01]Right? Same room query is called three times. Tapping calculate shows the result instantly. User doesn't know it ran.

[00:14:09]Missing user feedback, basically. Right?

[00:14:11]So, show a brief loading state before the result appears.

[00:14:15]Um The delay or inefficiency that a user would notice, you focus on there.

[00:14:22]All right? Instead of focusing on uh something else which is not important to the user.

[00:14:30]Okay. Next slide.

[00:14:35]Now, during the improvement cycle, right? You need to maintain the maintain the simplicity as well, right?

[00:14:43]So, every improvement is a risk of adding complexity.

[00:14:48]Before applying any change, run it through the simplicity test, right? I If you remember, I we spoke about uh KISS principle, keep it simple.

[00:14:57]Right? So, um you have to check, and this is something that you do by stepping out of the shoes of developer and becoming an evaluator of the app or having your friend to do the evaluation.

[00:15:10]Uh adding uh you know, any change whether it adds a complexity or it makes it simpler, easier to maintain later, and can I achieve the same result in a simpler way, right? So, simplicity always improves clarity.

[00:15:27]Right? Uh we spoke about the example of let's say WhatsApp, right? WhatsApp simplest app, but used by some 600 700 million people on this app.

[00:15:39]So, uh how a simple application can be used by masses, uh that's a perfect example.

[00:15:48]Uh right? Um it has to But it has to function the right way.

[00:15:53]Uh right? They have not made the base interface complex at all. They just added small improvements.

[00:16:00]Um whether it is uh groups, communities, or voice call, or emojis, or whatever, but the base interface remains same.

[00:16:11]Next slide.

[00:16:19]So, this is this will talk about like prioritizing, right? So, uh as we spoke, you should not prioritize by preference.

[00:16:30]Do not do that.

[00:16:32]Uh it should be prioritized by its usability or the impact, and uh that is what will always help you to make the right decisions.

[00:16:42]Good decisions.

[00:16:43]Right?

[00:16:44]Uh even in your college, you would let's say you have a uh uh some uh you know, class to do, you would obviously prioritize one class over another class where you will learn better, right? Or you'll learn more.

[00:16:59]Uh which is like essentially prioritizing by impact, right?

[00:17:03]So, in this case, you should keep the user um you know, in the picture.

[00:17:11]And this could be an invisible user, right? So, but you keep them in the picture, and you think, right from a user standpoint whether this change will have any impact on them.

[00:17:24]An impact should be mostly positive whether it should improve the user of course you will not make a negative impact you should not. Or fixes a problem or improve something real or is it just a cosmetic or theoretical thing no user I I I I I I I I I I I So the two decision questions um right that you need to ask here is are you improving or over is this helping your system or delaying it?

[00:17:52]Are you improving?

[00:17:54]Answer is yes.

[00:17:56]Is this helping your system to get better? Maybe no it is delaying it then don't do it.

[00:18:05]Right so um good decisions uh you know improve what matters ignore what doesn't. This is the fundamental principle of day four.

[00:18:15]Right you should only improve what matters to be used and matters here matters to the user not to you.

[00:18:21]Again to you it becomes a preference it should matter to the user. And if you're thinking like a user then sure.

[00:18:28]Right uh But don't get into a hustle of uh okay let me do this improvement let me do that improvement.

[00:18:37]Even if your friend say just ask them whether it matters to the user or not.

[00:18:43]Um Next slide.

[00:18:52]So this is uh your time um you know separate necessary from nice to have um list every improvement you're currently tempted to make.

[00:19:04]Whether it's a necessary improvement versus a nice to have improvement. Right necessary nice to have is again a uh bucketing basically exercise uh you know which will tell you what is critical what is important versus which you can differ.

[00:19:20]Right so applied C question is a real problem affects the usability necessary now or not or not.

[00:19:30]That will give you a a solution a prioritization framework right identify uh improvements that are perfectionism versus problem solving.

[00:19:43]Does it make the simple system max five items so what's your final come up with the final list it should not be very long.

[00:19:51]Ideally by this time you should not have any improvements uh required in the application.

[00:19:59]Uh but uh uh but if you still have something if you can think of some sudden things where there's a usability challenge where um I you know uh there's a problem for the user then go ahead find that out and start working on that.

[00:20:22]Uh next slide.

[00:20:28]So this is just wrapping up uh you know over engineering don't do over engineering it just slows development.

[00:20:34]Critical improvements of perfection prioritize high impact same thing so every improvement must pass through the simplicity test.

[00:20:42]Uh uh as long as it is simplifying the app uh making it easier to maintain um you should do it.

[00:20:54]Any questions uh Krishna?

[00:20:59]Just a moment.

[00:21:19]>> No.

[00:21:21]No questions. Okay.

[00:21:29]Fine then, we can um I think next slide is Q&A. So, we can wrap up today.

[00:21:37]This was a short discussion, but I'm hoping everybody is able to um get started and make their app by now, and you are able to make it uh usable and have a list of optimizations that are needed.

[00:21:55]Um which essentially should be prioritized by their impact.

[00:21:59]Uh it should make the app simple and not over complicated. Do not over engineer.

[00:22:05]Uh when you are working on the application do keep the social media away from you so that you are not distracted.

[00:22:14]It will help you to make better decisions, and of course focus on your work, right?

[00:22:20]Um In the next session, do talk about what improvements have you made.

[00:22:28]Thanks, Krishna.

[00:22:38]Thanks, everyone.

[00:22:41]Thank you, sir.