How to create app ideas

1. How to create app ideas Blake McNeill mcneillb@zingpow.ca

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3. Blake McNeill • First started coding late 70’s with punch cards and FORTRAN • Serial Idea guy at a number of startups • Independent software developer • AOFWin / IPRWin • TimeWin • Link Logger • Windows Mobile Apps • Microsoft App Store • Microsoft MVP 2003 – 2016 in multiple areas • Passionate farmer of Ideas, fan of creativity and fearless researcher

4. Agenda • Why • Overview • The 4 people who live in your head • The Explorer • The Artist • The Judge • The Warrior • Their potential flaws • Ideas • The last original idea • Sources of ideas • Questionable Ideas • Big/Small Ideas • $Tupid Idea$

5. Why • 2015 App Revenues over $41 Billion • 2016 App Revenues over $50 Billion • 2020 App Revenues forecasted to be over $101 Billion • Lets say Microsoft’s slice is now 2% so that is still over $1 Billion • One platform, one store • Desktop • Surface • Hub • Xbox • Hololens • etc

6. Overview The Problem I don’t have any ideas for apps! I hope to help you understand and unlock your creativity so you can generate ideas for apps.

7. Overview The Problem What is Software Bill Gates thought/thinks software is the key component to computing and where the money is. Why is software so important • Software is how we bottle and share expertise, how I can repeatedly solve a problem • Users want/need that expertise • Users don’t want to become experts themselves or at least in that domain • You become their expert and solve their problems, write the software to package your expertise “Five percent of the people think; ten percent of the people think they think; and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think.” – Thomas A. Edison

8. who lives in your head – The Idea Makers • I’ve always been interested in Psychology and especially Cognitive Psychology. • Favorite books on creativity • Dr. Roger von Oech’s • A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative • Kick In The Seat of the Pants • Donald A. Norman • The Design of Everyday Things • Things That Make Us Smart: Defending Human Attributes in the Age of the Machine

9. who lives in your head • Dr. Roger von Oech’s idea is that there are four people who live in your head and are responsible for creating and realizing Ideas

10. The Explorer The explorer is your role for searching for information

11. The Explorer

12. The Explorer

13. The Explorer Flexibility What do I need to start my journey ? Courage Openness

14. The Explorer • Expect the unexpected!! • One thing can lead to something completely different • If you do not expect the unexpected you will not find it, for it is not to be reached by search or trail – Heraclitus, Philosopher

15. The Explorer There comes a point in the history of every project when it becomes necessary to shoot the engineers and start production

16. The Artist The artist is your role for transforming information into new ideas Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others transform a yellow spot into the sun Pablo Picasso

17. The Artist

18. The Artist • Pablo Picasso is widely quoted as having said that “good artists borrow, great artists steal.” • Steve Jobs famously said in 1996: "Picasso had a saying -- 'good artists copy; great artists steal' -- and we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas."

19. The Artist What is the greatest danger your artist face? • Becoming a prisoner of familiarity Every child is an artist, the problem is how to remain an artist after he grows up Picasso

20. Flowers Are Red – Harry Chapin The little boy went first day of schoolHe got some crayons and he started to drawHe put colors all over the paperFor colors was what he sawAnd the teacher said, "What you doin' young man?""I'm paintin' flowers" he saidShe said, "It's not the time for art young manAnd anyway flowers are green and red""There's a time for everything young manAnd a way it should be doneYou've got to show concern for everyone elseFor you're not the only one"And she said, "Flowers are red young manAnd green leaves are greenThere's no need to see flowers any other wayThan they way they always have been seen"But the little boy said"There are so many colors in the rainbowSo many colors in the morning sunSo many colors in the flower and I see every one" Well the teacher said, "You're sassyThere's ways that things should beAnd you'll paint flowers the way they areSo repeat after me"And she said, "Flowers are red, young manAnd green leaves are greenThere's no need to see flowers any other wayThan they way they always have been seen"But the little boy said"There are so many colors in the rainbowSo many colors in the morning sunSo many colors in the flower and I see every one"The teacher put him in a cornerShe said, "It's for your own goodAnd you won't come out 'til you get it rightAnd are responding like you should"Well finally he got lonelyFrightened thoughts filled his headAnd he went up to the teacherAnd this is what he said And he said"Flowers are red, and green leaves are greenThere's no need to see flowers any other wayThan the way they always have been seen"Time went by like it always doesAnd they moved to another townAnd the little boy went to another schoolAnd this is what he foundThe teacher there was smilin'She said, "Painting should be funAnd there are so many colors in a flowerSo let's use every one"But that little boy painted flowersIn neat rows of green and redAnd when the teacher asked him whyThis is what he saidAnd he said"Flowers are red, and green leaves are greenThere's no need to see flowers any other wayThan the way they always have been seen"

21. The Judge judge Is the idea an aha! Or an uh-oh? The judge is your role for evaluating an idea and deciding what to do with it Implement Modify Discard

22. The Judge The Judge’s Scale Critical enough To give the warrior an idea worth fighting for Open enough You don’t stifle your artist’s imagination

23. The Judge

24. The Judge

25. The Judge

26. The Judge • Do I need an army of warriors? • Is this the right kind of battle for the warrior (ie never bring a rifle to a tank battle)? • Is the warrior equipped for this kind of battle or can they be so equipped?

27. The Warrior WARRIOR The warrior is your role for carrying your idea from the world “what if” to the world of action, or in this case the Coder

28. The Warrior Who are my greatest enemies ? Lack of Confidence Fear

29. The Warrior Be bold - what qualities do you have that will enable you to implement your idea? Put together your plan - what is your strategy to reach your objective? Put a fire in your belly - what motivates you to reach your goal? Put a lion in your heart - what are you willing to sacrifice? What are the consequences of failure? Fear

30. The Warrior Get going - what excuses may prevent you from getting started? Capitalize on your resources - who are five people who can help you realize your idea? Sharpen your sword - what skills can you develop to implement your idea? Know what you are selling - what is your idea’s “product of the product?” Strengthen your shield - what type of criticism do you expect to receive? How can you deflect it?

31. The Warrior Follow through - what obstacles might get in the way? How will you get around them? Use your energy wisely - what are some needless battles you can avoid? Get up when you get knocked down - how persistent are you? Savor your victories and learn from your defeats - what did you accomplish? What did you learn? Fear

32. Things To Remember If You Want To Be Creative When your are searching for new information … be an explorer When your are turning your resources into new ideas … be an artist Fear

33. Things To Remember If You Want To Be Creative When your are evaluating the merits of an idea… be a judge When your are carrying your idea into action… be a warrior Fear

34. It is important to keep all of your roles • in good shape • There are a fair amount of shifting back and forth • between the roles • Timing is essential Fear

35. How can I make sure that the kick I took wont wear off and I do not need one again? By using the thought monitor Thought Monitor

36. Look at the shoe picture • Ask your self these questions • * Am I getting lazy? • * Am I too busy? • * Am I losing focus? • * Am I becoming arrogant? • * Am I getting timid? • If you answer “yes” to any one of them, that is your warning • to kick that attitude • Use this thought monitor once a day and you wont have to • worry about getting your ends reversed

37. Common Problems • Judge Negative, Not Now, No Way • Wait for a list of developed ideas before ruling • Sometimes its not a go/no go ruling its filling in the blanks so a ruling can be made • Don’t starve or over protect your Warrior, or fear failure and reject everything

38. Common Problems • Unconfident Warrior • Don’t let lack of knowledge paralyze you, you can gain knowledge • No one knows everything, no matter how many acronyms they use • Most technology is BS with no proof, just personal fanboys, but be passionate about what you know • Use what you know, or learn what you need • Don’t get distracted • Nobody moves, nobody gets hurt, but nothing gets done • “It takes 100 people at Microsoft to know everything about Windows or 1 Blake – Give yourself some slack” – Sami Laiho Ignite 2016

39. Common Problems • Don’t know where to start Exploring • No matter where you go, there you are, so start here and work your way out • If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn’t be called research • Lazy Artist • Professional artists don’t take days off, force yourself to create even when you don’t want to or feel up to it. • Art iterates and goes through a number of phases before the final master piece is started • Unconfident Artist • "I am always doing what I can't do yet in order to learn how to do it.“ - Vincent van Gogh

40. Ideas • Last Original Idea • Has long since been forgotten about 10,000 years ago • Every idea is a divertive of another idea • Why humans learned to communicate, so we could share ideas and expand on them. • Sir Isaac Newton - If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. • What can be original is the combination of existing ideas • Watch James Burke – Connections Series • Everything we buy today, isn’t new, its just an iteration of something discovered a long time ago. • What have you bought that was truly original? • The mouse trap might have been original, but there is always a market for a better mouse trap or a market segment for a different mouse trap (eg the humane trap)

41. Ideas • There are no bad ideas, just that some are better then others • “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” - Thomas A. Edison • “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” - Thomas A. Edison • Pablo Picasso is widely quoted as having said that “good artists borrow, great artists steal.” • Steve Jobs famously said in 1996: "Picasso had a saying -- 'good artists copy; great artists steal' -- and we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas.“ and Steve Jobs never had a truly ‘original’ idea in his life.

42. Ideas • Who invented the Smart Phone? • Wasn’t Apple or Android but yet they exist • Who invented the tablet? • Wasn’t Apple • Who invented the first car? • Insert Name of Car Manufacturer here but yet they exist • Karl Benz in is credited with the first modern car in 1886 but it was a powered horseless carriage, which admits it was a divertive work. • Leonardo da Vinci had sketched a horseless, mechanized cart in the early 1500s • In 1769, a Frenchman named Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot built a self-propelled vehicle with a steam engine. The cart moved at a walking pace and was abandoned • Sometime between 1832 and 1839, Robert Anderson of Scotland invented the first electric carriage, which used a rechargeable battery that powered a small electric motor. The vehicles were heavy, expensive and required frequent recharging. They were abandoned in favor of gasoline-powered engines.

43. Ideas • An improvement or different feature(s), whatever is all you need • Product quality (reliability, aesthetics, relevancy) • Delivery (quick and efficient) • Flexibility (ease of use, integration, compatibility) • Service (so many products & apps suck at this) • Quick reaction to trends (is there an upcoming trend that the incumbent is missing) • Sustainability (can you help people become greener?) • Cost (Cost is not price. Is your cost structure lower than the competitor? You could probably outlive them) • Finding the perfect app idea is like digging the earth to find diamonds WRONG!!! It can be just another rock, different in some better way (or not).

44. Sources of Ideas • What do you want? • Be your own customer • Anyone else who shares that need? • What do they want? • Find a customer with a need • Don’t forget foreign customers, for example existing solutions might not work under their conditions • Observe people and see what they struggle with that you think you can solve • Social Media can be mined for ideas like this • I hate… • This sucks! • I wish… • Did someone else deliver a solution that failed or could be improved upon? • Empathy is key here as you have to understand their world and bottle your expertise accordingly, but remember you are the ‘expert’

45. Being the Expert • The Customer is always right? • Maybe, maybe not. Are they more of an expert then you? • If you are the expert and they aren’t, then likely they are wrong. • I like blue but my customers like red, limit your battles to battles that really matter. • If it was easy, it would have been done by now. • Being an expert requires effort!!! “We often miss opportunity because it's dressed in overalls and looks like work” - Thomas A. Edison

46. Sources of Ideas • Sites listing App Ideas • https://www.reddit.com/r/AppIdeas/ • https://github.com/tastejs/awesome-app-ideas • http://www.ideaswatch.com/startup-ideas/app# • http://www.preapps.com/app-ideas • Do you have a hobby/skill/talent/passion you can ‘bottle’ that other people want?

47. Sources of Ideas • Leverage the App Gap • What apps do they have that we don’t • Build a better or different version of an app • App Annie’s Rankings • https://www.appannie.com/apps/windows-phone/top/ • https://www.appannie.com/apps/ios/top/ • https://www.appannie.com/apps/google-play/top/

48. Questionable Ideas • Filling the Void • Existing Voids maybe OK • Creating a Void • Costly to create an impression of a void (Marketing etc) • Avoid the solution looking for a problem • It might be ground breaking but its also very high risk • Most visionaries aren’t • True visionaries didn’t start as visionaries • If your business plans requires you to be Bill Gates, prepare for disappointment!! • Toss anything that requires more then you have.

49. Golden Rule of Ideas • Never ever let an idea escape!!!! • Capture it, write it down in enough detail that it becomes a seed you can plant when the time is right. • Always be ready to capture an idea, as ideas come anytime anywhere. • I use OneNote so I can save and access all of my ideas. Its on my Phone, Laptop, everywhere. Years ago I carried a daytimer/notebook that I could write ideas down in. • I also use Mind Mapping software to capture the idea with enough detail that I can come back to it later without losing the essence of what struck me initially about the idea and build upon ideas as I get further ideas and insights. • Careful who you share ideas with, there are ‘givers’, ‘takers’ and ‘matchers’ just as there are ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ people.

50. Big/small ideas • Lots of small ideas can add up to a pretty successful app business. • Most successful app developers have lots of apps that make some money rather then one single app that hits the motherlode or they did a bunch of apps before hitting the motherlode • Means they were able to learn, refine and practice what makes a profitable app • If you believe in Fail Early, Fail Fast and Fail Often go small apps with volume • 80% of the solution takes 20% of the time usually equals 80% of the revenue • Getting version 1’s out lets customer tell you what version 2 should be, ie let them do the idea work. • The bigger the net you cast, the more fish you catch • Generate lots of ideas and harvest the best ideas for the best results. • How much money do you need? • Big Ideas are usually difficult, long and expensive!!