Technology insights
How we decide what software to build
The questions 7GoaTech asks before turning an idea into a product — and why practical problems make better software than clever features.
Every software company has more ideas than time. What matters is deciding which ideas deserve to become products. These are the questions we ask at 7GoaTech before we commit to building something.
1. Is the problem real, and is it frequent?
The best products remove friction people meet every day. Typing a long recharge PIN digit by digit, reconciling stock in a notebook, or searching through messages for who owes what — small problems that repeat add up to hours.
If we can’t describe the problem in one sentence, using the words the user would use, we don’t build yet.
2. Who exactly is it for?
“Businesses” is not an answer. “A workshop that cuts and edges boards and lends stock to the shop next door” is. A specific user makes for specific design decisions: which screens come first, which words to use, what can be left out.
3. What is the smallest version that is genuinely useful?
We aim to release a focused first version that does one job well, then improve it based on how people actually use it. A product that solves one problem completely is more valuable than one that solves ten problems halfway.
4. What data does it really need?
Every permission and every piece of stored data is a responsibility. We ask what the product needs in order to work, and leave out everything else. Where something can stay on the user’s own device, it should.
5. Can we support it for years?
A product is a commitment. Before we build, we consider how it will be maintained, updated and supported — because people organise their work around the tools they rely on.
These questions don’t guarantee success, but they keep us focused on what matters: software that is useful, reliable and respectful of the people who use it.