Greenfield project – how to get it right from the get-go
You lucky programmer you. You get to work on a new project. A shiny new toy for you. All the possibilities that lay ahead. Simply limitless! Now the only question is: how do we do this right? How do we make sure our little project does not end up a big ol’ mess that is impossible to handle.
Decide on the spec
Before you can get your hands dirty, you have to have a plan. Right? You should have a very, very good idea what you have to do. Here are a couple of questions that you should have the answer to before you start any work:
- What are you trying to solve with the project ?
- What is the workflow of the project ?
- What is the expected load (now and in the future)
- What is the most important feature ? If you have to settle for three features, what would they be ?
- Are there any risks you need to look out for ?
Start reading
Now that you know what you’re doing, start reading! Honestly, there is a lot of reading involved before starting a new project. You should know what the available frameworks are, what are their limitations, what are they good/bad at. Additionally, you should have a good idea what add-ons you should use for what tasks and how well documented they are. Another important thing you should look into if known issues. There is a lot of less-than-stellar code out there, you should make sure you’re not relying on one for your awesome project. So, start reading now and don’t stop until you know everything. Well, maybe not everything, but you have a good idea what adding a particular framework means. Little word of advice here, if I may, just because you have experience with something, it does not make it the right tool for the job. Don’t skip over this stage.
Decide on the tech stack
Decisions, decisions! There are a lot of choices out there. Some are more mature (like Spring), while others are quickly changing offering new shiny toys at every turn (like React). You need to make a decision now that will affect the project it’s whole life. No pressure, right ? This is also the stage where you decide the infrastructure: what database will you use ? Will it be hosted on your server, or somewhere in the cloud ? What OS will the server be running on ? How will you do the deployment ? All of these are important questions, so take your time thinking about them now. You’ll thank yourself later. This is also the stage where you are in a safe position to make promises about timelines for your project, set deadlines, milestones, you know, all those things.
Set some ground rules
The beginning an important time for your project! The rules and conventions you set here are going to stick around for a long, long time. Be careful what patterns you add to your project here, they can save you or hurt you easily later down the line. Read about your tech stack’s best practices and make them part of your project. It’s going to be a lot of chaos in the early days of the project. You should be vigilant, so that you spot the changes that go against your rules and correct them.
Good job bearing with me this far. Now it’s time to go out there and make your dream project happen! Cheers!