Add a little surprise to life and be a prototype designer of creative life -- sharing with X contestants in the programming challenge

Preface

Most people who make products skip a pit ： I have a good product idea , Only one programmer is needed to help me program .

In fact, from product creativity to landing and launching , A very complicated process is required , The logical flow of details is the difficulty , Creativity cannot be achieved , It's not worth the money .

The author of this article, Li Xinchun, was last year RTE 2021 Programming challenge 「SDK Application Innovation Track 」 The winner of the , In order to avoid some detours for this year's contestants , We invite him to combine his previous project experience and competition experience , Talk about After having a good idea , How to make creativity not only stay in your mind, but also be able to truly land in real life .

The following text ：

First , I'm glad to share this . Last year, I was honored by the judges and won the first place of the track , It coincides with the start of this year's challenge , I hope I can sum up my small success last year into experience , Share it with every contestant .

The topic I share is 「 Be a prototype designer of creative life 」, Each of us may have a variety of ideas in our life , I will share with you how we can stimulate creativity and ideas , And how to realize the rapid landing of creativity through some methods and tools .

01 Creativity comes from zihi

The so-called creativity is largely our self hi . But zihi is not just a waste of time , It is to think deeply after having an idea , Think about how to complete the creation of products and the realization of projects .

Where might our usual ideas come from ？ I combed the following three points ：

● Life summary

We will encounter all kinds of things in life , In dealing with all kinds of things , From time to time, there will be a flash of inspiration . For example, I want the humidifier to automatically detect the room temperature and humidity of the environment , Realize dynamic adjustment ; I want to see my cat all the time , Know where my cat is , So through a monitoring , Use a set of algorithms to identify and find my cat .

● Work practice

People from all walks of life , There will be all kinds of needs , In the process of solving requirements , Let go of creativity . I came across an idea when I entered the competition last year ——「 Fish guide 」, An online virtual conference room is realized through the product tools provided by the sound network , Have a meeting with yourself . Although not very recommended , But occasionally we can still find some similar ideas and ideas , Improve your happiness , Add some fun to life .

● Technological progress

Technology changes life , Various emerging new concepts provide a rich soil for our creative innovation . Now augmented reality 、AR/VR There are many applications of , And virtual anchors 、 Meta universe 、5G High speed network and so on , And all kinds of DIY Electronic component equipment , It provides us with a fast track to realize ideas .

02 Problem analysis , Build original solutions

When we have an open mind , How to analyze , Then build the solution ？ This process is actually the process from self hi to actual landing .

1、 Creativity takes root

Better a good memory than a bad pen , Good analysis makes good creativity . Want to put creativity to root , Here I recommend three software ：

●XMind

Xmind It is one of the software I often use , When I have some ideas and ideas , I will use this software to sort out the first step .XMind The mind map structure contains a central theme , The main branches radiate from the central theme . In addition to the basic mind map structure ,XMind It also provides an organization chart , Tree view , Logic diagram, etc .

For example, I defined a smart home system , First of all, I want to define the form of my device and Application , Then what abilities do you have, Zhongtai , And how to complete the implementation step by step according to the path . adopt XMind I can quickly brainstorm my ideas .

● Axure RP

This is a rapid prototyping tool . No matter what it is web In the form of or small programs , Both can pass Axure RP Quickly display your ideas visually , Build a prototype to test the solution and collect feedback , Share with the team 、 Iterate until the right solution is found .

● Ink knife / Moke et al

Similar to ink knife 、 Moke is a kind of shared office software , Improve our efficiency 、 Strengthen collaboration 、 Optimizing the process provides a faster and simpler solution . Intelligent annotation 、 One click cut 、 Full picture board 、 Various comments 、 Interaction prototypes 、 Attachment support , From product to development , Just one document .

2、 Product analysis

Use tools to turn ideas in your mind into products , It is inevitable to conduct some product level analysis , I have listed the dimensions of analysis 4 spot ：

● Business feasibility

Business feasibility analysis is the first step . Where does my idea come from ？ What problems have been solved ？ What audience ？ What effect can it bring after landing ？ Through these levels of analysis , It can strengthen our own recognition and information of creativity . A good idea after feasibility analysis , There is usually a better show . If the result of the analysis is not ideal , Through analysis, detours can also be avoided .

● Technical feasibility

After the idea comes out , We need to think about what technologies we need to use . For example, in the field of smart home , need AIoT equipment , Need to use efficient audio and video transmission , Visual presentation is required 、 Client development and so on .

In addition to analyzing what technologies are needed in the technical feasibility analysis , You also need to analyze whether you have mastered these technologies , For example, basic code Ability 、 The ability of interaction design 、UI The ability to design 、 The ability of architecture design and so on .

● Economic feasibility

Take the competition of voice network as an example , Our economic feasibility analysis needs to be considered for both individuals and teams . Whether the cost is controllable ？ Whether additional hardware equipment needs to be purchased ？ And whether the value of the product is worth the corresponding investment ？ Whether there is a profit model, etc .

● Social feasibility

The so-called social feasibility , It refers to whether the product can be recognized by the public , And how we promote it , Let our products land and form a product that is accepted by everyone . Another important point is whether it conforms to public order and good customs , You can't do anything illegal .

3、 Solution design

All kinds of work, no matter how big or trivial , Complex before simple . After the analysis , We need to design the solution first . The following figure is an idea design for the smart home platform when I participated in the competition ：

In the process of design , I considered using the cloud base , Consider which sensing devices you need to use 、 Network settings ; The empowering part of Zhongtai is to use AI Analyze the algorithm , So which algorithm to choose ？ How to build a middle office 、 How to conduct access management .

In addition, in the application service part , We need to consider the main functions of our services . For example, remote assistance for furniture scenes 、 Guardianship of the elderly and children, etc . The way of presentation is APP、 Small program or H5？ Or directly embedded in the third-party platform ？

In the process of solution design , In fact, it integrates the analysis of all dimensions in the product analysis stage , So as to realize the scheme construction .

4、 Balance and trade-off

equilibrium , Between all things . About this part , After the solution comes out , Will you think about whether we really need to carry out such a complex design ？ We need to break down the brainstorming ideas 、 Filter and prune , Consider which functions we don't need ？ Which functions are the core functions ？

For example, we need to carry out audio and video communication , First of all, surveillance cameras are necessary , Video transmission bottom SDK And application software is necessary , Display on the platform is also needed , This requires balance and trade-offs .

We can't be in the process of rapid implementation of ideas , Directly complete a very complex implementation , This will be very expensive , Therefore, it needs to be within a limited time and cost , Put your ideas to the ground quickly .

After the preparation is finished , We need to follow our design , Choose a suitable way to really land .

1、 Sort out the design ideas

The significance of combing , Is to find out how to achieve the goal in the fastest way . Here we also make a hierarchical table , It is divided into equipment 、 Middle office capacity building 、 Product design and users are combed at four levels .

The first is equipment . I believe that many contestants are engaged in the hardware industry , You can use your own hardware directly , Some friends who are not familiar with hardware , You can use semi-finished products or some mature products . Like smart glasses , There are many devices that can be directly accessed and used only by software programming .

After selecting the device , We need to think about the construction of the capacity of China and Taiwan . There are many relatively perfect market-oriented platforms , Direct access can realize the development of the project . Some semi self-service platforms can provide various SDK Or some professional ability , It can also realize the rapid construction of platform capabilities . What kind of platform to choose depends on the size of the team , And specific planning .

Product design level , It needs to be considered that the product is expanded on the basis of existing products 、 improvement , Or innovate completely . We use RTE Take the programming contest as an example , Both the official and previous contestants have provided many good ideas or works , Based on these projects, some optimizations or functional complements are made , It is also one of the ways to quickly implement projects and ideas .

The last thing to sort out is the user level . It is a very vertical small circle of users , such as IT Groups 、 Design group or pet communication group ; Or serve industry users in a certain field , Like transportation 、 Medical treatment, etc. ; Or serve all users , Everyone can use , This matter also needs to be sorted out and considered in advance .

2、 Extreme simplicity

Delete embellishment , Hold the center of gravity . After choosing a road , We need to consider how to simplify the design of this jump .

The first point is linear thinking . The shortest straight line between two points , If we just want to start from 0 To 1 Fast implementation of , When thinking, you need to think positively about how to get through .

The second point is to simplify the design . Because in the early stage, only positive communication is considered , You can temporarily ignore compatible designs such as roundtrip , Such as error reporting and exception handling . After the road runs through , If there is more time , Then simplify the design , Embody more rich functions and contents .

The third point is also more important , Equivalent substitution . Equivalent substitution mainly solves some problems that cannot be solved temporarily 、 Problems that cannot be overcome . For example, I prefer to use C perhaps C++ Programming , about Java also Python The level of understanding is not enough , It also lacks the ability of website construction . Therefore, I need to enter how to complete the implementation based on my existing ability , Achieve equivalent substitution for the ability I don't have .

For example, I have no team and experience in website development , Then I can use it as a client , use CS Architecture implementation ; The demand for the network , You can edit simple PHP The script realizes the connection of the network ; In the case of hundreds or thousands of concurrent , It can realize the request of adding the network through the client , Finally, the processing flow of local implementation , That is, through equivalent substitution , The software design is completed without affecting the actual use .

04 A small case

Finally, I want to take our previous entries as an example , Share the process of this project from idea to implementation .

Our project at that time was a management platform for smart home . The reason for this idea , Because I am a careless person in my life , Often forget everything 、 Can't find anything . Another thing is that the weather in Shanghai is so hot , I really want to turn off the air conditioner before I go home 、 Turn on the humidifier and the like .

Of course, many smart home platforms now have such functions , But it will involve some security issues , Because you need to transmit data online , And I don't want to expose the information commonly used at home to the Internet . So I want to build such a platform , It can realize my internal monitoring of the family 、 Perception of environmental state , And some remote control and automatic adjustment . For example, how much the room temperature exceeds at home or at a certain time , The air conditioner will turn on automatically ; adopt AI Monitor the action track of the cat at home , Draw it down and make a track diagram , It can also be regarded as adding a joy to life .

So in the last competition , We built such an idea into a smart home management platform . Through wearable devices 、 Smart home devices 、 Video monitoring equipment to control . And we ourselves DIY A smart car , You can patrol at home .

In the actual development process , I use two types of video surveillance . The first is myself DIY My car , There is a surveillance camera on the car , I can control it to run around the house , Patrol .

The second type of monitoring is the monitoring video in the LAN . I can bind this part of the surveillance video IP Or you can get it directly by streaming , Then conduct internal monitoring . Of course, I can go through USB Connect more cameras , Add monitoring for a certain location .

In addition to these hardware devices , I also use the bottom of the sound network SDK Realize the transmission of audio and video , And the sound network crystal ball platform to carry out traffic 、 Management of video and connection status . Finally, all kinds of information will be analyzed and displayed in real time , Finally, the visual platform shown in the above figure is realized .

Because this platform is networked , So I can add external video streams and data access at any time as needed . The interesting thing is , At the monitoring level, in addition to the conventional portrait recognition algorithm , We also added an additional cat recognition algorithm .

As I said before, the overall project , Linear thinking 、 Extremely simple way to complete . In the actual development process , I deleted many functions , Such as environmental perception 、 Access control monitoring and the like are included in the scheme , But there is no development of relevant functions , However, this kind of function is the same as the access logic of monitoring video equipment , If necessary, you can add it at any time .

If any company or team thinks our products are very interesting , Willing to enrich and expand together , We also welcome .

Q&A

1、 What do you think is the biggest difficulty in creative landing ？

Li Xinchun ： I think the biggest difficulty is to do it . Everyone is very quick when opening their minds to create ideas , But when you really want to land, you will encounter various problems , For example, the programming ability is not enough 、 Not every technology stack , This was a big problem for me at that time . Meet this kind of problem , My suggestion is to find a partner , Gather your strength to complete .

Another point is the simple development idea . Let's start with a very rough concept to get through the overall project , Refine frame by frame . This is equivalent to reducing the difficulty of development , Don't let your thoughts suddenly break .

2、 What is the biggest gain from participating in the competition ？

Li Xinchun ： Say it frankly , There will be a lot of bonus income . In addition, the sound network has made a very strong support for the overall competition process , In addition to helping contestants complete the project , It can also help understand other related products on the market , Expand understanding of new technologies and Applications .

In my several contacts with voice network , I learned a lot of information I didn't know before . For example, the sound network has made low latency in the field of audio and video , Basically in 4G Can achieve good results in the network state , With the help of 5G Basically, the perceptible delay can be eliminated . And in terms of development , The sound network first provides a platform , And it will provide developers with a long free use time , This has greatly improved my platform planning . You can also sign up for a voice network account , Take a look at network management and user management , And authorization management , I believe it can bring you some improvements in system planning .