This may also provide some additional insight into our team operated,
particularly for those not familiar with web development.

1. We began by setting the structure of what we needed to do through
out the weekend. Brainstorm, Wireframes, Backlog of tasks,
Development, Testing, Deployment, Presentation. Marketing would happen
in parallel with wireframing.

2. Brainstorm – In the first two hours, we worked out what our idea
was and our direction. We had a general brainstorm, then a targeted
brainstorm.

2. Wireframes: By the next 1-2 hours, we had our wireframes (layout)
done and the developers had already started grabbing all the tools we
needed. The wireframes were initally drawn up on the white board by
hand by myself and Allen. Once we agreed, I drew them up on the large
butchers paper, in a story board fashion and put them up on the wall
for everyone to see. My role was more of a product manager, as I sat
between the developers and the business guys.

3. The wireframe/story board also helped to explain it to anyone new
coming in, so they were quickly able to jump in and help. Whenever
anyone new came into the room, I took on that responsibility as “front
of house” and answered any questions they had. I then walked them
through our wireframes.

4. Development – It was amazing to have two dedicated and hardworking
developers, including James who had gaming experience. We went and
found existing tools we could use so we didn’t have to do stuff from
scratch. We also developed it in Ruby, which is great for rapid
prototyping. I focused everyone on creating a good product first, then
we focused on monetisation. I used to think the other way around but I
kinda had the sense that there was a business model around it, that if
I created something useful, people would pay for it.

5. By 2am, we had it done and deployed.

6. Testing – The next morning, the business guys tested it while our
developers kept working. We wrote our consolidated feedback on the
whiteboard. Then everyone debated which features we would prioritise,
sorting them to P1 / P2 / P3 (P = Priority). The Devs then addressed
P1 & P2, and covered all of them. Some of them, we did on the fly
(e.g. make this pic smaller).

7. MVP – I knew that we didn’t need to develop everything for an MVP
(Minimum Viable Product) to win. We made screen grabs / photoshopped
the other sections as needed.

8. While this was happening, the business guys started debating
monetisation models. There was a lot of vigorous debate happening
across the room, so I made them get into a corner and discuss it so it
didnt affect our developers. I trusted them to work it out, while I
started doing the presentation with the vision and opportunities.

9. By approx 4pm, development pretty much stopped. We all focused on
doing the presentation and giving feedback.

10. One final thing, I kept hearing about the other teams and I pretty
much blocked it out. I needed to focus on our project. But
ocassionally, someone would say “Feel@Home has this killer idea,
they’ll give us a run for our money! Or Group X has a 3D
presentation”. That just made me double down and work harder.

Cheers,

Matt