You have an app idea. You can picture it well in your mind, its screens, flow, and how it solves the actual problem. However, once you get down to the business of explaining it to a developer, there seems to be a communication gap, and suddenly, you find yourself trying to describe the idea by making gestures while telling how it’s just “like Uber but for...”

This is one of the most frequent problems in the relationship between the founder and developers. And the thing is that it has nothing to do with your idea. Everything depends on how you describe it to a developer. Developers are not supposed to be coding the app themselves, but they certainly need a clear structure of their thoughts in order to materialize them into something tangible.

Let me show you how to solve the problem.

Why "Just Explaining It" Doesn't Work

A common mistake by founders is to think that a verbal presentation is all they need to do. Not so, certainly not for developers. A verbal presentation is supposed to create excitement. For a developer, you need something else: accuracy. You will be asked by them such things as "what will happen if a user does X rather than Y," or "does this screen need to function offline?" You cannot consistently answer these kinds of questions if the concept is still just in your mind.

Every minute that a developer has to spend trying to figure out what you mean is a minute wasted and money spent. The way to solve this problem is to transform your ideas into a set of artifacts.

1. Start With a One-Page Product Requirement Document (PRD)

Create an outline of the essentials using clear language. While not having to be a 20-page specification, but rather something shorter (a single sheet of paper is better), the process of writing will force you to think through some issues thoroughly. What should be included:

1. The problem you solve for which audience

2. The main path of user interaction, the one thing that a user should be able to do

3. Essential features for the first version (being brutal here is good)

4. Good-to-have features, which you consciously defer

5. Success criteria, what would mean the success of your MVP

It is worth noting that this document will serve two purposes at once. It will help you to think through your idea in more detail, and it will be a guide for developers for making decisions if there is any. Founders usually avoid creating such a document because they see it as extra work before the actual development begins. In reality, it is the cheapest form of insurance against misunderstanding.

2. Sketch Wireframes Before You Touch Any Design Tool

Wireframes are essentially the visual framework for your idea. No colors, logos, or other elements required. Actually, such additions are not required at all since they take away attention from the key goal, showcasing the structural and workflow aspects rather than aesthetic ones.

The process may start with a pen and paper. Sketch the screen as a box with some basic ideas on the placement of buttons, text, and images. Then number all the screens and use arrows to demonstrate the way the user navigates from one screen to another. Such exercise will help you identify gaps in your reasoning as well as missing screens or actions that have no next steps.

After you are done with the sketching on the paper, transfer it to any digital wireframe-making software. It is unnecessary to master any special skills to do this, as there is a bunch of software created for people who are not designers. They all allow adding boxes, buttons, and text fields by using drag-and-drop technology. The result should not be aesthetically pleasing but quite understandable for developers.

3. Turn Wireframes Into an App Idea Prototype

Static wireframe communicates structure. A clickable prototype demonstrates behavior, and behavior is what leads to misunderstandings the most. The moment when you manage to create a prototype from your wireframes, in which people will be able to click and feel the whole experience, you don’t need to speak about it anymore; you show it.

And this is more important than most entrepreneurs understand. This is what separates saying to a developer, "when the user clicks on this button, it should lead to their profile," from letting them actually try clicking this button and landing there. This is the difference between a statement and proof. Using prototyping tools intended for non-technical users allows you to create navigation between different screens using only clicks and without any coding.

App idea prototype also becomes an outstanding way to communicate with different people:

1. Test the process with potential users before starting to write a single line of code

2. Sell the concept to investors with a prototype instead of a presentation

3. Train designers, marketers, co-founders, etc. quickly

4. Document the "Invisible" Logic

Wireframes and prototypes describe how the user experiences the product, but not how the process takes place, and this is where most of the founders vs developers miscommunication starts. List down a short description to answer the following questions on each important feature:

What information does this page need to display or gather?

What rules apply to it? ("Booking cannot be done less than 2 hours in advance")

What actions should be taken when an error occurs? ("Failed payment, no internet connection, empty results")

There is no need for technical language in your list; plain English will work just fine. An item such as "If the user has an empty cart, then display a message and the button to start browsing products" is quite enough.

5. Prioritize Ruthlessly: Show Your MVP, Not Your Vision

The temptation founders have is to present the big vision of their product to the developers. Don’t give in to it for your development pitch. The developers should clearly understand how to build one thing at a time, rather than everything they can do in the future.

Divide your information into two categories:

MVP scope: the minimal set of screens and functionality to test your hypothesis with real users

Everything else, the rest, in a different document

This will help to keep the first development cycle manageable and relatively inexpensive, and demonstrate that you know the basics of product strategy, thus creating trust between you and developers.

6. Bring Real Examples, Not Just Descriptions

If any apps out there do something along the lines of what you’re thinking about, don’t hesitate to cite those apps directly. “The checkout process needs to be similar to this app,” or “the navigation experience needs to be similar to this app,” is a very quick and tangible way to get developers on the right track. It’s not being dishonest, it’s just more concise.

Just make sure that you’re citing the right part of the app. “I like this app” doesn’t really tell developers much.

7. Be Ready to Answer "Why," Not Just "What"

If you present your prototype, prepare yourself for some questions and welcome them. An excellent developer will want to know why it is needed to have such functionality implemented, rather than what should be done there. These sorts of questions are not intended to stop you; on the contrary, they are aimed at creating something more useful than you could imagine initially.

Putting It All Together

What separates the successful founders from their peers is not the quality of the slides or jargon used. What makes the difference is that they have actually done the hard work of taking an abstract idea and converting it to reality in the form of a simple requirements document, wireframes, an app idea prototype that can be clicked around, and simple instructions for behavior.

None of which means you need to learn how to code. All it takes is the patience to consider your app idea prototype as a builder would, screen by screen and decision by decision. And the result of doing all this preparation work at the beginning of the project means that your conversation with your developer stops being about negotiating expectations and starts being about collaboration.