ARMAN HEZARKHANI: As technologists, we build things.
We build apps and websites, self-driving cars,
and burrito delivery services, meme generators,
and, well, you get the point.
But why are we doing this?
What's the point of this technology?
My name is Arman Hezarkhani.
And in this video, I plan to answer these questions
and more.
Welcome to the Developer Student Clubs Solution Challenge.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
Here at Developer Student Clubs, the point of technology
is to build solutions to local problems.
So what makes a solution successful?
What separates successful products
used all around the world and products
that fail to get any users?
Simply put, successful solutions solve a well-defined problem,
and unsuccessful solutions don't.
Let's look at an example.
A lot of times, people will jump right
into building a project they're super excited about.
They'll spend weeks and even months
developing it, leading up to an incredible launch
with zero users.
That's not great.
But for some reason, this is a time old story,
and it happens to students, entrepreneurs,
and even large companies.
Why?
Most of the time, it's because they
started at the wrong place.
A lot of scientists, engineers, and inventors
alike start by thinking of a really cool idea
rather than a really tough problem, which
leads to all these really cool ideas
with no real-world application.
The key is to start by identifying a problem,
then deciding how you want to apply technology
to solve that problem.
When building any project, the most important step
is identifying a true problem, something that people truly
feel.
A lot of people don't spend enough time here
because honestly, it's difficult and it's time consuming.
Like anything else though, the hardest part
is getting started.
So here are three ways I'd recommend
to help begin the process.
Why not just start right on your campus?
Grab a pen and paper and go speak
to as many students, researchers, and faculty
you can find.
Ask them where they spend most of their time, what
they find most difficult, and what they wish they had.
Over time, you'll notice some trends
that you can use to define shared problems right
on your campus.
David Asem and his Developer Student Club in Ghana
used this approach to develop a VR application
for first-year students on their campus.
You can also approach local businesses or NGOs.
You can choose one business or organization
and solve a problem specific to them,
or you can choose to identify and solve
a shared problem for a group of these organizations.
Either way, it begins with a conversation.
You can send emails or make calls,
but it's often best to just go and knock on some doors.
Grab that same pen and paper, hop on a bike,
and ride over to these local organizations
to ask them how you can help.
You can also identify problems at the community level.
These are problems that your community shares as a whole.
One Developer Student Club in Jakarta
was in a community that suffered from floods every year, causing
damage to homes and lives.
They realized that if people had more time
to react to the crisis, a lot of damage could be avoided.
The team learned all of this by speaking
to members of their community and learning about their pains.
Eventually, this led to them creating
an app that allowed users of a community
to alert each other of oncoming floods, saving infrastructure,
money, and lives.
Now I'm not sure if you noticed, but these three methods
have one thing in common.
They all start with a conversation
with a student, an organization, or any other member
of your community.
If you speak to enough people, you'll
feel the friction in their lives.
And once you do, you can identify their problems.
Once you've done this, you're on your way
to building a great solution that will touch lives
right in your community.