Before starting a new app, write a one-page memo to a skeptical version of yourself. This person likes building too, but has seen your abandoned repositories.
The memo has six short sections. If one requires a paragraph of hand-waving, you have found your next research task.
The user and the moment
Describe who experiences the problem and when. “Busy people” won’t do. “A freelance tutor planning tomorrow’s lessons after a late cancellation” gives you something to investigate.
The existing solution
Name the app, service, spreadsheet or habit that handles the job today. Explain why the user might switch despite the inconvenience of learning something new. No competitor is rarely an acceptable answer.
The evidence
Include a few dated observations and links. Label interviews, store facts, vendor estimates and your own reasoning differently. Don’t inflate a small sample into a market claim.
The business constraint
Choose the commercial problem most likely to hurt: reaching users, recurring use, support, infrastructure cost, willingness to pay or dependence on another platform. Show a simple scenario with explicit assumptions rather than a single optimistic forecast.
The first test
Describe what you can learn before a substantial build. Give it a time limit and a result that would make you stop. “Launch and see” is a large experiment with a poorly labeled budget.
The decision
Choose investigate, test, build a bounded version, or pass. Add the next action and a review date. You can change your mind later; keep the old memo so you can see what changed.
The memo isn’t a pitch deck. It is a tool for spending your attention well. A convincing reason to pass can be just as valuable as a convincing reason to build.