During my college years as a CS major, I often struggled with personal projects. “What project should I make?”, “How do I even start?” – these questions haunted me constantly. Like many students, I would just jump into coding without any plan, leading to unfinished projects and wasted time. After several failed attempts and eventually learning from my internship experiences, I realized something crucial – making a successful project isn’t just about coding, it’s about following a structured approach. The good news? I learned this the hard way so you don’t have to. Today, I want to share my step-by-step guide that helped me complete multiple projects and even impressed my interviewers.

I will explain this in steps,

1. Set up the Vision or Define Your Problem Statement:
   If you are planning to create software, a program, or a website, you should start with a proper problem statement. A problem statement defines an issue that exists in the world right now. It can be small or big—it doesn’t matter. After that, finalize what your solution will be to address the problem. You should also outline the basic functionality of your software.
2. Software Requirements Specification (SRS) Gathering:
   You need to write down your project’s functional and non-functional requirements. Are you still trying to figure out the difference? Check this for a better understanding: Functional vs. Non-Functional Requirements.
   Once you’ve gathered all the requirements, lock down this phase. Even if you discover a cure for cancer, don’t add it to your wishlist until you’ve completed every listed requirement.
3. Design Phase:
   Now it’s time to select your tech stack. What technology will you use for the front end and back end? What database will you use? You also need to consider your system design—how will data flow from the client to the server? For each requirement, there should be a flowchart explaining the data flow and how you plan to handle it.
4. Sprint Planning:
   Plan your sprints. Use two 2-week sprints and divide your requirements across those sprints. Remember to consider feature dependencies, and document what was targeted and how much you accomplished during each sprint.
5. Start Coding:
   Now you can finally start coding! Focus on one feature at a time. In my opinion, if you are working on the project alone, start by completing the back end with a very simple UI, then gradually improve the front end. Please, please follow best practices. Why? It will make you a better software engineer, and in the job market, employers will recognize that you care and know your stuff.
6. Code Maintenance:
   Build a CI/CD pipeline in GitHub. You can use GitHub Actions—it doesn’t need to be complex, but make sure it’s there. Write unit tests as soon as you finish writing a function. Commit your code regularly, and don’t commit directly to the main branch. In short, follow GitHub’s best practices.
7. Deploy (If Applicable):
   This is where many CS students and professionals fail to finish what they started—deploying their work. You can use free services like Vercel for deployment. Why is this important? No one has the time to visit your GitHub and check your code; they will look at your product instead. So make sure it is easily accessible.
8. Documentation:
   Write a user manual for the solution you created. Document all the sprint information and your development journey. This will tell the whole story. Create a nice Wiki page in GitHub to showcase it, and have a well-written README file.
9. Celebrate and Gather Feedback:
   Once everything is finished, celebrate by sharing your journey on LinkedIn, Reddit, or X. Ask for feedback and listen to it genuinely.

Stay Focused, Stay Consistent.