GoKawiilConsider the “nouns” that live inside an app of your choice:
You can spend hours building a list for just one app. But the more interesting exercise is weighting the nouns in the app- considering which ones have the most “gravity” from the eyes of the user:
You quickly realize that most apps, even the multi-billion dollar ones, revolve around one or two nouns- I like calling these nucleus nouns. Every other noun is a “satellite”.
Nucleus nouns are how I think about apps. Whenever I’m learning an app for the first time, I consciously build out this gravity model. It’s an easy way to cut through the bullshit. I don’t care that your app “optimizes sales efficiency with streamlined processes”. Fuck that. Oh? Your nucleus noun is “Email”? Got it. Now we’re getting somewhere.
Companies with a firm understanding of their nucleus nouns can use them as weapons. They make them part of their brand: ✨ the company that knows X better than anyone else ✨. If companies lose sight of it, the customer feels it:
If nucleus nouns are not represented in your marketing materials, buyers feel it.
If nucleus nouns are not at the top of your API documentation, engineers feel it.
If nucleus nouns don’t impact hiring decisions, expertise will crumble.
Nucleus nouns may seem obvious to many readers. Those that understand the basics of database design might find this second nature. But, I have experienced major communication breakthroughs with team members of all technical abilities by explicitly listing out the “nouns in scope” for a new project.
When starting a new project, list out the nouns with your team. Then, consider this:
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