Without getting in over your head

Custom projects can feel intimidating — and for good reason.

Too many founders have stories like:

• “We spent $10K on a system we never used.”
  
  
• “The dev ghosted us halfway through.”
  
  
• “It was supposed to be done in 4 weeks. It took 6 months.”
  
  

The problem? Poor scoping.

In this post, we’ll walk through:

• How to define what “custom” means for you
  
  
• The 5 questions to answer before building anything
  
  
• How to avoid overbuilding or underplanning
  
  
• Our approach to scoping solutions that actually get used
  
  

Most Custom Projects Fail in the Planning Phase

It’s not the tech that breaks.

It’s the assumptions.

People build too much too soon — or try to customize before they’re clear on the problem.

So here’s the golden rule:

Start small. Solve something real. Scale later.

Step 1: Define the Problem — Not the Tool

Don’t start with:

“I need a dashboard.”

Start with:

“I’m spending 4 hours a week figuring out where leads come from.”

Then ask:

• What’s the bottleneck?
  
  
• Who’s involved?
  
  
• What decisions are getting delayed or made manually?
  
  
• What’s the opportunity cost?
  
  

Tools follow problems — not the other way around.

Step 2: Answer These 5 Scoping Questions

Before you build anything, get clarity on:

1. What pain are we solving?
   
    (Be specific — hours wasted, money lost, leads dropped.)
   
   
2. What already exists that we’re replacing or improving?
   
    (List all tools, docs, steps, and people involved.)
   
   
3. Who’s going to use this — and how often?
   
    (If the answer is “every day,” you need simplicity. If it’s “once a month,” you need clear reminders and training.)
   
   
4. What’s the success metric?
   
    (What number or behavior will tell us this worked?)
   
   
5. What’s the smallest version we can launch?
   
    (MVP means you can test and adjust before investing too much.)
   
   

Step 3: Map the System Before You Touch the Tech

We use a tool-agnostic whiteboard approach first.

This helps:

• Spot duplicate steps
  
  
• Identify missing automations
  
  
• Build buy-in with stakeholders
  
  
• Choose tools based on flow — not trend
  
  

Only after the map is clear do we move into design, build, and automation.

The MakePlain Method: Scope Before You Scale

We help clients:

• Clarify the real problem
  
  
• Define their process
  
  
• Scope an MVP
  
  
• Build and test in tight loops
  
  
• Document everything for future scale
  
  

So you don’t just get a custom solution — you get a system that sticks.

[Need Help Scoping Your Solution? →]