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How to write a description that becomes a good app (with 12 examples)
The difference between a vague wish and a working tool is about 3 sentences. Here’s the pattern.
Leanfinit · 4 min read
“A budgeting app” is a wish. “A list of what I spent today with a running total against a weekly limit, red when I’m over” is an app. The second 1 took 11 seconds longer to type and will work first time.
The pattern
- 1What you recordThe fields, in your words. Nouns.
- 2What you want to seeA total, a list order, a streak, a flag. Verbs like show, sort, count.
- 3One ruleThe thing a generic app never gets right. “Red if…”, “Remind me when…”, “Reset every…”.
12 descriptions that work
| Vague | Specific |
|---|---|
| A habit app | Three habits, one tap a day each, year heatmap, remind at 20:00 if unticked |
| Shop inventory | Item, left, minimum; red under minimum; a screen with only red items |
| Workout log | Exercise, sets × reps × kg; show last time I did this exercise next to the input |
| Budget | Spend entries vs weekly limit; red when over; resets Monday |
| Plant care | Plants by room, water every N days, today’s list first |
| Order book | Client, item, pickup date, deposit; red if tomorrow and unpaid |
| Meds for mum | Big text, one “Taken” button per dose, repeat alert at +10 min |
| Chore chart | Kids, chores with points, weekly leaderboard, spin for dishes |
| Reading log | Pages per day, streak, month total, mark finished |
| Tips | Per shift: hours, cash, card, tip-out → $/hr; average by weekday |
| Water deliveries | Date, litres, tank; monthly total; works offline |
| Laundry rota | Six flats, slots per day, tap to claim, one claim per day per flat |
2 mistakes to avoid
Listing features you saw in other apps (“dark mode, cloud sync, social”)
Describing the look before the data (“a blue dashboard with cards”)
Describe the data and the rule. Looks and extras are one more sentence, later, once the tool is already working.
Describe your own app →
Takes a few sentences. Private, yours.