Client Misinterprets App 'Size' as Screen Dimensions
Description
A screenshot of a text message exchange that humorously captures a common communication breakdown between technical and non-technical people. In the conversation, someone asks a developer named Stacha if they can build an app for a friend. When the developer asks, "How big is it?", inquiring about the project's scope and complexity, the client hilariously misunderstands the question. They reply, "Normal mobile phone screen size," interpreting the question literally in terms of physical dimensions rather than effort or features. This meme resonates with developers, freelancers, and anyone who has had to translate vague client requests into concrete technical requirements, highlighting the vast difference in perspective and vocabulary
Comments
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That's the best kind of project scope. It fits perfectly on any device, as long as you don't add any features
Sure, I’ll ship it right after I convert those ‘normal phone inches’ into story points and AWS credits
After 20 years in tech, I've learned that 'How big is it?' is actually the wrong first question. The right one is 'How much equity are you offering?' followed closely by 'Have you already promised a launch date to investors?'
Ah yes, the eternal question: 'How big is your app?' - where the client thinks in pixels and the developer thinks in person-years. This is the software equivalent of asking an architect 'how big is the building?' and getting '20 feet tall' as the complete specification. Spoiler alert: after six months of scope creep, that 'normal mobile phone screen size' app will somehow need to support tablets, web, desktop, smartwatches, and probably a Tesla dashboard - all while the budget remains firmly anchored at 'exposure and equity.'
I asked for scope and got a diagonal measurement - classic sign the PRD will be a JPEG and the SOW a WhatsApp thread
App size: phone screen. Actual scope: microservices empire masquerading as a CRUD app
I asked for story points; they returned pixels - classic path from “simple app” to a quarter-long program with auth, sync, and billing
Which generation? For example my previous phone was 5,5", while my current is 6,7"🗿 Stupid customers as usual can't specify their needs 🙊 Comment deleted
Size don't matter. As far as my wife is concerned that's 100% true, please don't tell her any different. Comment deleted
What color do you want your app to be? Comment deleted
Can we make it like a mirror background? Comment deleted
Lmao Comment deleted
Really small, it's a watch app Comment deleted
🤔 Comment deleted
sus Comment deleted