Building an Indie App (2): Why I Chose Conversations Over Charts | Inbox Experiments #6

Hey, Yunus here 👋

Today's issue comes with a powerful bonus toolkit to transform your unclear ideas into structured product roadmaps. Don't miss it at the end!

Last week, I shared how I discovered my personal rhythm patterns and decided to build Pulse → an app that works with your biological clock, not against it. This week, I'm diving into a crucial design decision: Why I'm building around conversations instead of traditional dashboards.

🧠 Data Alone Doesn't Make Changes and Hard to Reach

When I started this app, I knew one thing: I refused to create another passive dashboard drowning in graphs.

I wanted something that would actively guide users not just report their past. Something that felt like having a personal coach in your pocket.

To achieve that, I needed three things:

• Personal coaching that adapts to you

• Behavioral control that actually work

• Real intimacy that builds trust

The solution became clear for me: Chat-based interaction.

🧪 This Week's Experiment: Why Conversations Win

I chose conversation-based design because it solves three critical problems:

1. Active guidance vs. passive reporting Instead of showing you yesterday's sleep score, it commands: "You only got 5 hours last night. Earn back what you lost with a 30-minute walk."

2. Consistent engagement through user input Users willingly return to log their activities and get immediate feedback (crucial since iOS limits background data collection). The conversation makes data entry feel natural, not like homework.

3. Emotional connection over cold metrics Numbers build spreadsheets. Conversations build trust.

💬 Designing Meaningful Interactions

I didn't want random chatbot chatter. Every interaction serves a purpose, rooted in real data and real needs.

When you open Pulse, you won't see generic prompts like "How do you feel?"

Instead, you get actionable guidance based on what you tell it:

• "Did you sleep well last night? Only 5 hours? That's -1 point. Let's earn it back—walk 30 minutes today to hit your goal."

• "It's 3 pm! Did you finish that walk? Wow, you walked for an hour—that's +2 points! You're almost at today's goal!"

• "I see you passed your walk today. That's -2 points, but tomorrow's a fresh start. Want to set a reduction goal?"

🔢 The Psychology Behind Points

Here's another key decision: I built a simple scoring system to drive consistent, healthy actions.

Earn points for:

• ✅ Quality sleep: 7+ hours (+2 points)

• 🚶 Daily movement: 20+ minutes (+1 point)

• 🧘 Mindful breaks: 10+ minutes (+1 point)

Lose points for:

• Poor sleep: Under 6 hours (-1 point)

• Smoking (-2 points)

• No movement logged (-1 point)

(These points are not final decision yet but tells the system clear to you - I hope.)

(Future versions will include other needs for ex. nutrition guidance: eating processed foods, drinking alcohol, or other unhealthy choices will also impact your score)

But this isn't about pressure or guilt. It's about momentum. Users see progress, feel motivated, and naturally return.

The goal: Pulse doesn't control you. It makes you control yourself.

💡 The Bigger Realization

When I started, I thought I was building a UI. Now I see I'm designing something deeper, kinda relationship.

People don't want more dashboards. They want smarter conversations. At least I do :)

🎁 Your Free Toolkit

Reading helps but doing transforms. I've created something special for you:

✨ Plan Your Indie App: 5-Step Product Roadmap (Notion Template)

Complete with ChatGPT prompts that take you from fuzzy ideas to crystal-clear roadmaps.

👉 Grab your free toolkit here (ready-to-use prompts included)

📩 Your Turn

Did you build any product? Digital asset, mobile app, SaaS, physical product, anything? Hit reply and send it to me. I'll feature the best ones to my 2,000+ readers in upcoming issues!

Or tell me: What's your biggest blocker in turning ideas into products? I read every single response and often turn them into full experiments.

Next week: Inbox Experiments #7 → From Data to Guidance. How I transform onboarding answers into real-time coaching.

Stay curious, stay building.

Yunus 🚀