I am a software engineer, and building a useless project is unfortunately easy. For a medium or large project, I recommend implementing a workflow process to create a valuable product.
Document all the features you envision for the product during a brainstorming session.
Subsequently, prioritize and select the most crucial features to build an MVP of the product.
Register all MVP features in a task management application, providing title, description, and acceptance criteria.
If possible, request an UI/UX designer to create a Figma project encompassing all MVP features.
Align the Figma project with the developer, and be the tester for each feature delivered.
I am a software engineer, and building a useless project is unfortunately easy. For a medium or large project, I recommend implementing a workflow process to create a valuable product.