Testing if you are actually solving the right problem for the right people usually requires no programming knowledge. It's mostly about talking to people. This

Testing if you are actually solving the right problem for the right people usually requires no programming knowledge. It's mostly about talking to people. This step is of course often skipped by programmers because we like to build something and go from there. A good customer development person is worth their weight in gold (as are designers). Most programmers (including me) really do need such a person. The typical "idea guy" however...is just annoying and unfortunately that's the people that usually randomly ask me "oh i think you can program i have this great idea...". Since parent poster learns to program he/she's way ahead of the curve though and I doubt he/she's just an idea guy.