Your First Application. Where to Start?
So you decided to build a mobile app or a website that may well result in a significant score for your business. That's awesome! And now it’s time to take a deep breath and bring it to fruition.
What I’ve found is that most of our clients are enchanted with the initial idea (well, so are we!) but lost when it comes to the real questions, set by professional developers.
A couple of words to explain to you the logic of a right vendor:
- A successful software project is based on the solution to the real challenge. It could be a problem concerning your potential clients, buyers or internal staff.
- By just replicating the existing solution with a new software, you need to be sure, that there are hundreds of reasons, why people need one more UBER or another Facebook.
- USP (unique selling proposition) must be part of your strategy. Describe it in more detail to make it obvious to everybody.
You should be brave and realistic when answering these questions. If you have these three key points, now it’s time to look at everything in more detail.
What App Developers Should Know About Your Company
In fact, they should know it front to back. This is where you should give your vendors a concise and complete description of your company, products, services, target audience, benefits and drawbacks in comparison with competitors. Pay more attention to structure, the problems you are going to solve with the help of a new technology, and this particular software. Describe the future perspectives of the business - how everything will develop within months and years. My practical advice: provide your information about each aspect, mentioned above, as a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). It’s the essential challenge you have to face before we can go further.
If the mission is accomplished, let’s move ahead.
The Next Issues Are Surrounding Design and Technology.
Set of technical aspects
Describe your wishes - where the software should work: on mobile devices or desktops? Do you need a mobile app as the main priority, or need both versions together? Are your target group mainly iOS or Android users?Do you need integration with third-party services, like email or social network or CRM system integration? What type of screens and devices are mainly involved?
Put together all technical aspects, which you set as necessary; all other points will be defined during the initial negotiations with vendors.
Based on this data, developers will be able to define what functionality is needed and to prioritise the implementation of each of the features.
What Is It Going to Look Like?
Visualisation. Think of an app or a website, by which you were inspired. It doesn’t mean anyone is going to copy something; it is about getting an understanding of your vision. For sure, predefined corporate design guidelines will be useful too. Summing up all these data, UI designers will visualise the appearance of your app, and even the project cost estimation will be more precise, based on this figures.
What’s the Budget?
Well, nobody has a bright idea of a real budget, without detailed specs and the final determination of the technical issues and working hours. But each additional negotiation cycle and each iteration of non-predefined changes to the software at the final stage of development costs a lot of money. So, by providing your initial budget to the vendor, you could get the real value-for-money software solution in case it’s done by professionals.
What’s the REAL Deadline?
Yesterday, for sure. Whether the new product is related to a startup launch or supports a promo campaign, it is always needed right here, right now (where is my magic wand?), at the latest - in a week. In IT reality, each project must go through all development stages: planning, design, development, testing, launch. When developers know the goals and set the real timeframes, they can plan the development process, the core features and services to build a QUALITY product in-time. The product that can grow in step with your needs, but still works for you right now. (Find out more about an MVP and whether you need it here).
Are You Ready to Start Right Now?
Sure, you are. And it’s high time to collect a whole bag of tricks for your new app development project. Now you know, where to start.And don’t keep waiting to ask your questions, you’ll never know until you ask. Contact me here or via social nets.
Director of Operations and Business Development
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