Ever wondered what it takes to bring a mobile app to life?
The process our customers go through when they hire us app development and take that app to market. The first step is that flash of insight, the idea.
Once a client has an idea, we suggest compiling details by answering the following questions.
What platform should this be on – iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone?
Will it be static, or will it have new content added regularly?
What features will it use?
The camera, GPS, accelerometer, or other hardware?
Will it link to Twitter, Facebook, and other social media assets?
Does it require 3D animations or connections to back-end databases?
One of the most important questions to ask is what is the budget?
What is App Development
As you might suspect, the more complex an app is, the more it will cost to build. But apps offering more functionality also have the potential to provide higher returns.
It’s essential to have realistic budget goals when running into product development. When a new client reaches out to us, we introduce them to an account manager.
The first step after initial contact is to exchange a non-disclosure agreement, which protects the client’s idea. We understand how important intellectual property is.
A formal estimate is then put together and presented to the client, who can either accept the costs or make adjustments to the functionality to fit better the budget they had in mind.
Upon reaching an agreement, everything gets spelled out in a detailed statement of work. The cost for each development portion is laid out, so a client can see where resources are being allocated.
The actual programming is assigned to expert coders in the client’s choice of Operating Systems.
Our Project Managers and Account Managers keep in touch with the clients and give them updates at certain milestones like UI design and initial builds.
When the app is complete, the project managers work with the client to submit the app to the appropriate app stores. And once it’s life, if the client would like our help in marketing the app, we would like to step in there too.
That’s one of the things that set us apart. We’re a one-stop for all your digital needs. We can be there with you throughout the entire development and marketing process.
Since we’re developers for hire, the client owns all the rights to any app we build. If it’s a paid app supported by ads or in-app purchases, all that profit goes to the client.
How We Plan App Development Process
1. Strategy
The first step of the mobile app development process defines the strategy for developing your idea into a successful app. You may include a more significant part of this in your overall business mobility strategy. As one app’s objectives may differ from another, there is still an app-specific impact on the mobility strategy during the development process.
In this phase, you will:
- Identify the app users
- Research the competition
- Establish the app’s goals and objectives
- Select a mobile platform for your app
2. Analysis and Planning
At this stage, your app idea starts taking shape and turns into an actual project. After you have identified the requirements for your app, prepare a product roadmap.
Part of the planning step determines the skills required for your app development initiative. For example, iOS and Android mobile platforms use different development technology stacks.
3. UI / UX Design
An app’s design aims to deliver seamless and effortless user experiences with a polished look.
The success of a mobile app is decided based on how well users are adopting and satisfying with all its features. Mobile app UI / UX design aims to create excellent user experiences, making your app interactive, intuitive, and user-friendly.
While polished UI designs will help with early adoption, your app must have intuitive user experiences to keep app users engaged.
4. App Development
Planning remains an essential part of this phase in mobile app development. Before genuine development/programming steps start, you will have to:
- Define the technical architecture,
- Pick a technology stack, and
- Describe the development milestones.
5. Testing
Accomplishing thorough quality guarantee testing during mobile app development creates applications stable, usable, and secure.
A critical step in mobile app testing is to ensure that the final performance matches the user experience designed by the app design team. Your app’s visuals, workflow, and interactivity will give your end-users a first-hand impression of your app.
Many users should test the functionality of your app to cover as many potential testing conditions as possible.
There are many quantitative criteria to use to measure your app’s performance.
- How well is your app responding to the user requests?
- How fast are the app’s screens loading?
- Is your app draining the phone battery or causing memory leaks?
- Does your app leverage network bandwidth efficiently?
- Is the size of your app bigger than what it should be?
Security is of foremost concern for mobile enterprise apps. Any potential exposure can lead to a hack. Many companies hire outside agencies to perform thorough security testing on their applications.
6. Deployment & Support
Releasing a native mobile app requires submitting your app to the app stores, Apple App Store for iOS apps and Google Play for Android apps. However, you will need a developer account with Apple App Store and Google Play Store before launching your mobile app.
An app’s release in the app store requires preparing metadata including:
- Your app’s title
- Description
- Category
- Keywords
- Launch icon
- App Store screenshots
