10 Thing to be considered before developing an App

It is evident that the future of the internet is vested largely with the mobile applications than in the World Wide Web. In the recent years the mobile app development industry has seen tremendous growth and with the introduction of a lot of technological advancement, the field would create a paradigm shift in the internet usage and business models. To develop a mobile application certain factors have to be concentrated and checked. In this post let us see in detail about ten things to consider before developing a mobile app

1. Platform

The first and foremost factor to ponder is the platform in which the app has to be developed. Choosing the platform in which the app has to be developed depends largely on the demographics and geography. If the app is to be used primarily in the US market then it is wise to choose iOS platform than of Android. At some point, one might need to develop the application in all available platforms but then it depends on the needs. The prime directive is that it should reach a wide variety of audience.

2. Native or Hybrid

Native apps application built specifically for an operating system such as Objective-C or swift for iOS and similarly Java for Android. The advantage with Native development is it is customized according to the guidelines of a specific Operating system. On the other hand, Hybrid apps are also becoming more and more popular due to savings in time and cost for multiple platform app development. Both have their pros and cons. So the person who wants an application should prioritize the needs and choose a technology based on the needs and constraints.

3. Backend

The backend is another important area to be considered. The majority of the apps are API-driven but at the same, it is not necessary for every app to have a custom backend and connect to the mobile with the help of APIs. Based on the need a local database too can handle and opting for a backend support costs a lot. One must analyze the need for backend & cost constraints before opting for one.

4. Analytics

Analytics in Mobile apps is on its early stage of growth. Analytics helps in understanding the performance of the application among the desired users. This gives a pretty clear picture of how the app is performing and helps in making necessary decisions. Analytics helps in understanding the user engagement, retaining the users and pinpointing certain functionalities to improve the overall experience of the user. It all comes down to the metrics used and metric purpose match. People should be clear if the metric necessary can be measured or not.

5. Target audience

This is the first and foremost factor you must see before anything else. Understanding the target audience, creating a sample persona to completely understand the demographic & psychographic behavior of the persona. This helps in developing the clear understanding of the product to be developed and create a better value proposition to the users.

6. Wireframes

Wireframes are very important to bring the client and developer on the same page. The client and developer, each have a different visual image of the product. Wireframe helps in bridging the gap in the perceived understanding of both the party. Apart from that, it is easy to make the changes in the basic wireframe stage rather than in the advanced stages. The features and functionalities of the app to be developed will be explained clearly through this.

7. UI/UX Design

The success or failure of the app relies largely depends on the UI/UX. UI and UX have to be in sync with each other and it should provide a great experience to the users. If the Interface is tailored perfectly but rather fails to give the proper experience to the user, then the fate of the app is sealed. UI and UX are of a paramount importance that it can change the value proposition of the app as such.

8. Method of development

Agile method and waterfall method are mostly used in the process of a software development. Opting for the either method entirely depends on the client needs and quality of information available. If you have only a vague picture of the product and the process might need a lot of iterations then it is better to opt-in for the Agile method. If the requirements are crystal clear with detailed breakdown then waterfall method is preferred.

9. Competitor apps

Analyzing the competitor apps is pivotal before coming up with an app. They help in understanding the value proposition of the similar apps. By understanding it, one can develop an application which can propose a different value proposition to stand out from the crowd. The process of analyzing the competitor should be from a user point of view so that the value proposition can be understood pretty clearly.

10. App development standards

Meeting the standards of the platform plays a crucial role in gaining popularity. The components available under each platform has to be used optimally to optimize the app and make it provide the perfect user experience. Following the same approach to Android and iOS won’t work. The specific approach has to be made for each platform.

Conclusion

The above are the 10 factors that have to be taken care of before the application development process. If some of the emphasized factors are not given importance then there is a high chance of the end product to falter. These factors are perfectly taken care before developing a product to make it see the limelight it deserves.

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Business Analyst Team,
Mallow Technologies.