When Making an App, What Steps Must Be Taken?

It is widely accepted that everyone has at least one innovative idea which could be worth a considerable sum of money. Fortunately, this concept can be developed into a working program with the help of a skilled development team. Before beginning the process of creating your app, it is important to gain an understanding of the app development process. This article aims to provide a general overview of the process.

It is important to bear in mind that creating an application requires a significant investment of time, money and expertise. If you do not have the necessary IT skills in-house, you may wish to consider IT Outsourcing Services. However, it is best to start from the beginning.

The Uncovering

In order for any concept to be convincing, it must be accompanied by a comprehensive explanation of its purpose and intent. Without a clear and structured plan, it is easy to become sidetracked, leading to an outcome that may not meet expectations. To avoid this, it is beneficial to ensure a well-defined plan is in place.

To begin, contemplate every element of the situation. There is no wrong or right level of creativity, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you are not pleased with the outcome. Remember that, in modern times, less is often more.

Once you have completed the initial stages, it is recommended to implement a system to catalogue your ideas and refine the details of your application. Many businesses now use the Lean Canvas, which allows data to be presented in a clear and concise manner. This will enable you to gain insight into the market’s expectations for your application.

It is possible to make adjustments to your Lean Canvas as desired, however, it is recommended to focus on the following ten areas throughout the app development process:

1. Problem:

   A look at the “why”

2. Alternatives:

   Current rivals in the market

3. Solutions:

   Concerning the “how,”

4. Metrics:

   Important metrics to track

5. Budget breakdown:

   The proportion of your expenses that are constant and those that are changeable.

6. Promotional Value:

   What you do to provide value

7. Inequitable benefit:

   Ingredients you’re not telling us about

8. Channels:

   To whom you will communicate and how

9. Sources of funding:

   Cash-flow

10. Customers:

    What I mean is, what are your main points?

Having a well-structured Canvas makes it easier to visualise how the key features of your app interact with each other. Always ensure the customer is at the heart of your decision-making.

The Proof

It is wise to trust your instincts but it is also important to support your conclusions with factual evidence. To ensure accuracy during the development of the app, a low-fidelity prototype is usually implemented. Does this mean there will be a delay before starting to code? Not necessarily; this process is quite streamlined.

A prototype that has not been sufficiently developed is not a fully functioning application, but rather a visual representation of the end product. Consider a diagrammatic representation of the flow of data between different interfaces and the manner in which users navigate through this. Whilst this may appear to be a simple step, it guarantees that you and the app’s developers have the same understanding of the final result, no matter how small. As the project progresses, the prototype can be referred to as a reference guide to ensure that nothing has been overlooked.

Once you have acquired the necessary information, you can assess the potential success of your concept in the real world. To ensure your app is widely known, it may require a fair amount of marketing creativity. Here are a few strategies to consider:

• Benchmark:

  Check out your intended app store to discover how competitors are handling the issue your app will be addressing.

• Topics Explored

  Search the web to see whether others have had this issue and what they did to solve it.

• Surveying:

  Start by soliciting input from your intended users on your low-fidelity prototype.

• Advertise:

  Promote your new app and find out how many people are interested in using it.

It is important to be resourceful, however a low-fidelity prototype can only take you so far. Once you have determined how to utilise the collected data, it is time to progress to a medium-fidelity prototype. This will provide a better representation of the user interface design and functionality, though it will still not be a fully-functional application.

The UX

Now that you have validated your UX Design and have a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t, it is time to move on to the next stage of app development. This is a critical step as the decisions you make during this phase may have a significant impact on the final outcome. If you plan and develop the app correctly, it will effectively reflect your desired goals.

To start, it is important to organise all the available data. UML classes and ER diagrams are both beneficial tools for this, as they provide an easy-to-understand visual representation of the components and the interactions between them. With this information as the foundation, you can develop a high-fidelity version of your prototype.

A high-fidelity prototype captures the visual design and user experience (UX) of the final product as accurately as possible, ensuring that potential customers can get a full understanding of its functionality. It is important to pay attention to how users respond to the prototype, how intuitive the process is for them, and what patterns of behaviour they display, as this information is invaluable.

Once your high-fidelity prototype has been completed and tested, your app development team will be able to provide an accurate estimate of the final cost of developing your app.

The Progress

Now that the full application development process has been completed, we can proceed with the coding stage. It is important to note that the three cornerstones of application development, namely discovery, validation and user experience design, are essential and should not be overlooked. Without them, the process would be undertaken without any knowledge of the results.

Today, agile approaches are increasingly being adopted in software development projects due to their ability to deliver the desired outcomes in a timely manner. Regardless of the approach taken for app development, you will have an important role to play. To get started, mastering the fundamentals of agile software development is highly recommended.

Without going into too much detail, you can think of this phase of app development as spanning three key dimensions:

• Beginning Stages of programming:

  Users’ views and interactions, such as an app’s interface and design patterns, are part of this category. During this stage, the development team will use a specific programming language, such as Java or Swift, depending on the chosen platform.

• Production End Development:

  These revisions will drive your application’s performance. The backend is the key that holds the various elements of your application in sync. To ensure successful operation of your application, one of the developers on your team should be dedicated to the backend and take responsibility for maintaining its logic.

• I apologise for raising this at this late stage, however it is important to note that Quality Assurance and Testing are integral to every stage of app development, beginning with the first prototype. It is vital that the appropriate Quality Assurance measures are put in place.

Is Countdown Time Upon Us Already?

Congratulations! You have successfully completed your introduction to app development and are now ready to launch your project. To ensure the highest quality for your app, your next steps should include launch, promotion, support services, maintenance and continued testing. Although this may seem daunting, if you have come this far, you have the capability to take your project to the next level. Aim for success!