App Development Smart Guide
- 2. © Copyright © 2017 Techwitty All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or in any means – by electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without prior written permission. COPYRIGHT
- 3. Steve Jobs “ The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do„
- 4. 4 Chapter ONE WHAT IS APP DEVELOPMENT 5 Introduction 6 What is App Development 7 The main steps in Design and Dev 8 Chapter TWO DISCOVERY SESSION, UX & UI 10 Great thinking leads to a great app 11 Prototyping 14 Chapter THREE DEVELOPMENT STEPS 17 Platforms & Programming Languages 18 Things to look out for 25 What is Agile Development 26 Make your App a win 27 CONTENTS
- 6. 6 INTRODUCTION Hi there. So if you are reading this eBook then one can reasonably assume you are genuinely considering embarking on the journey of developing an app, or you may just be interested in having a read... Either way, what we have attempted to do here is to provide you with a high level overview of the app development process, what you can expect in terms of stages and output, and also to answer some of the more common questions such as: which platform is right for you? In todays world, it seems like there is an app for absolutely everything. For your email; your recipes; your workout. There is pretty much an app for everything. While the app industry is booming, the reality is that taking an idea and turning it into a successful mobile application is much harder and more complex that one would imagine. The truth is that even if you get a reasonable app developed, that simply gets you to the starting line. Then you need to get the app onto people’s phones, commercialise it, manage the updates and iterations, develop the product and feature roadmaps, you name it... It is literally another world. So the reason this eBook has been prepared is to try and help you to understand the first step in the process: Taking your idea, and turning that idea into a really awesome app! It is our hope that through reading this eBook, if nothing else, you will have a better understanding of what is involved in developing an app, what some of the key decisions are going to be, and what some of the key things are to look out for. Kevin O’Hara Group General Manager FEW IMPORTANT WORDS FROM THE BOOK AUTHOR
- 7. 7 1 2 WHAT IS APP DEVELOPMENT? Mobile application development is the process of making or creating a mobile application to run on various mobile platforms. A mobile platform is a mobile operating system. Apple’s mobile operating system is called iOS, Google’s mobile platform is Android, RIM has Blackberry, and Windows has Windows Mobile. Each platform has its own rules, regulations, and requirements to consider when making a mobile application. For instance iOS mobile apps require the use of Objective C, Swift as the native language whereas Android mobile apps use Java as the native language. There are also cross platform languages. This is very important to understand because when making an application on the various mobile platforms you cannot just make one app and port it over to the next platform. You must carefully consider how and what you are building. In addition you must consider what application stores you wish to have your mobile application highlighted in, as each mobile application store has its own set of requirements. NOW, AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL, APP DEVELOPMENT HAS TWO PARTS: Front end development which incorporates both the user interface (UI) and the user experience (UX) and is largely a design led process. Front end developers are the ones responsible for the look and feel of the app, and designing the way that the user experience will work. This team will be generally be engaged in analysing ideas, user flows, features, and workflows in an attempt to create a seamless user experience that looks amazing. Back end development which is focussed on the server side of development. In back end development, developers primarily focus on how the app works. This type of development usually consists of connecting three parts: a server, an application, and a database. Code written by back end developers is what communicates the database information to the application. Anything you can’t see easily with the eye such as the database and the server is typically the work of a back end developer.
- 8. 8 When deciding what kind of mobile application development is right for you, you must first consider what your overall goal is. Are you making a game, an informational app, a content driven app, or a mobile utility app (to name a few)? Once you know what you’re making you then need to decide what platform is going to be best for your mobile application. This decision is a highly complex decision, and so for the sake of this eBook, we are just going to assume that you have decided to proceed with the two most popular platforms: Android and iOS. Key points to consider: Define Success: Is success X number of downloads or X amount of money or X active users? What is your budget? The average cost of an application can range from $50,000 to over a Half a Million Dollars so it is important to define your budget. What Platforms are you going to be on? It is important to decide where your market is, what the best way to reach them is, and which platform provides you with the best opportunity in terms of reaching them. What are your features? Apps are not websites, so you need to create good features that people want to use and have a good user interface. If people don’t want to use your app, or maybe they do, but the user experience sucks, then your project is destined to fail. What are you going to do once it is published? This is the MOST CRUCIAL COMPONENT OF THE STORY!!! Make sure you have a game plan as to how you are going to market and push your mobile application onto peoples phones. If you have not thought this through, and don’t have an actual plan, then our advice to you is STOP NOW! DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY and DON’T LET ANY APP DEVELOPER TALK YOU INTO BUILDING AN APP! Before you build anything, you need to have a plan, and a go-to-market budget or your app will become one of the millions that never receive more than a few hundred downloads. THE MAIN STEPS IN DESIGN & DEV:
- 9. 9 Work like there is someone working 24 hours a day to take it all away from you “ MARK CUBAN
- 11. 11 THE DISCOVERY SESSION So the very first step in developing an app is you telling your app developer about your amazing idea. The app developers need to get a high level understanding of what it is that you are thinking and how this idea could logically be delivered as an application. This is what is called a‘Discovery Session’. The discovery session is a session (typically a few hours) in which the development company will bring a team together to listen to your idea, review any materials you may have like mock ups and drawings, pull apart your idea on a whiteboard, and see whether or not they believe you have an idea worth taking to market. It is where they‘discover’all of your passion, and all of your concepts, and then break them down into what they consider to be the fundamental unique selling proposition (USP) contained within your idea. Typically, the app development company shouldn’t charge for this process (although many will try) as this is their way of understanding what you want and whether or not they think you should spend your hard earned money on the idea. What you want to understand by the end of a discovery session is: 1. The Why: What is the problem you are addressing with the app 2. The Tangible Benefits: What exists already and how will your solution be different 3. The Sizzle: What is going to make people want your app and then become addicted to using it GREAT THINKING LEADS TO A GREAT APP
- 12. 12 SCOPING AND DEEP DIVE – YOUR IDEA ROCKS… LETS CREATE A BUSINESS So if you finish up the discovery session and the app development company buys into your dream, the next phase (assuming you didn’t walk out of the discovery session thinking those guys are a bunch of …) will be a scoping and deep dive session. Now, in this session the app development team will normally scale up a little and include some of their technical management as well as project managers and designers, and will ultimately attempt to work through each and every aspect of the user experience, the target users, the platforms and supported devices, and ultimately the proposed revenue models… User Experience In this session, the app developers will want to walk through each and every step of the apps functionality. This will involve considerable discussion, a lot of patience, and typically some pizza and refreshments. This is the app developers opportunity to clearly test you on every single functional requirement, and to help you understand many of the things you may not have considered… Like the administration interface (you will not believe how many apps are required to be fixed based on developers that have built an app and completely forgotten the fact that the app needs an administration interface lol). Application target users Next up is: who is actually going to be using this thing? Are you targeting mums, dads, corporates, builders, millennials, Indonesians, Europeans, animals??? Hmmm. Well maybe not animals but you get the picture. Each of these demographics has an implication on just how you are going to position the app design, UI/UX, and even the go-to-market strategy and commercial model. Platforms and devices to be supported Now that you know who, what and where, the next part is the platforms and devices. Are you building this for Web? Mobile? Tablets? For each of these decisions, certain factors need to be considered including but not limited to coverage, device support, hardware performance, battery life, ruggedness and required feature sets. Revenue model Finally you get to the money. You would be surprised at how many people fail to consider how they are going to get a return on their investment when developing an app. There are many things to consider from a technical point of view when looking at the revenue model. So what you need to do here is to try and zoom in on whether you plan to be using payment gateways, storing personal information, integrating with third party payment processing technology, incorporating in app advertising, external software development kits (SDKs), freemium service models with upgrades for premium payment… The list goes on. But it is crucial that before you are quoted, and provided with a functional specification for your project, that your developers clearly understand each and every aspect of the monetisation component.
- 13. 13 DEFINE YOUR GOALS When creating an app you also need to start out by defining your goals for the app. This is in addition to the app development goals and should be more to do with the market positioning and strategy. Find out the answers for the following questions: 1. What is the number one problem your app will solve for the users that is different to other apps in the market place? 2. How have others taken their app to market and what can you learn from them? 3. What is the business plan and what examples of this type of approach can you find? 4. What tools you have in place to measure the success of this App? MARKET RESEARCH After finding the answers to the above questions, you can then start with market research to see if there are Apps with the same functionality. If so, its not the end of the world. You just need to consider what will be your strategy? You can always enhance the user experience or fill out the gaps in others solutions or you can change the business model to undercut the competition. Remember, Myspace was before Facebook! So remember, before you get started with documenting the use cases and designing the user experience and the user stories you need to have done comprehensive market research. Find out who are your competitors, what is great about their app, what is not so great and what they don’t do at all. Then compare this with your app idea and see if you can improve what is already in the market place and ultimately own that space. GET STARTED WITH THE UI/UX DESIGN The User Experience (UX) and the User Interface (UI) are two of the most important elements in any app design and development process. This is what the users will see and interact every time they open your app. Once you have defined your goals and done your market research, you need to then design the best UX and ensure the user flow is simple, easy and intuitive for all types of users. 1. Have you written personas for your target audience? 2. What are the issues with existing solutions? 3. What is going to be the main thematic of this App? 4. What are the use cases that are core to your differentiation?
- 14. 14 DESKTOP-BASED PROTOTYPING SOFTWARES Axure RP — a desktop application that enables creators to make, test, and share their work amongst the team. Regarded in the market as the most thorough prototyping tool, it’s a perfect desktop application that can handle simple to very complicated prototypes. Mockplus — is another of the common prototyping tools for computer programs, web design and app designs. The key differentiating element with Mockplus is that it is very simple to use, and so designers can get started and create very high quality prototypes in next to no time. Justinmind — probably one of the more complex tools available which requires more time becomming proficient with how the software works. It is qute an advanced tool but is perfect for building live app gestures and interactions. Balsamiq — a great tool for anyone with any level of computer knowledge to create quick and easy UX designs. Balsamiq give you all the tools and elements needed to help you bring your ideas to life. They have a desktop app as well as a web app and the interface is really kind of cool... Wireframe Design & Mock up Tools for UI/UX Designers There is no better way to ensure smooth collaboration between designers, developers and project managers than using a prototyping tool. Prototyping tools allow you to bring your ideas to life and to work through a range of issues that you may not have thought of while in the conceptualisation phases such as admin interfaces, button sizes, user flows, screens etc etc. Some of the more advanced tools can go as far as creating a seamless experience that looks and feels very close to a final production App, and that even have the ability allow users to tap on elements, and to experience the interactions and the transitions. The prototyping process is certainly one that is recommended. It provides a level of assurity that what has been created by the designer is what we will ultimately be built by the developers. More importantly, it ensures that what has been created by the designer is what the founder actually wanted.
- 15. 15 Some other online prototyping tools: There are so many online platforms to help you create beautiful UI/UX and ultimately to prototype your designs. Sharing of your ptototype is one of the most important features you will be looking for when you choose a prototyping tool so the better tools are the ones that make it easy for anyone in the team to collaborate with the project team and to share their ideas, comments and feedback. One of the other important aspects of a good prototyping platform is the ability to provide the developers with the technical details. They need to be able to see the user flow, interactivity, gestures and transitions. Moreover, style specifications need to be easily accessible as well. This includes the font size, colours, dimensions and positions. Asset management is also another handy tool that simplifies sharing assets like icons, images and fonts between designers and developers. If you get the asset management right, you end up with a pixel perfect platform. ONLINE PROTOTYPING TOOLS InVision — as a web based prototyping platform InVision is quickly becomming a standard tool among designers and developers. It is ideal to share and experience your design on any device. There are a number of really cool features that allow users review and comment... UXpin - Ideal for designing mobile responsive prototypes which can be shared across different devices for testing and presentation. Version controlling is another feature of UXpin which can help with keeping track of your progress and provides the ability to reverse changes if need be. FluidUI — One of the richest platforms when it comes to using ready to use widgets from a library. It contains over 2000 editable elements. Think, create, prototype & share. As simple as it sounds, FluidUI is awesome for UI/UX design. Proto.io — a sophisticated web application with rich functionalities. The gestures and touchability are probably the coolest features. Proto. io is a great platform for creating prototypes for iOS and Android apps.
- 16. 16 The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow. “ BILL GATES
- 18. 18 PLATFORMS AND LANGUAGES There are more than 10 different mobile operating systems. In this guide we are going to be focusing on the most common ones and their programming languages. Competition in mobile platforms really took off in 2010 when Android really started to gain traction. This was the point at which Android started to steal significant marketshare from the larger incumbents such as Blackberry, Apple and Symbian. A lot of things have changed since those days and now Apple and Android hold the top spots in the Mobile OS market followed by Windows Mobile.
- 19. 19 The single most important question for your app development project: Do you build a Native app (Swift / Objective C / Java) or do you use React Native or Ionic or a hybrid platform. There are many arguments for each solution (which each developer will argue based on what they like best - not what is best for you), so what we have attempted to do here is just toexplain a little about each... Facebook’s React Native lets you build real, native iOS and Android apps with one codebase. It’s not a“mobile web app”, a“HTML5 app”, or a“hybrid app”. You build a real mobile app that’s indistinguishable from an app built using Objective-C, Swift or Java. You just use JavaScript and React to put it together. Regularly, this additionally accompanies better execution and smoother movements. Facebook’s approach with React is simple:“learn once, write anywhere”. Not only will your team be able to focus on one codebase for the mobile application. When taking the opportunity cost into consideration it is a no brainer in terms of cost, development and efficiency. NOTABLE REACT NATIVE APPS: REACT NATIVE
- 20. 20 If you decide to go for native development instead of cross-platform solutions, you will have to decide between Objective-C and Swift. According to Apple,“Swift combines the performance and efficiency of compiled languages with the simplicity and interactivity of popular scripting languages.” While there appears to be a significant number of reasons to love Swift - like the‘rapid’development process, improved safety and performance, and the vibrant open source community, the language is still a long way from perfection. There are as many arguments for and against choosing Swift over Objective C and so it is important that you do your research. What you need to consider when choosing to go Native vs React Native or Ionic is this: If you go Native, you need to develop and maintain two code bases. This means you need a team with experience in both Java and Swift/ Objective C (likely two teams). If you choose React Native or Ionic, you develop and maintain only one code base. NOTABLE SWIFT / OBJECTIVE-C APPS: SWIFT / OBJECTIVE-C
- 21. 21 Ionic is one of the other great cross platform languages that would allow you develop apps for both iOS and Android using one code-base. Apps built on Ionic incorporate native functionalities, gestures, transitions, and other tools that allow you enhance the user experience with speed and efficiency. Ionic is highly regarded because it provides mobile- friendly HTML, CSS, and JS components to developers. Other advantages of using Ionic are things like the use of AngularJS to create powerful SDKs for building rich and robust applications, the framework’s focus on HTML, CSS, and JS that enables rapid development, ultra low costs, and minimal maintenance. It is important to note that one app for web, Android, and iOS means one development team, one project, one implementation, and one language. Also there is no need to start from scratch if you ever want to deploy another device like a Windows phone. Notable React IONIC Apps: IONIC
- 22. 22 Android is the major alternative platform to iOS and supports some of the apps that are not on an Apple handset. Android is an open source mobile operation system with a gigantic client base and comprehensive app development process. With a comparatively low entry barrier from a technical and cost point of view, small businesses and startups can develop complex apps easily. The platform also ensures that businesses can price their apps more competitively and gain access to a vast market. The approval process is highly simplified compared with that of Apple. Android apps don’t need to go through a complicated and lengthy approval process before making their way into the market. So from concept to an actual product making its way into the marketplace Android is much more efficient that others. There are several marketplaces including Google Play and third-party ones to help you distribute your app, which also allow you to reach out to larger segments of the audience. NOTABLE JS ANDROID APPS: ANDROID JAVA
- 23. 23 Microsoft (to their credit) have maintained the position as the top dominant player of desktop PC operating systems for decades. With the acquisition of Nokia, the largest player of Windows Phone, Microsoft is aiming at owning a part of the growing smartphone market. Based on the stats released back in 2014, there were over 50 million Windows phone users and this figure was growing rapidly. Windows are hoping to surpasses iOS as the #2 mobile OS globally after Android. From the business point of view, once you have launched your app on iOS and Android it is almost a necessity to support Windows phone, if your goal is truly global reach. The most obvious advantage of the Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform is the fast and sustained growth of its market share around the world. NOTABLE WINDOWS MOBILE APPS: WINDOWS MOBILE
- 24. 24 The companies that work are the ones that people really care about and have a vision for the world so do something you like. “ MARK ZUCKERBERG
- 25. 25 THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR DESIGN TO BE USED BY ANYONE If your app is targeting different age groups with varying education levels, make sure it is user friendly and intuitive enough for any type of user to pick it up and run with it. You can always incorporate tutorials and instructions, but before you do that, ask yourself if your app could be done in a way that wouldn’t require instructions. The age old principle of‘Keep It Simple Stupid’(KISS) is certainly one that is true for apps! PRIVACY AND SECURITY In the world we live in today information is gold and protecting sensitive data is crucial. Successful apps place a high priority on data security and governance. This should be incorporated as part of the project plan with the security and privacy objectives maintained throughout the entire development process. MARKETING IS THE KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS Marketing is usually what sets a successful app apart from mediocre ones in the ocean of over a billion apps across the various stores. Marketing is the lifeblood of a product, and you will need to build a sensible mix of marketing activities to ensure you are driving the right downloaders into your app.
- 26. 26 By involving the client in every step of the project, there is a high degree of collaboration between the client and project team Engagement WHAT IS AGILE DEVELOPMENT? AGILE IS ONE OF THE BIG BUZZWORDS OF THE IT DEVELOPMENT INDUSTRY. SO WHAT IS AGILE DEVELOPMENT? Agile development describes a set of values and principles for app development under which requirements and solutions evolve through the collaborative effort of self-organizing cross-functional teams. It advocates adaptive planning, evolutionary development, early delivery, and continuous improvement, and it encourages rapid and flexible response to change. In laymens terms, Agile development means that the team works in very short‘sprints’and continually checks back in together. It encourages close frequent collaboration for all stakeholders, such that if something is not quite right, or there is an issue that needs solving, it is picked up quickly, dealt with rapidly, and all stakeholders are informed along the way. Agile methodology also means that if there is an issue, it is picked up quickly, and measures can be put in place to address the issue sooner rather than later. This avoids getting to the end of a lengthy and costly development project, only to identify a critical issue. An Agile approach provides a unique opportunity for clients to be involved throughout the project, from prioritising features to iteration planning and review sessions. Transparency By allowing the client to determine the priority of features, the team understands what’s most important to the client’s business, and can deliver the features that provide the most business value. Business Value
- 27. 27 “ “ MAKE IT FOR DIFFERENT PLATFORMS Most people focus solely on iOS, maybe as it all started with iPhone, but Android is now dominating 50 percent market share in most markets and up to 80% in some of the developing countries like Indonesia. Start with the iPhone, but Android must be part of your roadmap. MAKE A QUALITY PRODUCT Make an app that does one thing really well. It’s important that the app is solving a problem that is unique or at least does things better than the competitors. Your app will need to be original, improve on another app, solve a problem or entertain. In addition, it must be well designed, both in terms of visuals and the user experience. If the app is good, everything that follows will be easier. MAKE YOUR APP A SUCCESS “ FOCUS ON MARKETING It is important to hit the market hard and keep up the momentum. Consider marketing when preparing your business plan and budgeting. It’s essential to attract a first batch of users to test metrics before continuing with more systematic campaigns.
- 28. Warren Buffett “ The best thing I did was to choose the right heroes„
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