Building Blocks of a Successful Mobile App

The popularity of mobile apps is driving businesses to develop their own. Smart apps are valuable, but they can also be a costly failure when released too quickly. Here are tips to ensure that SMEs get it right the first time.

Do your homework.

Before developing a mobile app, determine exactly what you want to achieve and get feedback from customers. The key is to enhance the mobile app along the way, not plug any holes that the customers find out. This will result in endless fixes that don't generate value.

Outsource mobile app development as necessary.

Developing a mobile app is not just your average software work. It entails design and programming skills that can be difficult to find in one person. Outsourcing mobile app to a service provider enables you to find the right skill set needed at relatively lower cost.

When outsourcing, choose a service provider that has experience in working with your industry and business size. Find out if they can integrate apps with existing systems. A good selection process involves asking for a portfolio of previous work.

Assign a project manager.

Assign someone to manage the project, preferably an individual in the line of business. If you're developing a mobile app for marketing your product or service, nominate someone from the marketing department. This ensures that the mobile app development is in line with their goals. If you outsourced to a service provider, name a counterpart for their project leader. Ensure that the pair have the same objectives and goals.

Test objectively.

Programmers and designers are not the actual users, so have somebody else do a pilot test. You can either have a small group of developers to test the app thoroughly, or have beta testers to immerse themselves in the app. Ask them to note the pros and cons.

Ask for feedback, continuously.

Feedback should be monitored even after the mobile app is released to the market. You can use mobile feedback management tools to automatically collect comments from users. You can also look at other places such as social media, mobile apps that provide reviews and include user comments (such as Best Apps Market app), and your website. Assign a person or group of people to monitor and check feedback and address inquiries of unhappy users.

Mobile apps can seem like a tiny part of your overall effort, but these can still make an impact. If customers do not like the app and leave negative comments, they rarely come back and give it a second chance.