5 Confessions from Mobile App Developers

Mobile apps are nothing new. It’s a pretty well proven fact that in order to be relevant in business today, you now need both a website and an app. But what you probably don’t know is what Mobile App Developers think about the process of mobile app development.

We set up an office confessional booth and asked a few of our CabForward developers to enter and unburden themselves from their inner most confessions about mobile app development. We asked them, “What’s the one confession about mobile app development that you wish you could tell a client, but never would?”

Here’s is what they told us:

1. “I just like to make things – like playing with Legos as a kid. I would love to spend my day developing whatever features I want, regardless of what the client or end-user wants.” It’s their instinctive need to build and create which makes good developers so good at what they do. They enjoy trying to figure out how to design something new and interesting. However, learning to suppress their natural instinct to build what they want/when they want and focus on the client’s needs instead, is why it’s hard for some to become processional, collaborative developers.

2. “I would have been a mechanical engineer, but software tools were free and readily available.” For a group that loves to build and design, app development holds a natural draw as a career. Even better, free tools and open-source code makes solving everyday problems quick and easy, giving them time to focus on the more complex and interesting requirements of your app.

3. “Sometimes I wish clients had harder problems to solve; problems that took more math, creativity and systems thinking versus just your average store data and show data app requirements.” So what’s the take-away here? Clearly there is no problem too big for a seasoned app developer, so don’t hold back! You want the moon? Then go ahead…ask them and let them see if they can’t figure out how to give it to you.

4. “I would love to rewrite this code again and again and again.” Like a writer, the code created by an app developer tells a story. They would love to rewrite it again and again to make it smoother, cleaner and easier to read, but they also realize they have a timeline and budget they need to conform to. So, whether they are ready or not, at some point, they have to walk away from it and present it to the world.

5. “I love to write code, not documentation.” Picking up code from another shop or developer and improving it or adding to it is standard practice these days, which is why documentation within the code is so imperative. Obviously well documented code is much easier to pick up and work with, but creating documentation isn’t as much fun as creating code, so many developers find this process to be more of a chore. However, if a developer has been given the opportunity to create something they are happy with, just like a proud parent on social media, they’ll happily take the time to detail out their notes and share details about what they created, how they did it and why.

No matter what they confessed, one underlying element rang true in the CabForward developer confessional booth – our mobile app developers are passionate about what they do! Got a mobile app you’re ready to build or improve on? Contact the team at CabForward and experience the passion of our team first-hand!