Building a Successful Mobile Application
Have you ever known someone who had a wonderful idea for a million-dollar software program that never materialized? Unfortunately, many projects never even get off the ground and are forgotten within a few months. It's discouraging to see so many amazing ideas for the next big thing in software applications, but so few of them actually make it into reality. In this post, we'll look at the main causes that can ruin even the most promising software projects, resulting in expenses that are often 3–5 times higher than anticipated. Consider the creation of a mobile application for a veterinary clinic that wants to provide extended support to its clients. I had a comparable project on my desk previously, but immediately recognized that the client had little expertise or grasp of the project's needs, making productive collaboration difficult. Unfortunately, the client was unable to afford the project as well. Despite the fact that it had the potential to generate millions of dollars every year, the initiative was a complete disaster.
Lack of competence
In my opinion, the biggest reason good projects fail, is a lack of skill in realizing the project as a whole. For example, project managers may neglect the requirement for professional expertise in developing strategies or software documentation because they assume they have the entire picture in their heads. However, hiring a skilled house contractor and expecting them to build a villa without any designs or groundwork is ridiculous. Similarly, clients frequently request that programmers construct software without a defined strategy, documentation, or planning, which can result in terrible outcomes. It is critical that the correct individuals do the task that they excel at, as this is the key to the project's success.
We would not pay one individual to do all of the plumbing, electrical work, painting, and inventory creation when building a house since it would not work out well. Similarly, in software development, having the correct team of professionals is critical to the project's success. As an example, for a mobile application, I would put together a team that included a software architect as the overall project leader, a technical writer, a DevOps engineer, an Agile project manager, a mobile UX/UI designer, a Flutter developer for iOS and Android, and a Quality Assurance Tester. Although it may appear that this would be more expensive, this is not the case. The prices would be reasonable, and each team member would contribute their skills, resulting in a superior solution in the long run.
Therefore, for the mobile application example, I would choose a team comprising:
Why would it not be more expensive to use developers for all tasks? Using seven distinct workers for a project, on the other hand, would not necessarily cost more. To begin with, the expenses would be reasonable because being a software engineer does not imply the ability to produce correct cost predictions. Second, each team member would execute the same job as one person but with greater expertise in their sector. This would result in a better long-term outcome, making the investment justified.
Building software with a skilled team can save more money in the long term than simply listening to ideas from software professionals who are only adept at software development. It is critical to have the appropriate individuals doing the right things to reach a good conclusion. As a result, investing in a team of professionals for a project will yield the finest outcomes and be worthwhile.
Just to summarize a bit of my experience. I have seen developers who suggest test-driven development is a bad idea and manually deploying software is better, while using SSH to fix problems on the server is the best option. All of them are just silly ideas that don't belong in the world of software development.?
Software development?
When a group of professionals collaborates, the result is often high-quality software that is simple to maintain and to which new features can be easily added. While choosing cheaper solutions may appear to be a cost-cutting approach, it can result in higher costs in the long term. In the next section, I will describe how I would approach developing a mobile application if I had no prior experience in developing successful software.
However, it is critical to note that simply having a friend or family member with some IT experience does not qualify them for any of these professions. They are unlikely to have the necessary skills; therefore, it is critical to have specialists with the necessary qualifications to assure the project's success.
Personal development?
To begin, I would devote some time to learning the fundamentals of software programming. Enrolling in a Software Development and Engineering course to get a fundamental understanding of software engineering could be one method. This course could be a great place to start for someone who knows nothing about software development.
Software architect
Following that, I would study the role of a software architect. Although taking a course in this subject will not prepare you to complete the activity on your own, it will help you interact successfully with professionals in this industry. One course that may be useful in gaining this information is:
Technical writer
I would have kept learning about technical writing and how to write software documentation after I grasped the function of a software architect. This will also provide you with a rudimentary grasp of how this is done and will assist you in communicating with technical writers. You could take the following course to gain this knowledge:?
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Agile project manager
A project manager, in addition to the software architect, is critical in ensuring that all aspects of the software are produced in accordance with the documentation. Because they rarely overlap, it is conceivable to merge both roles into one individual. However, as the project owner, you must have a fundamental understanding of project management. There are numerous excellent courses available to teach you about agile project management, including the following:
Start working on the project.
The next phase would be to develop the concept and create the first draft of the software documentation using the information and abilities gained from the courses. Following this, the next stage would be to plan how to hire the personnel needed for each role. Platforms like Upwork or Fiverr can be utilized to identify appropriate workers, but keep in mind that finding the right people takes time. It is critical to be patient and to invest time in finding professionals who are a suitable fit for the project.
DevOps engineer
A DevOps engineer is crucial to automating the deployment process and can save significant money in the long term. It saves time and minimizes the chance of errors by automating the process of upgrading the mobile application after developers contribute code to code repositories such as Github. Although learning DevOps is not required, you can engage a DevOps engineer to plan how to automate the deployment process.
It is advisable for an engineer to create the deployment pipeline and then present it to the software architect and the entire team for approval that it meets the requirements of the project. This ensures that the deployment process is exactly how you want it to be and that the project's objectives are met.
Mobile UX/UI designer?
Following the formation of the core team, the next step would be to employ a mobile UX/UI designer to construct the application's look and feel based on the technical documentation. A good designer may take into account even the smallest elements in order to develop a visually appealing design that improves the user experience. To ensure that the application is optimized for use on mobile devices, choose a designer with competence in mobile design.
Mobile application developer
When it comes to development, I would hire Flutter developers first. Flutter is a cross-platform programming framework that allows developers to create apps that run on both iOS and Android devices. This would make future development and maintenance of the application more cost-effective because there would be no need to design separate applications for each platform.
Using Github, the applications could be written and concurrently published to both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. This ensures that both versions of the program are updated at the same time, making the process faster and more efficient. Overall, combining Flutter developers and Github for deployment would result in a simpler, faster, and less expensive development process.
Quality Assurance Tester
It is crucial for the application's success to ensure its functioning and quality. Testing for quality assurance (QA) is an important phase in the development process to guarantee that the application satisfies the desired quality requirements. If the product has previously been created with feature tests, the QA tester's job will be considerably easier. They would be able to concentrate on thoroughly testing the program, detecting any bugs, and reporting them to the team for resolution. A professional QA tester can also provide useful input on the user experience, highlighting areas for improvement to improve the application's overall quality.
But before you start
I assume that you understand that once you build an application, it’s nothing but a business you are building. You actually have to do those normal business start up jobs that are essential for the business to work. Just to mention a few points:?
The mobile application's continuous improvement should be included in the entire business plan, including funds and plans to assure the application's sustained success. Updates and new features should be implemented based on user feedback and performance statistics to improve the user experience, increase engagement, and drive revenue growth. Testing the program on a regular basis to ensure that it is bug- and error-free is vital to its success and should be incorporated into the budget and development schedule. By committing resources to the application's continuous improvement, it will remain competitive and provide value to users over time.