Mobile Application Development: 4 Things Every Company Must Know

by Randall Cross
July 11, 2013

Ethervision developed 3 of the first 50 apps for the App Store Launch 5 years ago.  Since then, we have gone on to help shape the vision, design and development of over 80 mobile applications for various clients.

Based on our expereince, here are the four things every company needs to understand and embrace to have a successful enterprise or consumer facing app & application strategy:

1. Start Simple - Think of a really good app (either Enterprise or consumer facing) as a concise poem rather than a long novel.  A good app out of the gate should do 1-3 things really, really well.  Write down a list of all the functionality you want your app to perform.  Now circle the top 2 or 3 and save the rest for incremental versions. See below.

2. Good Design is Important. UX is More Important - UX (User Experience) is the perceived experience a user has when using your app.  One of the most important aspects of this is UI (User Interface).  The more seamless, streamlined and intuitive you can make your interface, the more your customer/employee will use and dare I say enjoy working with your app.  When in the development process, leave some room for discovery while beta testing the app.  It's the difference between a "me too" app and something truly groundbreaking.

Ask not, "what can I add to this app to make it better- ask what can I remove to make this app more intuitive."

3. Market Your App - We have seen it time and time again from Fortune 500 clients to small Indy devs: They focus entirely on the product and leave app marketing as an afterthought.  Have a complete vision from the start and factor marketing in at the beginning.  If it's an Enterprise app, how do you plan on promoting it internally?  How will you get useful feedback?  How will you communicate with your employees.  If external, how much should you spend to market?  Who is your core target?  What advertising vehicles will you use?

4. Listen & Develop Incrementally - Remember that long list of great functionality you had planned for your app?  Prioritize it.  Get good customer feedback (see point #3). Reprioritize your list again. Choose what will launch in version 1.1.  When you start simple with your app, you are also helping your employees and customers to quickly learn and use it and provide valuable feedback.  Chances are, what you thought was most important is not necesarily true in the eyes of your customers.  Roll out the changes incrementally over time and watch your active user base grow.

 

Every company and every app is different.  While some companies have to start with a more complext solution, applying the simple development philosophy above will make your mobile app vision and product best-in-class.

For more infomration and mobile development resources, visit our site.

 

-Randall Cross

Founder Ethervision

Jobs at Ethervision

Chicago startup guides

LOCAL GUIDE
Best Companies to Work for in Chicago
LOCAL GUIDE
Coolest Offices in Chicago Tech
LOCAL GUIDE
Best Perks at Chicago Tech Companies
LOCAL GUIDE
Women in Chicago Tech