Mobile Application Development

Mobile apps are big business. In fact, did you know that apps generate over $700 billion per year. Not only that, enterprise mobility will be worth $600 billion by 2022.

In case you’re wondering how apps are actually built, we’ve written this short guide to mobile app development. In this guide you’ll learn about the six phases we follow when launching a new app.

Phase 1: Strategy

To start with, we work together with the client to come up with a strategy for building their app. This mostly involves answer the following questions. What are your main objectives and goals? Why does your company need an app? What is your overall vision for the app?

You’ll also need to think about who will actually use the app, your competition, and which mobile platform you want to use. Something else to consider is the cost and time. Be aware of budget too! A mobile app can cost anything between $20,000 to $100,000 (and beyond) and can take at least three to six months to develop depending on complexity.

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Phase 2: Analysis & Planning

The next stage is to think about what you want the app to do. You need to think about the specific situations in which it will actually be used. We will work with you to help you define this. Once this is done, we’ll create a roadmap for app development and draw up specific milestones and timelines.

At this point you should also consider how fast you need the app and how much are you willing to spend? Finally think about what you’re going to call your app and how you’re going to market it.

Phase Three: Building the UI /UX Design

The next stage is to think about what you want the app to do. You need to think about the specific situations in which it will actually be used. We will work with you to help you define this. Once this is done, we’ll create a roadmap for app development and draw up specific milestones and timelines.

At this point you should also consider how fast you need the app and how much are you willing to spend? Finally think about what you’re going to call your app and how you’re going to market it.

Phase Four: App Development

Once all planning is complete, we start to actually develop the app. When doing this we begin by defining technical architecture, pick a technology stack, and select development milestones. Mobile app develop is usually made up of three parts: back-end / server technology, APIs, and the mobile app front-end.

Areas of App Development

1. Back End / Server Technology

We implement an infrastructure for your application. This includes databases and the server-side objects needed to support functionality. In most cases we use an existing back-end platform and modify it.

2. API

An application programming interface (API) is technology which allows the app to communicate with the back-end server / database.

3. Mobile App Front End

The front-end is basically what your users see and interact with. This is made up of user experiences which use an API and back-end to manage data. If the app works without an internet connection, then we may need to program the ability to use local data storage.

There are dozens of programming languages and databases which can be used to create this front-end. When selecting a language we like to use something which can take advantage of rapidly developing mobile platforms and technologies. This gives us an agile development approach, and allows us to keep up with new technology.

Phase Five: Testing

The next stage is to think about what you want the app to do. You need to think about the specific situations in which it will actually be used. We will work with you to help you define this. Once this is done, we’ll create a roadmap for app development and draw up specific milestones and timelines.

At this point you should also consider how fast you need the app and how much are you willing to spend? Finally think about what you’re going to call your app and how you’re going to market it.

Our Mobile App Testing Process

1. User Experience Testing

This ensures that the final version of your app lines up with the user experience created by the design team. The quality assurance team needs to check that the visuals and interactivity of your app match up with what was initially designed. They also need to make sure that fonts, style elements, color schemes, icon design, and navigation are consistent across the app. This is also why it’s so important that we work from a style guide.

2. Functional Testing

Every part of the app needs to be fully functional. When testing this, it’s a good idea that large number of people use the app. This allows us to test the maximum amount of usage scenarios. Remember, different users may get different results. Which is why more users help us to catch any potential bugs.

Functional testing can be further broken down into system testing and unit testing. System testing determines if the app is working overall as a whole. Unit testing determines if individual functions are working correctly.

3. Performance Testing

It’s also important that the app is tested under different usage situations. For example, how does the app deal with user requests? How fast do various screens load? Does the app drain the phone’s battery? Does the app use bandwidth effectively? When testing performance we also stimulate the maximum amount of concurrent users. This allows us to test is the app can deal with a large number of users at one time.

4. Security Testing

Does the app have potential vulnerabilities which could be exploited? We need to determine this. When performing security testing we like to hire outside people, such as freelance hackers. finally, we also do things like testing the apps data entry forms. This ensures that there is no data leakage.

5. Device And Platform Testing

New mobile devices are released every other month. These devices come with new hardware, firmware, and design. Mobile operating systems are also updated frequently. This makes device and platform testing extremely difficult. All we can really do here is to test the app on as many devices as are currently available.

Phase Six: Deployment And Support

The next stage is to think about what you want the app to do. You need to think about the specific situations in which it will actually be used. We will work with you to help you define this. Once this is done, we’ll create a roadmap for app development and draw up specific milestones and timelines.

At this point you should also consider how fast you need the app and how much are you willing to spend? Finally think about what you’re going to call your app and how you’re going to market it.

Conclusion

The app development process never really ends. This is mostly because you’ll want to modify your app according to user feedback and because we’ll have to fix bugs. As you can see, this is an enormous amount of work, which is why it’s always better to hire someone who knows what they’re doing.

We’re one of the world’s leading app development companies. Our team has worked with dozens of different companies to create state of the art apps. The development process we’ve spoken about today is the exact process we follow every day. These six steps ensure that the development process goes smoothly and that your app is successfully launched without delay. If you have any questions about this process, or want to discuss the development of your app, feel free to get in contact with us.