Series: From idea to app - Analyse 1/6
The goal of this step is to get to know the users of your future app via User research. User research allows you to identify the core and unique features (innovative functionalities) of your concept accordingly to your target users and their needs. The first version of your app should focus on doing one thing extremely well. You cannot do everything in one single shot even if you have thousands of very cool ideas in mind. After all, Rome was not built in one day. Separate main features from nice to have and maybe later (see this blog post to know more).
If you are developing an app for B2C or B2B markets, your app must stand out from your competitors and it must consider the basic usability features that the majority of your future users expects. Or if you are creating an internal app to facilitate processes inside your own organization you must involve the people participating in the process you want to streamline starting from this very first step.
In this step you need to answer to questions like:
If you are developing an app for B2C or B2B markets, your app must stand out from your competitors and it must consider the basic usability features that the majority of your future users expects. Or if you are creating an internal app to facilitate processes inside your own organization you must involve the people participating in the process you want to streamline starting from this very first step.
In this step you need to answer to questions like:
- What is the core purpose of the app?
- What are the essential functionalities of the app?
- Who are your target users?
- Who are your key competitors? (yes, there are almost always competitors - your idea is rarely a unicorn).
- Which technology you intend to use for your app?
- What is the time frame to launch your app in the market? (you might be already late)
- What is the budget and related expenses that you have to allocate for marketing?
- How do I plan to launch my app, acquire users and sustain their acquisition?
- ...
Development cycle - Analyse
To keep our analogy with the new house, at this time, you would be seeking for the ground in which to build your new house (evaluating costs vs ground size, neighbourhoods, roads and connections, and more). In this phase you also start to look for an architect that can help you build the house of your dreams.
In bold we highlighted the questions that our skills at MobileThinking can help you answer via our custom workshops and other consulting services. For example, in our experience, most of the time the core purpose of the app is not sufficiently well defined or we can still reduce the number of essential functionalities for the first app version with the guarantee to respect its core purpose. Come to see us and profit for an hour of free consulting* to kick start your project with us (you can contact us here)).
For the remaining questions you must become “Sherlock Holmes” or get a marketing expert in your team. For your research you can use different methods, like surveys, interviews, participant observations, and more. Check out our blog post about User research here if you are looking for some starting points. We can also point you to our partners specialized in marketing.
In bold we highlighted the questions that our skills at MobileThinking can help you answer via our custom workshops and other consulting services. For example, in our experience, most of the time the core purpose of the app is not sufficiently well defined or we can still reduce the number of essential functionalities for the first app version with the guarantee to respect its core purpose. Come to see us and profit for an hour of free consulting* to kick start your project with us (you can contact us here)).
For the remaining questions you must become “Sherlock Holmes” or get a marketing expert in your team. For your research you can use different methods, like surveys, interviews, participant observations, and more. Check out our blog post about User research here if you are looking for some starting points. We can also point you to our partners specialized in marketing.
* Non-engaging first meeting with our experts
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Our series of articles on the mobile application development lifecycle continues. The User journey, Wireframe and prototype phase will be developed within a few days. Leave us your email address to be kept informed as soon as the next articles are available or follow us on LinkedIn.
