One of the challenges facing non technical startup founders is outsourcing development work. It is a regular question when I do my small business consulting for startups. So I am delighted to share this guest post from my friend Michael Romilly (@MRomilly) at Waracle. Waracle (@WaracleUK) are trusted by the UK & USA's most innovative businesses to be mobile app developers. They know what they are talking about....
It’s tough going creating software in the mobile age. There’s a tonne of stuff you need to think about. If you’re currently attempting to mobilise an existing web/desktop based software application, the whole thing can seem extremely challenging. Mobile development requires a specific way of thinking and unique expertise, which makes reskilling your existing team of developers challenging. Trying to spin up an entirely new team of mobile developers can also be hard and this is why many brands and businesses turn to an outsourced/agency model in the first instance. This is one of the best ways to get your app into the market quickly and enables you to taper mobile thinking and expertise into your development team gradually over time.
Build, Operate, Transfer
We refer to this approach as a BOT (build, operate, transfer) model. BOT focuses on enabling your company to get a mobile app to market quickly, whilst helping your existing team gain valuable mobile insight from an experienced team of app developers. We refer to this process as ‘positive contamination’ because it offers a commercially and technically risk-managed approach to developing your first suite of mobile applications and diffusing the right thinking and skills into your team. But many brands and businesses struggle to engage effectively with app development agencies because they aren't equipped with the right information.
Build, Operate, Transfer One of the key problems is the fact that good mobile app developers are in high demand and short supply. This means they tend to be selective about the projects they get involved with. If your project, or approach is perceived as being risky or under-prepared the likelihood of obtaining a costing and timeline is severely diminished. You need to think carefully about your mobile strategy and follow these steps:
1) Define Your Key Measures Of Success
You should always start with the end in mind. Think about what success looks like for your project. This is one of the first questions any mobile app development agency should be asking.
You should think carefully about the following questions:
It’s not always easy getting this part right. Once you understand what success looks like, you can work backwards from this exact point. Your key measures of success should inform the direction of your project at every step. Starting out with a half-baked vision of what you’re trying to achieve is never going to be enough. If you can clarify your thinking at the planning stage it will dramatically increase the chances of your app being successful. Work out exactly what you want from your app and this will help to inform it’s ongoing design, development and optimisation.
2) Get Buy-In From Your Stakeholders
Before you speak to an app development agency, you should conduct a comprehensive stakeholder consultation. This should enable you to get buy-in from key decision makers within your business. Getting the right people involved early in the process will help accelerate the design and launch of your app. Stakeholder buy-in massively adds credibility to your project when approaching a mobile agency and will dramatically increase your chances of getting a comprehensive quote that includes a costing and realistic timescale.
It’s like anything else, you’ll get back what you put in. The more preparation you do at the front end of the project, the more likely you are to get back a realistic scope document with costing and timeline.
3) Create A Detailed RFP
In order to create a detailed RFP (request for proposal) you need to define the scope of your project. This should all relate to your key measures of success and performance indicators. In terms of developing an MVP (minimum viable product), every feature within your app should be designed with these key measures of success in mind. Your RFP should contain a comprehensive summary of what your app is and what you want it to achieve. You should also think about your existing data systems and outline clearly how your app should be integrated inside your existing business processes. Having this information clearly documented will accelerate the time it takes for a mobile agency to respond to your enquiry and helps add credibility to your project.
Think clearly about which platforms you want your app to target. Is it an iOS app? Is it an Android app? Is it both? Do you want to develop for iOS first and evaluate it’s performance before investing in Android (this is quite common)? These are all questions you’ll need to think about and it’s important to demonstrate an understanding of the market you’re competing in. You’ll need to think about how your app will scale if you’re lucky enough to engage a large number of users. If you’re currently trying to work out how to commission an app development project, try our app readiness test and one of our business development team members will be in touch to discuss your requirements.
4) Be Clear About Your Timescales (Be Realistic)
For many app development companies, balancing resource is a complex and ongoing challenge, so your project start date and overall timeline will be directly governed by the three previous steps that we’ve discussed in this article. If you have all of the above elements in place, you’re probably almost ready to approach an app development agency. Having a realistic understanding of when your project needs to start and finish will help your chosen app development agency to schedule the required resource according to your goals. You need to think hard about what you’re trying to achieve, be realistic about how long things take (usually longer than you first anticipate) and factor in a buffer in case things take much longer than you expect. If there are external project dependencies and third parties who can influence the momentum of you project, this also needs to be factored into your project timeline.
5) Consider Your Budget
Developing software is complex. In order to get to grips with the cost of the project and your required budget, it’s essential to have an understanding of these associated complexities. You’ll need to be able to demonstrate to a mobile development agency that you have a clear idea of how the software will work and integrate with your existing business systems.
Very often, clients vastly underestimate the cost of marketing. Designing and developing your app is the equivalent of reaching first base. It’s absolutely paramount that you consider how you’re going to market and promote your app and develop a projected cash flow based on the associated marketing activities. The app store is extremely competitive and standing out from the crowd is tougher than ever. You should consider how to optimise your app and think about other creative ways to spread your message. Here’s something that will help you frame the scope of your project and think about a budget: http://www.kinvey.com/app-cost-estimator If you’re a business in the market for a mobile app, contact Waracle today to kick start the conversation. Small Business Consulting A Startup Can Afford - Subscribe To Our SaaS Newsletter
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AuthorKenny Fraser is the Director of Sunstone Communication and a personal investor in startups. Archives
September 2020
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