Steps to understanding application development

Table of content

What is application development?
The Top 10 Benefits of Mobile App Development for Business Enterprises are listed below.
Steps of App Development

Planning and Research
Prototyping
Design
Development
Testing
Release
Maintenance

What is application development?

Application development is the process of creating computer software or a group of applications to perform the numerous tasks required by a business. Applications help businesses automate processes and increase efficiency by organizing sales statistics and creating monthly budgets. The steps taken to create an app are always the same: gathering requirements, developing prototypes, testing, implementing, and integrating.

Read More: Understanding Software Development

The Top 10 Benefits of Mobile App Development for Business Enterprises are listed below.

#1 Reaches a global audience

More than 3.5 billion of the planet’s 7.7 billion inhabitants own smartphones. Additionally, customers spend more than 2 hours using mobile apps, according to market research. Mobile apps encourage developing an efficient marketing plan for the app as well as extending a company’s target market. It’s the first reason for mobile app development.

#2 High accessibility both online and offline

Users can access a mobile app at any time and from any location. The user can utilize the mobile app from their home, office, cafeteria, etc. after downloading it. Additionally, the program can carry out basic tasks without an online connection. Mobile app development efficiently improves an organization’s accessibility.

#3 On-the-go advertising

Mobile apps’ intuitive and user-friendly user interfaces help mobile business enterprise marketing. Having a mobile app is similar to placing a client’s presence in their pocket. The software handles everything with a few taps and scrolls, whether it’s a delivery update or resolving a client complaint. A versatile app offers distinctive value propositions that enhance mobile enterprise marketing.

#4 Encourages Customer Feedback

A crucial component of any company venture is customer feedback. To build a meaningful relationship with customers, it is essential to understand their wants. Customers have a handy venue to provide feedback about the company’s goods and services thanks to mobile apps. You might find it unexpected, but according to mobile application development statistics, 77% of consumers think that firms that put money into enabling and gathering customer input are more suitable. In general, mobile apps enable efficient and speedy feedback management.

#5 Use AR to improve service and sales

Along with integrating AR and VR, mobile app development has completely changed how businesses interact with their customers. AR-based mobile apps have been used by large, billion-dollar companies like Ikea, Dulux Paints, Gucci, and SMEs like Lenskart and Makaan to increase income. Customers who use mobile apps are well-informed about the goods and services they are purchasing. According to Threekit, businesses that use AR-based apps have seen a 40% increase in conversion rates.

#6 Promotes the recognition of brands

A key first step in keeping your brand at the forefront of your customer’s minds is brand awareness. Business firms may effortlessly provide clients with high-quality services thanks to mobile application development. For instance, a restaurant app gives customers access to real-time information on seating availability, meal times, etc. Diners find it handy to use the app to reserve seats, place orders, etc. The mobile app effectively increases brand recognition among customers by providing improved services.

#7 Keeps you in the race, position seven

Based on data from 2018, which suggests that more than 50% of commercial firms already have mobile apps, is the infographic above. In fact, 80% of small and medium-sized businesses now have mobile apps, according to the eMarket survey. Giving up on mobile apps causes the business to suffer a serious setback and lose a considerable number of valuable clients. Hire app developers to create a user-friendly mobile application development for your company. To get more related information, feel free to reach out to Cyber Dolphins Pvt Ltd.

#8 Builds Brand Loyalty

Businesses are concerned with promoting customer and client brand loyalty. Digital discount coupons have become a crucial part of establishing loyalty programs in the world that has gone digital. Mobile applications alert the administrator about the user’s interest in particular goods and promotions. It aids the management team in creating user-specific brand loyalty programs and promotions.

#9 Using social media as a marketing strategy

Globally, social networking platforms are the most popular mobile apps. People appreciate showing their support for the goods, services, and businesses that provide them by liking, sharing, commenting, etc. Positive user reviews on social media ultimately help to spread the word about your business. Including social media symbols on a platform where consumers can provide insightful feedback serves as a powerful marketing tool for the company.

#10 Makes market research easier

A business initiative must contain in-depth consumer preference research and market analysis. Mobile apps give the research team quick and simple access to customer data. Using the app’s reviews section, the team can evaluate the quality of the products and services, prospective areas for improvement, etc.

Steps of App Development

In this blog, Cyber Dolphins Pvt Ltd. will provide an abstract overview of the main phases involved in mobile app development, along with key concerns to keep in mind at each stage.

1. Planning and Research

The planning phase should start as soon as you have an idea for an app in your head. The planning stage should try to address a number of high-level questions concerning the viability of your idea in the present market environment rather than selecting how your app will look or be programmed. Planning frequently includes conducting market research and a feasibility assessment. Answers must be given to queries such as “Is there a need for my app?” “What is the value proposition of my app?,” and “Are there existing applications that perform what mine will accomplish? It is essential to understand whether there is a market niche for your app idea before spending a sizable sum of money on its app development and promotion.

An Important Decision

Choosing the platforms your app will run on is another important decision (iOS, Android, Web, etc.). You must choose between a hybrid strategy and developing natively for each platform if you plan to develop for more than one. Consider the level of competition and the location of your target market when choosing the platform(s) that make sense for your app. These next two inquiries can assist you in determining not only whether the app as a whole is feasible but also where you would want to focus initial application development efforts in order to create a proof-of-concept. To ensure that your app at least has a possibility of success, it is crucial to spend a lot of effort in advance on preparation. Pose the inquiries. 1) Are there users of your app?; and 2) Are there users willing to pay for your app? You should be able to answer “yes” to these questions with confidence before moving on to the design process. You haven’t invested much in this area yet, so don’t be afraid to remain for a while. Instead of releasing your app only to learn that you should have catered to a different demographic or avoided constructing it at all, it is best to have faith in the commercial feasibility of your app.

2. Prototyping

You immediately start building wireframes during the prototyping stage and make changes in response to user feedback. A wireframe may be thought of as a low-fidelity reference for the UI and UX of your app because it gives a general idea of how it will work and flow without getting too specific about color or design. Instead of providing them with a detailed feature set in order to get feedback, concentrate on showcasing the key components of your app’s MVP (minimum viable product) in your wireframes. You can use resources like InVision to gather input on the wireframes for your app. It is imperative that you collect input from a sizable portion of your target audience. Without it, you risk creating an app that falls short in terms of usefulness for your target market. For instance, you might create a flight booking software that requires two hands to use comfortably, only to learn after it is out that your target market of business people won’t bother to use it since they only have one hand free as they rush through the airport with their baggage. It is crucial to adopt an iterative process at this point so you may show as many mock-ups to your users as you can, allowing your app’s functionality plan to change and adapt. Don’t be reluctant to take your time here because you want to be certain that your app will in fact satisfy the demands of your audience. Instead of having to go back to this stage in the middle of development, it is preferable to get off on the right foot from the beginning. It is time to move on to the design phase after refining the audience’s criticisms and confirming that your users are favorably responding to your prototype.

3. Design

We won’t go into much detail about some of the most important components of the design process during app development. Your UX and UI designers should start by making improvements to the approved wireframes. This requires the positioning and design of UI elements, the specification of user flows, an understanding of element hierarchy, etc. Create high-fidelity mockups today so your developers can use them to build a usable app. Additionally, information on what occurs when objects are tapped, swiped, dragged, etc., should be included in these mockups. If you don’t already have one, you should create a brand guideline to ensure that your app’s identifier is recognizable and well-understood by both your designers and developers. Each screen must adhere to your rules in order for your app to be cohesively designed. At this point, a marketing strategy should also be developed. Typically, this entails planning how you will promote your app (social media, creating a blog, etc). A website to gather emails from users who could be interested in your product, a newsletter, or a social media following might also be necessary.

4. Development

You really start writing the code for the “final” version of the program during the development phase. Here, you use the feedback from the wireframes to inform some significant, possibly final decisions. Here, methods like waterfall or agile can be applied. Agile development should ideally be used while creating mobile applications. These methods for producing software products will be discussed in further detail in a forthcoming post of Cyber Dolphins Pvt Ltd. At this point, it’s also essential to include an analytics engine in your app. Create events for all probable user interactions so that you can keep track of how your product is being used and the overall user flow. Once your app is out to the public, you can use this data to refine its design and gather more consumer insight to provide the best possible product.

5. Testing

In a perfect world, testing takes place at the same time as the application development stage. Testing must be carried out continuously to reduce post-release costs. Unit tests, UI tests, and integration testing are essential to ensure that any significant defects or oversights are rectified as soon as feasible. Although test cases can add time to the development process, they can ultimately save a lot of time and money on maintenance and support. Additionally helpful later on, when your software is being maintained, is testing. You can run all of your test cases after making a little change to determine if your changes have affected other parts of the system, without needing someone to manually go through each test case.

6. Release

This is where you will ask for permission to upload your program to the Play Store or the App Store. You will use this technique each time you publish a new version of the software, so understanding it is essential. Your program should be of a caliber that will fulfill the requirements of the store where you wish to submit it at this level of development, and you should have solved the majority of the important faults that your testers found. Congratulations! The whole public can use your app. However, your effort is not yet done. You effectively go back to prototyping after you release your app. You will be looking over customer input, perhaps adding new features, and then re-releasing. These five processes will be repeatedly used to further tailor your product to your target. You also start marketing your product at this point. Your app should have a chance of being discovered in the wild thanks to the marketing plans and social media campaigns created and implemented before this point.

7. Maintenance

This phase should begin at the same time as the release and develop simultaneously. When performing maintenance, you examine your app’s functionality, deal with any potential issues, and make sure it continues to work as intended. Updating your software to accommodate new hardware or operating system versions is often considered maintenance. Your app requires ongoing maintenance at all times. You will continue to support your app until you decide to stop (possibly leaving your users in the process).