5 Secret Ingredients to a Successful App Development Project

Let’s be honest: most app development projects fail. We know, we know, it’s discouraging. But, the biggest reasons these projects fail is because the person/people pursing the projects aren’t prepared. So, if you’re thinking about building a web app, mobile app, or custom software,  it’s imperative to do your research and educate yourself on how to succeed! Lucky for you, we’re about to let you in on a little secret—5 secrets actually. Using our 10+ years of experience in the IT sector, we’ve compiled the 5 secret ingredients to a successful app development project. So grab your apron and let’s get to mixing!

Ingredient #1: Building a Strong Foundation

Every successful project starts with a deep understanding of the problem at hand. Therefore, you must develop a project roadmap before a single line of code is written. Your project roadmap should answer the following questions:

1. What is the business problem?
2. How will a custom software solution solve the problem?
3. What features will make a minimum viable product?
4. What software architecture and technology stack are best?
5. How much will it cost and how long would it take to launch?
6. What are the technical or market risks?

Ingredient #2: Focus on the User Experience

Mobile app design is more than meets the eye. An app designed solely to be beautiful will likely fall short in other categories like accessibility, usability, and navigation. That leaves you with a User Interface, or UI, focused design. What you need is an app that delivers a great look and feel. This is what we call a User Experience, or UX, focused design. Users will come for the UI and stay for the UX. So how do you know you’re getting the best UX app design? Check for these qualities:

• Navigation-friendly
• Fast load time
• Great readability
• Compliancy with Americans with Disabilities Act
• Simple visuals
• Clear call-to-action buttons
• Design consistency

Ingredient #3: Choosing the Right IT Partner

This step is perhaps the most important ingredient in the recipe to app development success. Entrust your dream software to only the finest IT company that delivers in these 4 areas:

Ownership

• Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
• Rights to intellectual property
• Rights to the code

People & Process

• On-shore project manager
• Proven app development process
• Robust security offerings
• High-end engineering process

Capabilities

• Diverse service offerings — Web App, Mobile App, Marketing, etc.
• Incorporation of emerging tech trends — AI, Machine learning, IOT, Alexa Skills, etc.
• Utilizing latest programming languages and frameworks

Reputation

• At least 7 years of experience
• Positive customer reviews
• Expansive portfolio
• Awards & recognitions

Ingredient #4: Support & Maintenance

Getting your app designed, developed, and deployed is quite the accomplishment. But, in order to achieve true success, you must think long term. Protect the longevity of your app with these 4 key elements of a strong Support & Maintenance Plan:

1. Yearly cost of plan should be no more than 15-20% of the build cost
2. Response time for service tickets should be no more than 4 hours
3. Plan should include any bug/issue fixes that might arise due to operating system or browser version updates
4. Support team should have infrastructure and app monitoring, alarming, and logging capabilities to troubleshoot issues with your application

Ingredient #5: Go-To-Market Strategy

This step is critical for creating an identity for your product and gaining traction in the marketplace. It can also help predict the success of your app based on competitive data, and prevent you from wasting time and resources launching a product that will ultimately be unprofitable. Increase your odds of a successful product launch by creating a go-to-market plan that answers the following questions:

1. Product-Market Fit: What problem(s) does your product solve? Who already offers the product you are building? What are your key product differentiators?
2. Target Audience: Who is experiencing the problem that your product solves? How much are they willing to pay for a solution?
3. Marketing Campaign: How will you reach your target audience after launching your product? What channels will you use: SEO, paid campaign, social media, website, email marketing?

Recipe to Success

The recipe to a successful software development project includes 5 secret ingredients:

1. Building a Strong Foundation
2. Focusing on User Experience
3. Choosing the Right Partner
4. Support & Maintenance Plan
5. Go-To-Market Strategy

With a pinch of patience and a dash of dedication, you’ll be well on your way to achieving your professional goals!