That’s why it’s so important to know how the whole process works. This means not only understanding where to put particular pieces of code but also how to plan everything beforehand, design the interface properly, test and debug everything and keep the app up-to-date once it is released. Sometimes, if you’re not sure your personal or the team’s level of expertise of the applications development life cycle is high enough, it’s better to trust the project to professionals. This model of hiring third-party vendors to fulfill particular tasks for your company is called outsourcing. There are many businesses in the outsourcing market. Some of them specialize in different things, but most will gladly take on custom mobile app development of any size and difficulty. Moreover, as they specialize in this field, such companies offer top-level quality in every aspect, while the price is really low and the terms can be as short as you need. If you’re not planning on outsourcing, then it’s crucial to know every single detail about the mobile development lifecycle. So, here’s the whole process in a step-by-step guide.
Stage 1: Planning
Just like in every other business, planning is crucial for any application development life cycle. Analyze the requirements carefully and come up with a list of what features must be included, what should be omitted, and what could be easily implemented as a bonus feature. Research the market and find out what similar apps already exist. If your one is going to be absolutely unique and innovative – great. But most of the time there’s at least one or two pieces of software that have somewhat similar features. If the market research shows that there’s a high number of the same applications, then it’s time to reconsider the project goals and main features of the program. Or it can be your chance to create the best application of its kind and rule the market. Analyze all the needed expenses, the potential ones, and the profits you’re planning to get after the release. There are also many other factors, like taxes (if you’re not outsourcing), that should be included in the plan to keep all the business aspects and procedures safe and predictable
Stage 2: Design
Start with a sketch of the application. What will it look like? Where are all the features located? How accessible is every part? How do the buttons look and where they’re placed? It’s needed to think about how every single pixel of the screen is going to be used by your app. The initial design determines the development stage because the UI/UX is made to interact with the core itself. And that means that knowing how and where all the features are located helps to keep the development simple, fast and efficient. Analyze the technical side of the project. Here are some examples of things to consider:
Programming languageStructure of the applicationSystem requirementsPlatform compatibilityThird-party integrationsUpgradability of the appSecurity protocols (if it uses network connection)And many other things!
Create all the needed technical documentation. It will not only aid your team to understand everything better but also will be of great help in the future. For example, if other developers will need to work on the program, or if the whole product will be sold to another company. Also, don’t forget about wireframing, which is the most common technique used by devs. It’s sort of creating a model of the program to see how everything looks and supposedly works. There are many software options for this matter, so it’s just needed to show all the aspects precisely.
Stage 3: Develop
Now, it’s time to get to coding. There are many ways to create the program itself. But the most efficient one means developing a prototype first, analyzing whether it fits the requirements, and adjusting it until it does. Only after the prototype with the main features is ready, all the other parts of the application should be developed and implemented. This helps to avoid long reconstructions of the whole project from scratch. Some people think prototyping is unnecessary and takes up too many resources. But in reality, changing anything in the existing program is much harder, time-consuming, and expensive than adjusting the prototype. So, develop the initial version and make sure it works as intended. After that, it’s time to create the main build of the program. Take into consideration all the lessons learned while prototyping. The main build development is the core process of the whole app development life cycle. After all, it’s about creating the software itself, all the other stages are needed to make it as efficient and flawless as possible
Stage 4: Testing
After the first build of the application is ready, it’s needed to test it. Don’t underestimate the importance of this stage. Many programs fail on the market because of the lack of testing. They usually have way too many bugs that could be fixed simply if they were discovered during this stage. So, check every single part of the program for the presence of any issues. Test all the features numerous times. Also, it’s a good idea to hire professional testers, they will provide you with the most precise and detailed feedback. Fix all the bugs as soon as possible and make sure none are missed. Remember – a single bug can lead to the failure of the product. Also, test the interface. Understanding whether it works the intended way and the level of its user-friendliness is crucial.
Stage 5: Release and Maintain
If everything looks perfect and works how it should, then the time has finally come. Release the application on the market. If the plan was detailed enough, then you already know all the details needed for this. These are:
Targeted application marketsPrice/Subscription feeTarget audienceMarketing strategyAnd so on
Of course, all the aspects can and should be reconsidered if the software was changed a lot during the development process. From now on, it’s a matter of keeping the product in shape. After the release, you’ll have the first wave of discovered bugs. Fix them, and continue to fix all the ones that will appear later. Implement new features if the research shows the demand for them, optimize the back-end part, keep the regular updates. Obviously enough, customers always prefer the apps that are maintained by the developers to the abandoned ones. And don’t forget about the marketing too. The product won’t be worth anything if nobody knows about its existence.
Final Words
Now that you know the whole process of developing a mobile application, it’s time to put this knowledge to use. Of course, this is a difficult process that requires a lot of resources and skills, but with the right approach, everything is possible. So, plan ahead, research every single detail, test all the features properly, and good luck!
