This is the first critical point in the process of planning a mobile app. To accurately map all activities inside the application, we use the knowledge of experts in the field User Experience and Business Analysis. The work of these teams begins with a full understanding of the business, its values, roles and stakeholders. Later on, we focus on properly tracking and designing each functionality in such a way that it meets the client’s business needs and is easy and pleasant to use.
UX design
UX designer works out user paths, indicates key actions in the application and the optimal way to perform the activity you care about. Apart from that, they suggest solutions that will be primarily tailored to end user’s needs.
One of the results of the UX team’s work are mockups that describe the exact structure and content of each view of the application. Using them, you are able to see a clickable prototype of your app, trace exactly how a user moves around it, what is the hierarchy of information, or the structure of views. What’s important — UX mockups show only the logical layer of the application, but they don’t constitute its final appearance — its visual layer (colors, fonts, images) prepared by the team responsible for User Interface.
Business analysis
A business analyst, on the other hand, describes exactly how each application functionality works, how it can be used and what limitations it should have to meet the overall business goal. Thus, it gives an accurate input for the developer who is responsible for programming the given functions in the app and at this stage begins conceptual work, focusing on the implementation of the solution.
The optimal solution, both for a client and a software supplier, is working together on the application “from the inside out” during analytical and conceptual workshops. They allow developing a concept of an app thanks to joint work on its functional scope. Such workshops are attended by the team responsible for business requirements on the client’s side, as well as a business analyst and UX designer on the supplier’s side.
As a result of the workshop, we create a preliminary backlog (a list of features, requirements and functionalities that should be included in the product), on the basis of which the development team can estimate individual elements and verify what scope should be implemented to prepare a minimum version (MVP) and reduce time-to-market. The workshop in iteo also results in the development of main user paths in the form of clickable mockups to ensure optimal flow in the application already at this stage. This type of documentation provides the basis for assessing the scope — and thus — the working time of the development team, which ultimately translates into the creation of a cost estimate and work schedule.
What can you do on your own?
Before you decide on a professional workshop, you can create a simple concept of a mobile application yourself and this way be well prepared for cooperation.
Gather ideas and inspirations — browse other apps in stores, read user reviews and suggestions, look for possible benchmarks online. See what functions are repeated, look for dependencies and similarities. Create a list of functions and features that you want your application to have. Make sure that they meet your business goals. Conduct tests and research among your friends — would an app really facilitate a given activity, shorten the purchase, or maybe supplement or fill a gap in your business process?
List of the most important questions:
- What is the main goal of creating an application?
- What problem is an application supposed to solve?
- Who are the potential users of an application?
- What should an application enable a user to do? Define its basic functions.
- How will product success be measured?
- Are there any competitive solutions on the market today?
- What makes your product stand out on the market?
- How do you know that there is a need to create a mobile application for your business?
- What business model are you planning to implement for this product? Will it be a free app, subscription or freemium option?
With the concept and analysis of your customer’s persona, you are already one step ahead during the workshop meeting.
Summing up
Our business experience shows that the best method to explore the sales potential of a mobile app is to create a so-called MVP — minimum viable product. As part of the workshop process, the team sets only the necessary features that are enough for the users to be able to try the solution out and judge its value. The goal of creating an MVP is to get your product to market quickly and collect user feedback to then be able to develop it further based on their needs and preferences. Thanks to the creation of an MVP, you can quickly check whether such a solution is really needed and meets your users’ requirements before you invest time and big money in the project.
