We are living in the peak of technology and surely expect it to develop even further in the future. Closely to be with the rapid development of smart mobile devices, a series of mobile applications launched in the market to meet the demands of users makes life easier and more convenient than ever. To integrate into the whirlwind of this explosive growth requires even small – medium businesses to consider investing in a mobile app to reach consumers more effectively.
Depending on the business model there are slightly different variations, but condensed, the core is still the following 8 core steps that may help you learn about the process of starting to learn mobile app development lifecycle.
1: Initiation and Requirement Analysis
Ideas are the most basic foundation for getting things started, and to develop a mobile app is no longer an exception. You need to have an idea, maybe it’s not the only one, but make sure your product is unique, from your own ideas and positively affects target customers and is profitable for your company. This phase helps assess application viability, risks and on the other hand, eliminate them immediately on the onset stage. Focus on the purpose of serving the main customer and build the proper strategy.
2: Project Execution
After analyzing the essentials, proactively send surveys to potential customers to collect their opinions and feedback on your project.
You can also deploy case diagrams that depict the user interaction between the various elements of the application’s UI and helps you in determining the functionality of the project. This step also enables you to absorb the technical specifications and complexity of your project.
3: Storyboards
By now, you must have envisioned what your application will look like? How does it work? What are the functions? The thing to do now is to sketch them all out and determine what your team can do, what you need to outsource. Try to connect coherent ideas, put yourself in the role of the user to see what
they will experience and feel when using the application. Just keep in mind that attracting customers is the most prerequisite for success in application development.
4: Technical Specifications
Before stepping into app design you must ensure that your app is technically compatible with existing add-on apps, this can be achieved by accessing public data by sourcing Public API’s. Different platforms (Android, iOS, and Windows) have different technical specifications and guidelines. Knowing the technical feasibility of your app will save your time in designing a prototype of your app. A mobile application development company providing mobile app development services can help you in sorting out the technical specifications of the project seamlessly.
5: App Designing
Arguably, one of the most important aspects of the mobile application development lifecycle is the user interface (UI) and the user experience (UX). At this stage your business will have to consider on which platform to set up an interface, Android, iOS, or the Web all have different design principles and force developers to follow.
An eye-catching app that offers poorly used content that doesn’t bring much value to the customer is an example of being too focused on the UI and ignoring the UX. In contrast, an app that doesn’t look eye-catching, badly designed but easy to use, and offers value information to customers is an example of a good UX but a poor UI. A professional application developer will balance both elements and perfectly meet your business requirements.
6: App Development
All the complexities regarding building an app is included in this section. Choosing the best programming language becomes the main concern for the developers. These are the five popular backend programming languages that are widely used by developers:
– Java (Primarily used for developing Android apps)
– Python (Primarily used for web-app development)
– Swift (Primarily used for iOS devices)
– PHP (Server-side scripting language used to develop dynamic web applications)
7: App Testing And Debugging
After all the hard work, this is the most anticipated stage. At this stage it is time for you to find dead links, vulnerabilities, software bugs in the source code, simulate usage history and evaluate application usability across devices. Two of the most common ways to test an app are:
– User acceptance reference
With this approach you will test your application on the very target audience that your business is targeting right from the start. Watch them use the app from the moment they open the app, manipulate, interact … until they stop using the device. Obtaining and recording all of their feedback will help you achieve more market satisfaction faster.
– Beta testers
This will let your application run beta on the internet with the participation of everyone, not limited to the audience. By experimenting in such an open way, you will also gather a lot of feedback, both negative and positive. Use it as an advantage to please customers to the highest possible level!
8: Official Release
After completing the test, all errors are removed, your application configuration is perfect. You need to take the following steps to deploy the application in the market:
– Deploying on a dedicated web server
Back-end server is essential for the functioning of an app because it helps in transferring the data to and from the app. You must choose the web service provider that can handle the traffic and provide 99% + uptime. Some of the popular web service providers are Amazon’s AWS, Azure, RackSpace, etc.
– Submit your app on the Store
After the deployment step and choosing the right Back-end server for the application, you proceed to register your application to the store. Depending on the store has different content moderation rules, it usually takes App Store several working days to make sure your app content matches their criteria, whereas GooglePlay allows apps to appear immediately after registration.
Conclusion
The lifecycle of a mobile application does not stop with the release of the app, but also an ongoing marketing phase. Continued monitoring of usability is an essential way to promptly correct any errors through updates.
Developing a mobile application is considered a daunting task as it involves a lot of complex knowledge and technical expertise. However, following the step-by-step approach above can hopefully give you the best overview of the life cycle of a mobile application. Make sure you have consulted, research and selected the outsource app development company carefully before conducting product development!
