How to develop a mobile app: a guide
Developing a mobile app requires adherence to a certain algorithm of actions, which directly affects the successful completion of the task. Here it is important to organize the process as smoothly as possible to prevent the appearance of problems and reduce the impact of force majeure.
Creating an app includes the following steps:
– briefing with the customer, drafting the TOR;
– presentation of the prototype;
– development and approval of the design;
– code writing;
– product testing;
– bug fixing.
Such steps should accompany the creation of any application, regardless of its specifics and scale. Depending on the complexity, the timing of each step can be adjusted.
Terms of Reference. For it, it is important to understand the purpose of developing the product, and its functionality. In addition, it is necessary to identify the consumers for whom the application will be designed – the target audience. For this, they use analytics, the results of which form the basis of the requirements specification. It should include all the elements of the application, its specification, orientation, and operating algorithm. TOR should be detailed and precise, which will reduce the likelihood of errors. After it is drafted, it should be agreed with the customer. It is important that each point of the TOR is checked by both parties, the better the communication, the fewer problems waiting for specialists during the development and delivery of the final product.
Prototyping is necessary to understand how elements will be arranged in the application, how its pages will look, and the purpose of each part. Prototyping is done with the help of wireframes, or page layouts. In this way, the specialist sees the product as users do, and if necessary, can optimize it and make it more convenient and understandable.
UX- and UI-design is used when developing an application. The first characterizes the internal content, functionality, and optimal positioning of elements. UI design includes the appearance of the product, its design, color, the presence of animated details, and more.
They distinguish the writing of the application code in two formats – native and cross-platform. The first option involves the development of the product separately for the iOS and Android operating systems. In the case of cross-platform coding, one can create a code that will be suitable for different operating systems. Using one or another format depends on the wishes of the customer, the complexity of the product, and other peculiarities.
Testing is the final stage, a kind of “combing” the product, removing all bugs and improving functionality. In this case, the work of the application is evaluated from the user’s point of view, not that of the specialists.
When all the errors are eliminated and the product conforms to the TOR, it is presented to the customer. If during the development process, communication was smooth, then there should be no problems. However, in some cases, the customer asks to finalize a certain point, and then the deadline for closing the task is adjusted.
