Lean Mobile App Development Lifecycle for Agile Businesses in 2020

Mobile apps have become part and parcel of everyone’s lives. There has been a meteoric rise in the number of apps available on the Google Play Store and Apple Store. The popularity of smartphones across demographics is a primary reason for businesses to showcase their services through a mobile app. Enterprises are now keen to have lean mobile app development for almost all their functions and even for their niche users. Thus, professional mobile application development has become a competitive industry with both, open-source frameworks and rapid mobile app development platforms like OutSystems available to develop mobile apps.

However, the phases or lifecycle involved in a simple mobile app development doesn’t change despite changes in technologies and frameworks for creating them. Businesses must understand that a lean mobile app development lifecycle in 2020 will ensure they have a level of readiness to take on competitors in their space. So, it’s ideal to know the phases involved before you choose a tech partner to get your app developed.

Before we delve into the phases for lean mobile app development, here are some stats that indicate the importance of mobile apps for an organization today:

• The revenue from on-demand apps will reach $335 Billion by 2025.
• M-commerce transactions are exceeding e-commerce transactions making mobile as the foremost digital commerce channel.
• Worldwide mobile app revenue in 2019 stands at $462 Billion.

The figures indicate the immense scope for professional mobile application development, as emerging technologies like augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things will soon be integrated into it once 5G becomes commonplace.

Phases for Mobile App Development Defined

The lifecycle of developing a mobile app is much like a software development lifecycle (SDLC). It includes a standard process to develop mobile apps at a minimal cost and maximum value for the end-users. Every lean mobile app development methodology will include the sequential phases of planning, designing, coding, testing, and deployment.

Simple Mobile App Development Lifecycle for Agile Businesses in 2020       

Mobile App Development Phases

It is essential to create a detailed strategy backed by research, trend analysis, and cost-benefit analysis before engaging with tech partners for your lean mobile app development project. From conception to successful execution, businesses need to keep abreast of the recent developments in the industry and explore their implications on the digital solutions they are planning to implement.

Though a well chalked out process, it’s always a good idea to engage with experts for your mobile app development needs. With low-code, no-code open source platforms available for companies to attempt developing a mobile app in-house, enterprises maybe tempted to create mobile apps themselves.

However, it may end up being a costly decision in the long run, as mobile apps require maintenance, scalability, and continuous upgrades to meet users’ requirements.

Thus, depending upon your digital strategy, you should choose a credible tech partner who can collaborate with you during the process of developing a mobile app for your enterprise. Professional mobile application development companies possess the necessary expertise to execute such projects end-to-end.

That said, even though you will eventually engage a technology partner for your project, it’s crucial that you know the phases your lean mobile app development project will go through and have inputs at every step to ensure a robust product.

Planning: This phase marks the beginning of the groundwork. Through brainstorming and research, you can participate in creating the structure for your mobile app and what it entails for both the end-users and the business. As a business, you must engage with an established mobile app development company to answer questions like:

• What is the objective of developing a mobile app?
• What are the main features of your mobile application?
• Who is your target audience?
• Which platform should you choose?
• Have you done a competitor analysis about the features offered in their mobile app?

After these questions are answered, you will have a concrete plan for your lean mobile app development project, with estimates of cost and time required to develop the expected solution.

Designing: This phase requires developers from your technology partner company to present a prototype of the mobile app to visualize the look and feel of the app. Once the development team has all the inputs, the UI/UX designers in the project create an interactive blueprint to demonstrate the workability of the proposed solution. This is an abstraction of the final product and depicts all the ideas gathered during the first phase of planning. At this stage, you can check the usability of the solution by assessing various parameters like feel, navigation, look, and flow of the elements in the mobile app. It is advisable to take feedback from all the stakeholders at this point and list out all the numerous opinions about the app. Discussions at this stage help detect gaps early and ensure the development of a perfect mobile app solution.

Development: As a client, you need to understand the different methodologies of mobile app development. You can discuss with your technology partner whether they follow a waterfall model or an agile model for your mobile app development project. However, leading mobile app development software companies are today, adopt agile methods over conventional methods because of its inherent benefits to the client.

Agile methods are iterative, involving gradual development of the solution while taking inputs from multiple functional teams and clients after completing every milestone. You can let your technology partner know that your preferred approach is agile, as it offers the scope of improvement at any phase. Also, costs and timelines can be easily estimated under this method while improving quality at every step. Reputed mobile app development companies rely on such iterative development to increase the client’s engagement level.

Testing: Once the solution is ready, it is time to test it to check its performance, compatibility, runtime, UI/UX, load times, security, navigation, and various other aspects. Before launching the app on app stores, your lean mobile app development technology experts and their testing team carry out a testing process to ensure that the developed solution meets all the quality standards that your organization has given in the earlier phases.

Ensure that your mobile app is not deployed before conducting User Acceptance Testing (UAT), commonly referred to as beta testing, where actual end-users can use the app in real-time and bugs, if any, can be detected. The feedback is gathered from end-users to understand if the app is working smoothly, the interface is flawless, and the user is satisfied. The inputs available during this stage are given to the developers to ensure that no discrepancies remain before the app is deployed to the larger target audience.

Deployment: Once the newly developed mobile app confirms with all the testing standards, it is time to deploy it on the app store. You must understand that different app stores like Google and Apple have different policies and norms to launch a mobile app for public use.

For instance, the Google Play store allows launching an app free of cost, whereas Apple charges $99 annually to activate the iTunes account. Also, Google approves an Android application in three hours to make your app live. On the other hand, it will take about four days for an iOS app to be live.

If you think that your lean mobile app development project is complete once deployed, then you need to know that you will need your tech partner on an ongoing basis, as apps need regular upgrades and maintenance. Furthermore, they need to collate relevant data like the number of downloads, app reviews, and suggestions to make further improvements based on real-time usage.

Credible mobile app development companies also offer App Store Optimization (ASO) services to their clients to ensure that the app gets visibility on the store and has maximum reach.

Partner with Katalyst                             

Developing a mobile app is a strategic decision for your business, and it’s best to engage experts with the necessary expertise and experience for your end-to-end mobile app development and ongoing mobility solutions.

Katalyst Technologies has extensive experience in creating low-code apps on the leading mobile app development platform OutSystems, besides integrating it with your enterprise’s digital and ecommerce solutions. We have immense expertise in working on numerous open-source frameworks and skills to build Android, iOS, and cross-platform and native apps to match your user behavior in various domains. Our team of professionals offers comprehensive support and counsel right from the ideation phase to ongoing maintenance.
 
Contact us now! 

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