You have the app idea, maybe even an existing business model, but now you need to plan out your approach.
While every app developer is different, being able to provide a basic outline of your app idea initially on paper can save you valuable time during app discovery while you are still vetting out who exactly should design and develop your future digital assets.
Right now is an exciting time for you!
Having a clear vision as you embark on this ambitious endeavor is important to ensuring your future success.
The clearer you are on your app goals during the initial discovery phase and able to state those needs upfront to app developers you approach, the more focus can be placed on overall compatibility and your project needs.
Depending on where you’re at from a technological perspective, this guide should serve as a jumping-off point to start organizing your new development project and formulate a plan to approach potential app developers.
Understanding the Vision Behind Your App
Answering these questions will help you outline your initial goals, and then begin to prioritize from there:
- What goals are your app going to help users accomplish?
- How will your app make their lives’ easier?
- What role will your app play in users’ lives?
Ultimately, goals set now will help determine future app features and how you should design and develop your app.
It’s okay to keep it simple at one or two goals, as this will result in a focused, easy-to-use app that also happens to be cost effective for you to build at this stage.
Once you’ve written them down, take a second to reflect on what’s truly most important to the day one viability of your venture. Which goals are essential to your app’s mission, both from broader market and personal business perspectives?
Even if you don’t know the answer to these questions just yet, take note and keep going as you conduct your research and get organized. You’ll be surprised what can come to light!
To assess the business potential of your idea and refine your marketing message, it’s important to leverage your primary communication channels.
Gather statistics, insights, and market trend reports. Engage with potential users online, conduct polls, or collaborate with focus groups. Essentially, you need to meet your future app users where they’re currently at.
We always recommend starting with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to gather essential feedback, validate assumptions and help shape the final vision of your product.
Identifying Your Target Audience
Understanding your target audience is crucial for app development.
Beyond basic demographics like age, gender, career, and location, it’s important to delve into users’ requirements, challenges, needs, and responsibilities.
Additionally, gather qualitative data about the technologies they use, their familiarity with different platforms (Android/iOS/Web), and their preferred app functionalities.
In a more holistic sense, you need to begin establishing how your app will fit into users’ lifestyles by observing other behaviors. This includes their values, hobbies and interests.
How and when will your target use the app? What features are most appealing to your target?
Studying the Competition
Ultimately, you need to know how you stack up against your competitors.
This means checking out the potential strengths and weaknesses of your app compared to theirs, and spotting any opportunities and threats in the market.
A simple SWOT analysis will give you a quick snapshot of these factors.
Discover how to set yourself apart from the competition, but also pick up valuable insights from their strategies and tactics.
You’ll gain a clearer picture of each platform’s interface standards, understand what your target audience is accustomed to and figure out what marketing language resonates with them.
Plus, engaging with other apps on your chosen platform will help you see what solutions are available to you.
Don’t just focus on apps within your chosen category.
You can also draw inspiration from apps that succeed in other categories.
Brainstorming for Your App
Now that you’ve identified the who and the why, it’s time to establish how your app will accomplish your goals.
An easy way to do this is to imagine the user journey, step by step, starting with each goal you’ve previously laid out.
For this stage, an organized list will suffice. Start by listing the simple action the user will take.
Then, brainstorm each action item they will encounter in-app as they go from there. We’ll call these User Journeys.
We’ve plotted out an example app for the purposes of this exercise.
Example: Home Services Booking App
Front End:
For home cleaning, we would charge the consumer a fixed price and book the service immediately.
Back End:
The home service providers would all get a notification through a software that a certain consumer needs his/her home cleaned at a certain time and they would all place their bids to carry out the service.
Home Services Available:
Home Moving
Home Cleaning
AC Maintenance
Pool Cleaning
Handyman (electrician, plumber, general)
Painting
Pest Control
Mobile Phone Repair
Home Vehicle Repair
User Journey 1 – Home Moving
- User selects home moving from homepage
- App prompts user to select if moving within Dubai or to neighboring cities
- User prompted to select between studio, apartment or villa. Studio is fixed, apartment prompts user to select 1-4 BR, villa prompts user to select 3-5 BR (pricing auto changes with each individual selections)
- Useris shown pricing for the move in addition to the details of the service that include the amount of manpower, bubble wrapping, packing & unpacking etc. User is also given the option for add-on services such as extra truck load.
- User is shown their cart
- User is prompted to enter details (first time) and select location on the map or manually input it (whichever is needed for a leaner solution)
- User prompted to select date and time
- User prompted to select between cash or card (inputs details for first time)
User books and booking is confirmed.
User Journey 2 – Home Cleaning
- User selects home cleaning
- User is prompted, part time maids or home deep cleaning
- For part time maids
- User is prompted to select 1 maid or 2 maids (shown pricing). In addition, user is shown a promotion for first time use
- User is prompted to select, no cleaning agents or yes for cleaning agents (with pricing). User is shown the details of the extra service (agents, brooms, vacuum etc)
- User prompted to select 2-6 hours (shown pricing). User prompted to avail a subscribe and save model. If user subscribes, they are asked if they want service bi-weekly, weekly or bi-monthly for a 5% discount
- User prompted to select date and time
- User prompted to select between cash or card (inputs details for first time)
- User books and booking is confirmed
- For deep cleaning
- User prompted to select between studio, apartment or villa. Studio is fixed, apartment prompts user to select 1-4 BR, villa prompts user to select 3-5 BR (pricing auto changes with each individual selections).
- User prompted to select date, time and location
- User prompted to select between cash or card (inputs details for first time)
User books and booking is confirmed.
This exercise would continue until all of your app “goals”, or User Journeys, are listed out on paper. We hope this example has been helpful!
Identifying Your Project Logistics
Budget, timing, technical constraints.
Based on all of the above considerations and the research you’ve conducted, you need to decide if your app will be web-based, mobile-based, or possibly both. This decision will influence many aspects of your project, from development to user experience.
Evaluate the feasibility of your project based on discussions with developers. Do you have the right talent and resources to bring your vision to life?
Make sure you have realistic expectations about what can be achieved within your timeline and budget.
The technology you choose will impact development time, scalability, and future maintenance. Consider what technologies align best with your project goals and developer expertise.
Developing a potential marketing plan is crucial.
How will you promote your app to your target audience? Think about your marketing strategies, channels and tactics to ensure that your app gains visibility and attracts users.
We’ve covered a lot of ground here, but these are all essential questions to ask yourself as you move forward with your planning. Each aspect is interconnected, and a deep dive into each will help set the foundation for a successful app development project.
Final Thoughts on Planning Your App
When planning to develop a mobile app, there’s a lot to think about.
According to a study by CB Insights, 42% of startups fail because there’s no market need for their product.
This highlights the importance of strategic planning and thorough research to guide your decisions.
Make sure your app addresses real users’ needs.
And remember, you don’t have to do it alone.
A reliable technical partner with extensive market and app planning experience can assist you every step of the way, sharing their expertise to ensure your app becomes a success.
Planning for a new app venture? Reach out to us for your free consultation.
Since 2009, we have helped create 450+ next-generation apps for startups, Fortune 500s, growing businesses, and non-profits from around the globe. Think Partner, Not Agency.
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