Do you have a great idea to create a mobile application that should generate a large and constant income? Don’t start the celebration yet, as you are guaranteed to face many serious problems. They can not only spoil the mood but even put an end to your idea, no matter how brilliant it may seem.
Let's analyze the major problems that 99.9% of entrepreneurs face when implementing their idea of creating applications. We’ll also try to figure out how to solve them.
Problem 1. Choosing a contractor
A team of professionals will be able to turn an idea into a ready-made workable product, with which you’ll enter the market. The team shall involve UI/UX designers, an experienced manager for developing the concept and coordinating the work of the entire team, programmers for developing front-end and back-end parts, QA staff, analyst, ASO optimization and promotion specialist.
Here the first problem appears, namely, the choice of a contractor for the development of a mobile application. One person is unlikely to be able to cope with such a volume of diverse work, and it’s simply impossible to be an expert in all these areas. Therefore, you need to look for freelance developers or contact an agency that already has all the specialists required.
In the first case, the entrepreneur will have to spend a lot of time just to understand his own project and figure out what kind of specialists are needed. After that, it’s necessary to find a development company, assess the qualification of its team, discuss the project and somehow coordinate the work and establish relationships.
Freelancers might be located in different parts of the world and may not know each other, which will complicate communication, and you’ll be the only connecting link between them. You will have to assign tasks to everyone, control the development process, transfer comments and resolve conflicts that inevitably arise between participants who are working on the same team for the first time.
Professional development companies have a complete team of specialists, so hiring them could be a much more preferable option. You just need to tell your idea to the project manager, and the team will do the rest. Of course, you personally will participate in the process as well, but only to agree on the details to make sure in the end you get exactly what you wanted.
Problem 2. Determining the cost of development
It’s pretty clear that every entrepreneur, before looking for contractors to develop a planned application, wants to know at least an approximate price for such work in order to plan the expenses and budget. And if you decide to find out how much it costs to develop a mobile application, then, most likely, you’ll get rather mixed results.
Prices can vary significantly. The cost can be presented in two variants: for the implementation of the entire project, and as an hourly rate of developers. In both cases, it will still be difficult to understand how much money it will take for the project. Therefore, without consulting a manager, you can only find out an approximate price, which is a rather significant problem.
After spending some time on the Internet and making a few calls, you’ll determine the range of actual development prices. Development companies you get in touch with will manage to name the cost of the entire project only after discussing all the important details, including the platform, functionality, design, and so on.
You can find some online calculators to determine the cost of the application's functionality. But they are only approximate and the final price can be set only after a detailed study of all the features of the project. During the development process, changes in price are possible due to sudden difficulties. A reliable studio that values the customers and their reputation, clearly sets the prices for its services and carefully explains each stage of work. As a result, you get the ultimate cost,
Problem 3. Interaction with developers
It happens quite often that a customer eventually receives a product that significantly differs from what he originally expected. Both parties (the contractor and the customer himself) are responsible for those situations. And if everything is clear with the contractor’s responsibility, you may have questions about the fault of the customer, so let’s focus on a customer and his actions.
It’s impossible to give developers an abstract task and expect that specialists, using telepathic abilities, will find out what you really want and clearly realize everything, even unvoiced wishes. That’s why it’s so important to establish interaction with developers at each stage of work and agree on intermediate results.
Before developing an application, it’s necessary to draw up detailed technical specifications. It prescribes all the important points and stages of the project, stipulates the timing and price. Further, the work on the project will be carried out in accordance with those specifications, and, if necessary, changes shall be agreed upon and implemented. Thus, the entire development process will be transparent.
In addition, the project manager communicates with the client on a regular basis and provides step-by-step deliverables, including a demonstration of conceptual models, design options, functionality and the overall work. Only in this case you can guarantee that the created application will fully meet your expectations and the money will be spent as intended. If specialists offer to work without specifications and the contract, it’s better to find another development agency to realize your digital product.
Problem 4. Missing deadlines
In order to attract clients, some developers, both freelancers and agencies, may promise to create an application in a time frame that is almost impossible. As a result, instead of a finished product, the client receives regular communication and the absence of a workable product.
Actually, development can be delayed and not necessarily because of a contractor. For example, a client might decide to change tech requirements, add new functions or make any other changes to the operation of the application that were not originally discussed. In this case, the deadlines could be reviewed and updated since the scope of work changes.
But there are other options when the developers do not properly evaluate their own capacities and miss the deadlines. Lost time means lost profit, especially if the customer has already planned an advertising campaign and invested money in it.
How to avoid problems with ordering the development of an application and protect yourself from missed deadlines as much as possible? It’s necessary to sign a contract, indicating specific dates for the completion of the project. That will become an effective control tool. The contract can even identify the measures that will be taken in case a contractor fails to complete the work on time. If an agency is reliable, then its representative will offer to draw up an agreement and prescribe all the nuances of cooperation, including the responsibility of the parties in case of violation of its clauses.
Problem 5. Refusal of testing
An important step in the development of any application is testing. Creation of business applications requires testing, which can be carried out automatically or manually. This helps to timely identify errors and any weaknesses or vulnerabilities to quickly fix them and avoid problems in the future.
But in order to speed up the process and reduce the cost of development, some contractors ignore this stage and issue the product "as it is", which leads to unpleasant consequences even during the promotion of the application and a client base collection.
Furthermore, there could be incorrect operation of certain functions and tools, which will cause a negative reaction of users and an outflow of potential customers. Therefore, it’s impossible to skip testing. It’s better to spend a little more time at the development stage, making sure everything is operating properly, rather than fix issues in the emergency mode when the app is already on the market.
Problem 6. Non-working product
Sometimes the wrong choice of an app development agency can turn into a complete collapse of all the hopes for a customer. You can find many cases when contractors give the clients inoperable products, finding multiple excuses why they failed to fulfill the obligations.
What to do? If there’s a contract, then the situation is not hopeless, and you can demand that the contractor finalizes the application. If there’s no contract, then the situation gets worse, and there is a high probability that you will have to look for new specialists who can correct the mistakes of their predecessors and bring the development to its logical conclusion. All of that will require money and time. Therefore, when choosing agencies, pay attention to their reputation, portfolio, customer reviews, read case studies and, if possible, contact their previous clients.
If you are interested in custom application development and want to avoid the problems that we described above, contact the Internet of Things. Contact us in any way that is convenient for you, and the company's specialists will consult you on all stages of development. Our managers will answer your questions and, if you decide to order the application, they will help you organize a personal meeting online or offline for a more detailed discussion to draw up an agreement.