So You Want to Build an App
It’s an amazing time to be alive as never has it been so easy to build an app and instantly reach millions of people. Whether it is a web based application like Facebook or a mobile app for iOS and Android, new apps and new takes on old ideas are being released daily.
Just because you think it’s a good idea doesn’t mean it is.
Sorry to be captain negativity, but one of the most common issues we see when clients bring us ideas is that it just might not be useful to enough people to actually work. A lot of good ideas come from the problems , or pain-points that we individually experience. That is a great way to come up with app ideas, and for an app to be successful (you want it to make money, right?)it has to solve a problem that a good portion of a market has.
You have to quickly build the product and test it with the market. The advice to “get out of the building” embodies the idea that you must not just build and test it on yourself but really get to the market and test if this is a problem they have and if your solution fits.
There are many good reads on this school of thought, my top picks at the time of this post would be The Lean Startup and Running Lean.
Building the product
The more you can do on your own the better, and depending on if you are a designer, a developer, a business man or just a person with an idea — there are some great tools to get started with.
Don’t bother with a business plan, use the lean canvas. It’s simple and leads to easier iteration and explanation to people you share the idea with.
Make some basic wire frames and think about user stories and write them down. User stories should basically summarize all the desired ways users can interact with your app.
If you can do some designs and basic development that’s great, and if your idea is a mobile app use Flinto to actually get a clickable prototype. If you can’t pull that off no problem do some basic wire frames in PowerPoint and using your user stories build out all of the screens and pages that your app would have. With this early idea you can go to your friends and family and see what they think.
Test test test.
At this point you will likely need to hire someone to help you build out the first phase of the product that is ready to test in the market. To achieve that, you will need what we call an MVP, no not Jordan or Kobe, but rather a Minimum Viable Product. This allows you to go to the market and test your assumptions. You then take that data and continually iterate on what you learn.
Don’t let the term minimum trick you into thinking that the MVP is something that can be done cheaply or quickly. Minimum refers to the core functionality that is required to test your most important assumption. An MVP is focused and does not have every feature you’ve thought of, however it also requires enough of a foundation to work and not irritate users. Finding the right mix of features and functionality in a working app is a constant struggle and you will need to have the right team working with you to ensure that your MVP is not just what you want, but what you need to determine if this idea is viable.
So, are you ready to take your ideas to the next level?
Get in touch with me today: hi@sym.ph
