We’ll keep it short and sweet; Everyone needs a mobile app, they just don’t know what to expect from their mobile app partner. That’s where we come in.
Here are the top five things to consider when choosing a mobile app partner in 2016:
Past Performance:
Most organizations farm out a task to vendors, relying on them to know what’s best, but that won’t garner the best results. In order to select a vendor that shares your vision:
- Analyze their previous work and contact other clients to get a better picture of their process. Ask yourself, “Is this how I want my app to look? How I want it to perform?”
- Go through their apps’ ratings & reviews. Examine load speed, design, UI/UX, functionalities, and other features that interest you.
- Make sure they have experience with the platforms you want to use.
- Examine the target audience they have accommodated. Is it similar to yours?
These questions may take some time to answer, but it’s well worth the work. One easy trick to simplifying the process is to obtain a vendor through a reliable reference. That, or an established reputation in your industry can both make this step much easier.
Time to Value:
Find a vendor who can offer a reasonable time to value (TTV), and a timeline full of specific deadlines and dates. Keep in mind that depending on the requirement and the complexity of your product, this timeline may be longer and more intricate than you hoped for, the right vendor will be honest about that timeline even if your expectations don’t match. Take note of expected challenges being glossed over or excluded, as this is a sign of a weak proposal. And remember, only those with a solid track-record of meeting the projected TTV, should be considered.
Your Project Team:
A partner is only as strong as their people, which is why it’s imperative that you meet the team assigned to your project.
- Become aware of the team’s hierarchy and understand their inpidual roles.
- Hold meetings and create discussions; try to gauge the team dynamics.
- Find out more about their history. Have the team members been together for a considerable amount of time? A team that’s close knit will exhibit a unique kind of energy and spirit on your project.
- Examine how the team approaches handles a negative situation. Keeping cool in a crisis in an often overlooked, but critical factor to a successful product.
One final aspect to consider as you learn about your project team is the partner-team dynamic. A solid partner will interact with their people in an inspiring and effective way, which is exactly how you want your project to go.
Effective Total Cost of Ownership for Mobility:
A solid partner decision should hinge on the total cost of ownership. If your mobile app’s potential revenue is less than the total cost of ownership (TCO) it will be hard to justify. When evaluating partners, look for hidden costs, and remember that the efficiency of your team finding and fixing defects plays a large role in cost and time to market.
Some costs outside the normal scope of development include:
- Defects
- Mobile device and operating system upgrades
- Interoperability
- Maintenance
- Change requests
- Licensing
Assuring the Best ROI:
An exceptional mobile app development partner should be able to go beyond the usual delivery and support services. Can they offer a financial justification for the investment, an idea for a unique competitive edge, or even present new ideas for cutting costs? An excellent partner should make a project run smoothly, and include budget for unexpected hiccups. Bottom line: if your partner makes you feel comfortable, and is willing to speak up when they see an opportunity, then you’re on the right track.
Whether you’re an established veteran, or new to the mobile application world, partnering with a developer who sees mobile apps as a dominant marketing tool is vital to success. Only a team who is willing to learn, research, and analyze your business and target and use that information to offer valuable inputs should be considered. Remember, your partner of choice is responsible for the success of your application, but if you follow the five steps we’ve outlined, you’ll be on your way to meeting your goals in no time!
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Amit Pankaj is a b2b marketing and communication expert by profession, a keen observer by nature and a fervent knowledge seeker by instinct. He loves to take out his readers on insightful journeys. Formally trained in Journalism and New Media, his favorite pursuits are: reading, traveling and collecting newspaper editorial. He currently works as a Digital Content Marketer with Happiest Minds Technologies. Catch him on Twitter at: @Amit_Pankaj
