A Beginner’s Guide to Developing a Mobile Application

In recent years, in-house mobile app development has become increasingly feasible for businesses, thanks to user-friendly platforms and software.

As an app developer, I remember how difficult it used to be a decade ago, but nowadays, many frameworks are available that make building an app easier. However, having an organized approach to app development is still crucial, as plenty of moving parts are involved.

To start, you must conduct market research and validate your app idea with a minimum viable product (MVP). Based on customer feedback, you should continuously iterate and refine the app's functions with the help of your development team.

This is where the Agile methodology of app development can be very helpful. The Agile methodology involves outlining the core features of your app based on market research and then coding, testing, and iterating to build the final product.

Since Agile is an iterative way of managing projects and developing software, it's essential to use a project management solution to stay organized and align your team.

Personally, I use monday dev as my product development solution, so I will explain how to streamline your app development process using this platform and other tools you may have available to you.

By the end of this guide, you'll realize how easy it can be to develop an app with the Agile methodology. So, let's get started!

1. Choose the Operating System

Decide if your app will be native to iOS, Android, or both. Cross-platform apps cater to a wider audience and offer significant benefits, including:

• Diverse development tools: You can access various tools that provide flexibility in choosing the right tech stack.
• Faster market entry: Accelerated development and deployment to app stores as a single codebase serves multiple platforms.
• Simplified process: Easier and more efficient development process, ideal for companies facing time or budget constraints.
• Unified user experience: Consistent look and feel across different platforms, enhancing brand consistency.
• Broader audience reach: Access a wider user base across multiple operating systems like iOS and Android.
• Cost-effectiveness: Reduced development costs due to shared codebases and the need for fewer developers with expertise in multiple platforms.

monday dev supports agile methodologies, like Scrum or Kanban, which can be crucial when developing for multiple platforms. This allows for adaptability and quick problem-solving, which is essential for any type of product development, including cross-platform app development.

2. Understand Your Audience & Validate Your Idea

Before you start building your app, you must understand your target audience and validate your idea.

Below are some key steps to understanding your audience and validating your idea:

• Conduct market research: Gather data on your target audience, such as demographics, pain points, and behavior patterns. You can also use surveys, focus groups, and customer interviews to gather insights.
• Analyze your competition: Research your competitors and their features, strengths, and weaknesses. You can monday dev's board features to organize your findings and identify areas where your app can differentiate itself.
• Define your target audience: Based on your research, create buyer personas that outline your target audience's characteristics, needs, and pain points. This will help you tailor your app's features and messaging to meet their needs.
• Validate your idea: Create a minimal viable product (MVP) or app prototype. Test it with a small group of users to gather feedback and iterate on your idea.

Through your research and analysis, you'll clearly understand your audience and a validated app idea before you start building.

Based on this research, you can create a product roadmap with monday dev (most other project management software offers the same feature, too). The Roadmap board provides a high-level view of project progress, linking epics directly to tasks in the sprints board.

It enables users to see the big picture and track the progress of each project aspect. With monday dev, you have access to plenty of free product roadmap templates that will help you speed up the process.

3. Form a Development Team

Assembling a diverse team with the right skills and expertise is crucial for developing a successful app.

You should clearly outline each team member's role and responsibilities to avoid confusion and ensure everyone knows what's expected of them.

Ensure your team has various skills like project management, UX/UI design, mobile development, QA analysis, and digital marketing. This will help you create a well-rounded app that meets your audience's needs. Your product is only as strong as its weakest link – ensure key roles are covered.

Encourage team members to share their ideas and feedback freely. This will help you identify potential issues early on and ensure everyone works towards the same goal.

It improves productivity with visual progress tracking and effective time management tools, including timeline views and deadline tracking. This platform is designed to align teams and ensure deadlines are met.

4. Outline Core Features & Create Mockups

Before you start building your app, it's important to identify its core features and create mockups to guide the development process. A picture tells a thousand words, and visualizing the concept will help the team align on goals and outcomes.

Below are some tips for outlining core features and creating mockups.

• Identify core features: Brainstorm and prioritize your app's core features. Consider what features will provide the most value to your target audience. When brainstorming your app's core features, utilize mind-mapping tools like Coggle to visually organize ideas, online whiteboards like Miro for collaborative brainstorming sessions, and flowchart software like Lucidchart to map out processes and relationships between different features.
• Create wireframes: Use wireframing tools to create low-fidelity mockups of your app's core features. This will help you visualize the app's layout and user flow. You can use tools like Untitled UI to speed up the creation of high-fidelity wireframes and design systems.
• Refine your mockups: Use feedback from your team and target audience to refine your mockups and create high-fidelity prototypes. This will help you identify any usability issues and make necessary changes before development begins. You can use tools like Figma, Mockplus, and Marvel to create and refine mockups.
• Use design systems: Establish a design system that outlines the app's visual identity, including typography, color schemes, and spacing. This will ensure consistency across the app and streamline the development process.

Creating mockups and outlining core features will give you a clear roadmap for your development team and a cohesive app that meets your audience's needs.

With monday dev, you can manage the full lifecycle of app development and organize projects with boards for themes like epics, tasks, and sprint planning.

The Sprint Management board helps break down large projects into smaller tasks. It allows for easy management of daily tasks and customization of sprint data.

Task dependencies can be added to sprints, highlighting the relationships between tasks and ensuring smooth workflow operations. For instance, completing one task may be essential before starting another.

Kanban View helps your team prioritize tasks, offering a clear view of each task's status. This view categorizes tasks into different stages, from start to finish.

5. Test Thoroughly and Gather Feedback

Testing is a critical step in the app development process, as it ensures that your app is functioning as intended, is compatible with various devices and operating systems, and is free from bugs and errors.

For bug management, find a tool where bugs can be listed, prioritized, and tracked according to their completion status.

If using monday dev, bug requests can be streamlined using monday Forms, which standardizes and simplifies the submission process.

You should always test your app on different devices, operating systems, and screen sizes to ensure it works smoothly across various platforms.

Gathering feedback is also an essential step in the app development process, as it helps you identify areas for improvement.

You can send surveys to your users to gather feedback on their experience with your app. Also, monitor user reviews on the app store to identify areas for improvement.

SurveyMonkey and TypeForm are some popular platforms for collecting feedback. Additionally, Google Forms offers a user-friendly interface that you can use.

You can also create shareable feedback forms with monday dev. The platform automatically creates action items from feedback and assigns them to relevant team members. You can also integrate third-party tools like Google Forms with monday dev.

6. Prioritize App Security

Use encryption to protect user data, implement secure authentication and authorization, and use secure protocols for data transfer. Different authentication protocols exist, such as Lightweight Directory Access Protocol and Password Authentication Protocol (PAP). Make sure you incorporate these security features into your app.

Once you have built your MVP, you must regularly update and patch your app to fix security vulnerabilities and stay up-to-date with the latest security standards.

You must also conduct regular security audits to identify vulnerabilities and ensure your app meets security standards.

7. Start Coding

Use a version control system, such as Git, to track changes to your code and collaborate with team members. You can integrate your Git account with monday dev to keep everything in one place. Many product management tools will have similar integrations, and if they do not, you can typically use a tool like Zapier to create your custom connections. Having a native integration is preferable, however, for greater functionality and better UX (plus, you don’t need to maintain and troubleshoot the connection like you do if you make it yourself using Zapier).

As always, write clean, readable code that is easy to maintain and update. Test your code regularly to ensure it works as intended and to fix bugs or errors.

8. Launch in the App Store

Make sure to follow the guidelines and regulations of the app store you are launching on, such as the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

Below are some of the guidelines you will need to follow:

• Your app must align with the platform's content policies and adhere to local legal requirements.
• Be mindful of any restrictions regarding inappropriate, user-generated, and AI-generated content.
• Avoid any copying or deceptive use of someone else's work. Ensure that your app respects the intellectual rights of others.
• Pay special attention to the platform’s user privacy policy. Your app must protect user privacy and handle user data responsibly per the platform’s guidelines.

You should optimize your app's listing on the app store by creating a compelling title, description, and screenshots. Use analytics tools to track your app's performance and gather insights on how to improve it.

Finally, monitor user feedback and respond promptly to any issues or concerns.

In Conclusion…

Developing a mobile application has become easier with advancements in development tools and methodologies. Remember, the app development journey is as much about the process as the end product.

You can follow the steps outlined in this guide to turn your app idea into a reality, meeting the demands of your target audience while also adhering to industry best practices.

By employing agile methodologies, like those supported by monday dev, and focusing on cross-platform development, you can create an app that is both efficient and effective.

You can sign up for a free trial of monday dev to learn more about the Agile methodology and start implementing it.