App Development is like Building a House: The Planning Phase
Over the years, we’ve come to think of designing and developing apps like building your dream home.
Development requires planning, designing, and building – just like a house. If you were building your dream home, you’d want to make sure you’ve thought of everything. Bringing your app idea to life is no different.
When you build a home, you hire people to help you. You need an architect to make sure your house is going to work for you and your family, an interior designer to make it both pretty and functional, and builders to turn those plans into reality.
You have the vision, and they have the expertise to make your vision a reality. So do we!
Over the next couple of weeks, we’re going to take you through our development process – from planning, which is today’s topic, all the way to the launch of your product, and everything that follows.
Introducing: The Planning Phase
“Failure to plan is planning to fail.”
A version of this quote has been attributed to both the American President Benjamin Franklin and our own Prime Minister Winston Churchill – so you know there’s truth to it!
All our app projects begin with an in-depth planning workshop. During this workshop, our business analyst will work with you to create the blueprints for your app. It’s like the architects’ plan for your home – nothing can start without them.
What do we do during the planning workshop?
We talk about your app idea in detail. Together with our business analyst, you will explore what the app needs to do and the users you want to reach, your budget, and how you’re planning to monetise the app. As we get a thorough understanding of the problem your app will solve and the people it will help, we can design and develop an app that’s easy and enjoyable to use.
A planning workshop is also the best way to make sure that we’re all on the same page, and that everyone involved in the development of your app (including you), knows what will be required of them.
What’s the outcome of the planning workshop?
At the end of the workshop, we’ll know exactly what your app needs to do from day one. This is known in the world of app development as a minimum viable product. If you’ve not come across the term before, it simply means a product with enough features to attract early customers and get feedback on your idea. We like to work by the MVP principle as it keeps app development cost-effective and allows you to pivot as you get feedback from your first users.
After the workshop, we’ll produce what we call Blueprints. The Blueprints document is a detailed written description of your MVP.
The descriptions clearly explain the functionality of your app, down to what the users will be able to do on each screen. Your Blueprints will have detailed descriptions of how the portal you will use to manage your app will work as well.
Your Blueprints will also contain wireframes or sketches of your app, illustrating the written descriptions. Wireframes are simple black and white sketches that provide a visual guide for how and where content will be placed on each screen of your app.
How can you use the Blueprints?
You can use your Blueprints to apply for funding and seek external investment. Many of our clients have found it incredibly helpful to have Blueprints to show potential investors, from friends and family to private VC funds.
We’ll use the Blueprints when we design and develop your app. They become the foundation for both the Design and the Build phases. Our designers, developers and content writers will use your Blueprints to create the individual components of your app.
If you’d like to explore the Planning Phase, head over to our contact page and give us a shout.