Mobile and social app spaces have picked up big time. No doubt. We are living in a more (usefully) connected world thanks to iPhone, Facebook and company. Development of new mobile and social apps has outpaced web development over the last couple of years. Remember – web development was the leader for almost a decade before that.
How can *YOU* get to the party?
It’s simple.
- Get an idea
- Research a bit on your phone for similar apps
- Draw your sketches (wireframes) on paper or use a software
- Find/Hire a developer to build the app
- Review the built app
- Publish your app
- Make millions 
Duh! It isn’t that easy. :-S
Your idea has to be solid and groundbreaking.
You’ll need good research skills to find apps similar to what you like
Finding developer is the riskiest aspect of after having a good idea, what should be your criteria? what price will developer charge? will developer be able to deliver per expectations? and many more questions.
How to find your developer?
Check in the same order.
1. Do you want a local developer (usually expensive) or you are comfortable with offshore development (usually cheaper)? ODESK, ELANCE, LinkedIn, Google or your contacts could be a good start to your search
2. First round: Whoever you go with, check for their references (work history, install their apps on your phone, interview them to get a feel about them, see how people are rating/recommending them on ODESK/ELANCE/LinkedIn/Facebook (yes Facebook))
3. We recommend you select at least two contenders before asking for time and cost estimates
4. Choose your model of working, pay for hours worked OR pay for deliverables?
5. Second Round: Go out and have them see your project details and give them few days to review and respond to you. Demand they provide you a proposal with time and cost estimates at most granular level (like function-level whenever possible)
6. Upon having their responses feel free to talk to developers about every aspect of their proposal. Talk to them on their effort estimates for each function (e.g.) or negotiate with them on their hourly rates
7. Expect to go through minimum two iterations of discussions and review at this stage; you should be doubly sure of what you’ll get at the end and how much you’ll be paying for it precisely
8. Few points to note in case of offshore development, decide who’ll pay various charges (like ODESK/ELANCE fees, wire transfer fees, etc.). Discuss what will be change request process (important).
9. Get it rolling asap; have a two-weekly progress review cycle
10. Test it yourself. Every time.
11. Feel free to introduce changes to your idea – you learn more when you see in shape – key here is early and clear communication with developer
12. Once you are happy with the app. Go on and publish it.
In a later article we will discuss how to market your app.
Inno8 Tech as your DEVELOPER
We are a young team of mobile app developers lead by commutative experience of several decades of software development. We believe in light weight development process.
- Agile development with fortnightly deliverables
- More focus on dissemination of to-the-point and timely info
Inno8 Tech clients gone five star
• Excellent team, Inno8 provided excellent support and we will use them for further projects.
• Very professional team, will work with you guys on my next project keep up the good work
• We needed a full-featured iPhone app made within a couple of weeks. Inno8 team did a great job meeting this very tight deadline and was able to provide a quality result. They were always available to keep us updated. Thanks!
• This job was one of three projects that Inno8 did for us simultaneously. They did a great job meeting deadlines and providing a quality result.
Reference Work
- K-Tango is the sales person’s personal App for gaining intelligence on the product they sell. (http://itunes.apple.com/tr/app/ktango/id453959282?mt=8)
- allesduurzaam Allesduurzaam.nl is the largest green company in the Netherlands. (http://www.allesduurzaam.nl/)
- Celebrity Twin to Me Celebrities always create fantasy and glamour. Everyone is fascinated by celebrities and wants to be like them so Twin to Me is very interesting application in this aspect. (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/celebrity-twin2me/id410617347?mt=8)
- Craigs Pro+ CraigsPro+ for Android features an intuitive interface and essential set of features to browse and post to Craigslist. (https://market.android.com/details?id=craigs.pro.plus&feature)
- Many more apps can be demonstrated developed for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry platforms
FOLLOW US
Call now: +44 121 288 3525
Email: waqas@inno8.net
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/inno8tech
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