Major Considerations When Hiring for Mobile App Development

11:47 01 May 2020

Knowing the products (read: mobile apps) to build for your business or startup is less difficult than finding the human capital and talent needed to bring the mobile apps into reality. When you go down this lane, knowing what your customers want and would be ready and willing to pay for is the most difficult aspect and determines your ROI. This is something that you should bear in mind while interviewing a mobile app developer or mobile app development team to hire.

You do not want to hire wrong, nor do you want to build a mobile app that gets launched and does not get downloaded as desired or has little or no in-app purchases and subscriptions (depending on your business model). So, here are the 5 top tips for hiring for
mobile app development.

#1: User Personas Interviews

Before building, imagine your ideal customer. Find some real people who embody the characteristics of your ideal user, and talk to them about your idea and whether the mobile app would provide value to them. Talk to them extensively. Carry out paper and online surveys, video interviews and face to face interviews in order to figure out what they expect from a mobile app that promises your unique value proposition. These interviews should be done in the pre-development stage and should continue within the development stage in order to smooth out rough edges and refashion what the mobile app’s core focus is. Involving your ideal customers within the development stage takes away considerable amounts of changes in the life cycle.

#2: Scope Your Project

Once you’ve determined there’s a need for your app and a market for it through consumer research and interviews, begin to solicit quotes from mobile app development companies. To get an accurate quote, you will need to work with them to scope your project. Expert mobile app developers in the industry usually ask for a Statement of Work (SoW) to enable them estimate costing, duration, ask necessary questions, receive feedback and build a workflow. So have one handy. Make a list of all the must-have features for your MVP app, as well as the nice-to-have’s, and additions to be considered in future versions of the app; make sure the content is thorough. Scoping your project saves time and cost as well as matches objectives and goals with desired outcomes.

#3: Wireframing

When you have decided to develop a mobile app, it is highly recommended to wireframe your idea to have a clear idea of what you are building. This helps you move the idea for your mobile app from mindspace to physical space. These virtual renderings, called wireframing, do not need to be done by an expert artist; rather, the flow of the mobile app is the focus of the wireframes, and should be settled on and signed off before moving into the design phase.

Create prototypes that can be clicked on with tools like UXPin, Axure, Origami Studio, Webflow, and Balsamiq. The wireframing process will ensure that the customer experiences development and roadmapping, and is assured from a customer feedback perspective. Once development begins, it will help mobile app developers expedite the development process while making fewer mistakes, because they know the scope and workflow of your project.

#4: Hire Smart Talent

Mobile apps -- whether you’re interested in building for Android, iOS, or both -- are a substantial monetary and temporal investment. As such, it’s extremely important to do your due diligence and invest in a reputable technology company that has a proven track record and robust mobile app development portfolio. Check out reviews on independent third-party platforms like Clutch, UpCity, and Google My Business. Set up meetings with the app development companies you are most interested in. When you eventually select, do not select for that single app but for your business in its entirety.

#5: Test, Test, Test

Before mass market release, launch to a beta group, take feedback and correct mistakes. Reiterate. Your target users you interviewed at the beginning of the project should be on your waitlist for the closed group launch. Place them on pre-order. Pre-sell to them. Because they have been involved in the project’s pace and are invested in it to an extent, they will happily buy at a reduced rate and provide the feedback you need to improve the mobile app’s MVP promise.

Hiring a smart mobile developer is a crucial factor of success for your mobile app. Following these tips ensures that you get your mobile app to market within a good timeframe, have a ready market for your product, and are able to earn a high ROI.