Mobile Development Planning Guide

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What is the purpose of your app?

Create a list of tasks, an idea for your app and the type of user you are targeting, and then write a goal statement: Define your app's purpose and the most important user in one sentence if possible. Example: A wish list creation tool for people who never do impulse shopping.

Focus on one main use case

It's possible that you cannot include all the tasks on your list in your goal statement. That is OK, because awesome apps — especially those for mobile — do one thing well. If your app is trying to do too many things, then think about splitting up the functionality over multiple apps. Although, if your application needs a lot of features to deliver its value, remember that you could consider delivering a Web app to desktop PCs only.

How will people use your app?

By now, you've identified your main use case, target users, and key features. Your main scenario should also consider the user environment in which your app is used. For example, a young mom with her baby at daycare might use your app to note a nice stroller (potential multi-tasking, pausing and continuing the task later). A different user might plan her next laptop purchase at home, in an armchair, without interruptions.

Concentrate on a few key features

Look at your task list again. Filter your list through the goal statement. If the tasks do not align with your goal statement, exclude them from your app. Describe each core task as a feature and then ask yourself, is this feature essential? Or is it nice-to-have but not required by the target user to complete the defined task? Be honest with yourself. If you end up with a short list of features, you are on the right track. Remember, the best apps usually do one thing well. Apps often fail not because they have too few features, but too many.

However, if you simply have to deliver a large feature set to reach your goal, consider making a  Web app your primary app and then offer a complementary mobile app with just the features and functions a user may need while away from their desk.

Sketch out your app

Once you have a few key interactions in mind, you can translate those steps into screens. You can sketch out the user flow, that is, what do your users go from one screen to another to complete a task. Think about the functionality of your app, and put the user interface elements that correspond to the most important interactions in the most prominent places. Think about how the screens will look on desktop versus tablet/mobile.

Required technologies

Look at your list of functionality, and make some notes about what technologies you will likely use to build those requirements.

Testing plan

Build a reasonable testing plan into your project plan, to reduce the chance of being hit by expensive unexpected surprises later on in the implementation stages.