10 Mistakes of Mobile App Development Outsourcing You’d Better Avoid
IT copywriter
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Over the years we’ve heard many sad stories of clients who made the wrong choice of a mobile app development company. Due to the high demand for mobile development, this market often becomes attractive for amateurs. It’s not easy to overcome the severe statistics and choose a reliable partner, but it is possible. Simply try to avoid these 10 common mistakes, especially when ordering a mobile app for the very first time.
Now let’s take a look at the top 10 mobile app development outsourcing mistakes:
#1. Not taking the company’s history into account
Many people think that mobile is quite a young direction of software development. Even though this is true, it doesn’t mean that a business can commit their mobile app development to the first company they find. The more your contractor specializes in software development, the higher a probability that they know their work well.
The Solution
Investigate the company’s website. Ask questions. How long has the company existed on the market? When did it start doing mobile app development? How many projects did it implement last year?
Experienced app developers give new entrants a start easily. First off, experienced companies are just as interested in quality as you are — they think about their reputation. Second, their expertise guarantees you high-class development services.
#2. Looking for a cheaper alternative
Don’t spoil a good idea with cheap realization. When companies are hiring an app development team, they often think about pricing. A minimal price of app development is an easy road to disappointment. In the best of cases, a development team only cuts down the costs on project design and testing. In the worst, mobile development company neglects requirements gathering and quality of the apps development.
The Solution
Choose cost-effective solutions! Experienced developers cost money but the achieved result will help you to earn much more than you expect.
#3. Looking for a faster developer
“We need an app… YESTERDAY” is what most businesspeople say when setting a timeframe. It’s not important who, and it’s not important how. It’s only important to finish within the timeframe. Inexperienced developers can obviously promise a deadline 2 times faster than mature companies. This happens because they cannot create a precise software project estimate. The best case scenario is the app takes longer to be developed when the reality of your project sets in. Worst case scenario is you get something totally different due to the cramped development time.
The Solution
Start from the point of how relevant your app is for the market. If you need to outrun competitors, then begin with an MVP (minimum viable product) implemented with an experienced mobile development company. If an app concept isn’t new, take the time to make functionality perfect.
Remember that any specialist from a mobile developer to a tester has limited capabilities as well as the fact that any task has a minimum time to be completed. This means that you simply cannot make a developer write 50 rows of code in one second instead of 5.
#4. Looking for mobile app developers in your neighborhood
Sometimes the app owners prefer companies that are nearby geographically. Do not limit your choice by a territory. Of course, it’s nice to meet your development partner face-to-face. However, it doesn’t guarantee you the best service. In the modern world, where you can easily find everything in Google and use messengers for instant communication, local developers are not the only choice.
The Solution
Expand your horizons. Don’t be afraid of outsourcing software development. Usually, the expertise and professionalism of offshore developers compensates for the distance between your companies.
#5. Omitting a software requirement specification
“From the idea directly to development!” — is a stereotype among businesses aiming to order a mobile app. Even bright ideas needs to be clarified to know the view of the business owner about the final product. Otherwise, you risk getting a mobile app far from your initial idea.
The Solution
Order the software requirement specification. The app development company doesn’t provide it? — this is cause for alarm. Professional development teams start projects from requirement gathering and business analysis.
#6. Choosing a development partner due to the number of apps
The problem is when you decide that a large number of apps in a developer’s portfolio show the attribute of excellence. The number of mobile apps doesn’t correlate with the quality. Many companies launch apps that are literally quick-and-dirty. You should carefully study the apps that a mobile development company shows as examples.
The Solution
Install several apps on your smartphone and try to use them. Ask a development company, how many apps were rejected in the App Store and Google Play. Although don’t be suspicious about the number of rejected apps. Application store requirements are subject to change. So, if the app didn’t update, it can have refusals. If the company tells you that there are no rejections, it’s probably a lie.
#7. Preferring only cross-platform developers
If you are interested in cross-platform development, be prepared to the limited abilities of your future product. Cross-platform apps made on the base of such popular frameworks as PhoneGap and Xamarin help to reduce costs. However, they sufficiently differ in quality from native solutions.
The Solution
It would be better if a company offers both native and hybrid development. Consider the company’s experience in native mobile development because cross-platform development can be good only in some cases.
#8. Lack of understanding the technology
There’s a proverb saying: “Trust, but verify”. Unfortunately, many business owners forget about it when it comes to developing a mobile app. Let’s say, you saw an impressive website of a mobile development company, studied a portfolio, and got a preliminary estimate. It seems that now you may start. Before jumping into the process, take into account the skills and competencies of the company.
The Solution
Consider the technologies that a company is going to use for your app. Mobile development is a constantly updating area of software development. If a company doesn’t follow the latest trends and learn new technologies (tools, frameworks, libraries), your app will be out of date just after the launch.
#9. Forgetting about a Project Manager
Business stakeholders keen to start the mobile development process usually ask about project team members. Although some of them ignore the opportunity to meet a project manager. In fact, the project manager is a mediator between the product owner and the development team. The role of project manager is quite important for any software development project.
The Solution
Before starting a project, ask to introduce a project manager to you. If a development company explains to you that your project is too small for PM participation and developers are enough, be careful. Perhaps, the company is trying to reduce costs for resources.
#10. Neglecting testing and Quality Assurance
Another mistake of mobile app owners is the refusal to test an app or lack of attention to this stage of the mobile product development. When you neglect testing and QA, you have a risk to get an app with lots of mistakes and a growing budget. Besides, excluding testing can lead to many refusals of the app, when users start to inform you about the bugs.
The Solution
Try to clarify whether the testing will be included in the project if you don’t implement it with your own resources. Any app without testing is a waste of money.
Mobile development can be quite effective and productive if you don’t fall into these 10 traps. Try to learn from the mistakes of others. We hope that our recommendations will help you to recognize unscrupulous developers and find a reliable team to create your mobile app.
