Why go iOS?

Though Apple has between 15 and 20 % worldwide, most apps are launched for iOS first then Android. The beloved photo app Instagram for example launched for Android year and a half after the premiere for iOS.

One of the reasons for this is that the App Store generates more revenue than Google Play ($38 bln to $28bln in 2017, data from Sensor Tower). These revenues are generated from 3 main sources– advertising, in-app purchases and Paid-for. Historically the App store users have spent more on apps than Android though the gap is narrowing.

Creating a native app for iOS is also easier and faster. There is only of a handful of Apple devices compared to Android ones resulting less variety of screen sizes, operating system versions etc.  Hence creating a well optimized iOS app that runs smoothly is easier than creating an Android one that could do the same on the plethora of different devices.  That results in faster time to market and reduced costs for an iOS app.

Why go Android?

There are several occurrences where Google beats Apple and launching firstly for the Android platform would make sense. Android has better world-wide reach than iOS. With 80% market share, if you would like your app to reach as many people as possible and run on as many devices as possible: Android is the way to go.  Not a surprise that Google created Android with popularity in mind. The OS is free, and any manufacturers can customize and release Android-based devices.  The more devices that run the OS with preinstalled Google Search Engine and other products on it, more revenue for the mother company.

The alternative?

What if you can not make the choice and still don’t have the budget for developing a native app for both platforms?  If you want the best from the two worlds while still keeping the costs relatively lower, you could go for a hybrid app development approach. Developing the code once and then compiling it for both operating systems offers a lot of advantages. However, one should note that there could be some hidden disadvantages like possible performance and UI/UX issues for more complicated apps.

No matter which platform you choose to develop first, the mobile world still holds a lot of opportunities for entrepreneurs and “No winter is coming”  anytime soon

If you are working on mobile, drop us a line and we would help you out.

The post Game of apps: Should you develop for iOS or Android first? appeared first on Payapars.

The lean Start-up method was introduced in 2008 by Eric Ries(published in a book in 2011). Since then it brought thought the revolution in the corporate and Start-up world alike. The Minimal Viable Product(MVP) concept lies at its heart.  The idea is to start with seeking the answer of the question” Should this product be built?” and validate your idea right from the start rather than focusing time and resources on “How to build this product?”

Ten years later, the term has turned into hype and is one of the most abused ones in the software and product development field.

Where to start?

We all have had complicated app ideas and having no idea where to start or even how to scratch the surface. Experts suggest that you should approach product development as a continuous effort. Start only with the essentials and must-have at the beginning that would form the core. It is important that the core could be extended later with layer after layer of functionality. It doesn’t mean that those features are not useful in the beginning but they would not contribute to the main goal of your MVP: getting the app to prospective users and getting some feedback. Remember MVP is all about learning and testing if there is product-market fit.

The second most important part is creating a feedback loop.  Is there sufficient interest in your idea? Were your assumptions confirmed or rejected?  If negative think about changing some things in your idea and trying again until you get positive results.

Going beyond the MVP

You have your first user and generally, have received positive feedback? Great!  What ’s next?  Enter the Minimal Marketable Product(MMP). MMP is a result of several iterations of the MVP.   The important difference is it could be marketed and sold and is generally perceived as the official release.  MMP is still not the complete product and has a few select features targeted at early adopters that would make them use and eventually pay for the product. The MMP stage is the stage where you should create product backlog and road map. The backlog should enlist all the features, planned and broken down into chunks called user stories that could be easily prioritized.  You should also start thinking about scalability, reliability and performance.  А slow and crashing app would lose more users than great marketing could compensate for!

MVP for corporations

Initially,  the MVP and lean Start-up methodologies were reserved ground for Start-ups only. Recently big companies, however, have seen the potential benefits and are quickly joining the fray. Gartner estimates by 2021, more than 50% of established corporations will be leveraging lean Start-up techniques at the business level to increase the pace and success of business transformation.(source:Gartner.com) . That may sound easier on paper than done.  Lengthy corporate processes, fear of reputation risk could stop any innovation idea early in its tracks.  Nevertheless, you should approach the MVP creation with a garage Start-up mindset.  You should spend time recruiting an internal team with the right mindset and skills for the job. If not available, you could turn to external consultants and companies that could provide the technical services without being hampered by internal politics.

By following the Lean-methodology for launching a new web or mobile app, you could significantly cut the time to market and initial costs. This, in turn, would increase your chances for success several-fold.

Are you planning for building a new digital product? Contact our team for consultation 

The post Getting Lean and Mean: how to create a MVP in 2018? appeared first on Payapars.

If you are building a new digital product or redesigning an old one you are probably in one of two camps: you are either doing it in-house or outsourcing it to a contractor or development company.  One of the biggest hurdles for business owners that choose the latter approach is ineffective communication.  Businesses and development companies often struggle to convey their ideas, messages and expectations, which usually ends up with a lot of wasted time, resources and a great deal of frustration among both sides. A study conducted by the Project Management Institute (PMI) revealed that ineffective communication is the cause for the failure of one-third of projects. However, by doing some homework upfront you could be better prepared next time when you knock on a development company’ s door to ask them to do a project together.

Be clear on the scope

Software development is a complex job that requires a great dose of niche skills and creativity. Just like building an automobile or a house there are a lot of materials, time and effort that goes into it.  You should be as much specific as possible about your product and idea. You should try to outline all the functional requirements that you expect at the completion of the work. Document every bit and small details in a concise and meaningful style. Identify all inputs and outputs: every process begins with some inputs that need to be transformed into specific outputs. Don’t be afraid to go visual: a picture is worth a thousand words. Prepare mock-ups or wireframes that communicate your design and functionality vision.

Create User Stories

Another popular way to communicate your idea without writing lengthy requirements documents is User Stories.  User Stories describe every feature of your product by focusing on your user. In order to prepare a user story you should be able to answer the following:  Know your user persona: who is using this specific functionality? What are their goals and priorities?  What value they get from using the feature and why should they use it? Focus on who, why, what? and leave the how? part open for suggestions from the development team. User stories convey ideas on a high level and do not contain enough detailed information. They should be used for  a starting point for more in-depth conversation between you and the development team

Think big but take small steps.

Think about whether you need a full-fledged product with a feature from day one or you could start with an MVP version or limited functionality. Developers are engineers by nature and as such appreciate simplicity and elegance in their solutions. Listen to their suggestions and input and you could save a lot of money and efforts in the long run.

Be clear on timeline and budget

When going for outsourcing, one of the biggest motivations is cost-optimization. Yet many businesses shy away to share their budget expectations for a project even in round figures. That creates a lot of mistrust and confusion from day one. The money talk is one of the hardest topics in business communications, but if asked by development company regarding your budget and what you expect for it, be open about it.  Most companies want your business so they would be receptive and open to some compromise (like narrowing the scope) even if you are below their budget threshold. Also, share your vision regarding the timeline and when you would like certain features of your product ready.  The earlier you clear those things out in the process and reach some agreement, the faster you could really focus on the parts that matter: developing and launching the product.

When working with an external development team, communication is a key. By following the simple tips from above you should get a headstart on the competition. In the mean-time got an idea for a project? Get in touch with us to start the communication.

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Entrepreneurs are always put off by the idea of starting a tech company without having some “techie” to believe in their project and do the initial coding. Searching for tech co-founder is a daunting, long-term and often exhausting task. In the world of the “Lean Start-up”, Start-ups should be as efficient as possible, so we will dwell on how you can build tech business even if you don’t have the “perfect” CTO beside you:

Developer vs Manager

Many Early Start-ups view the role of CTO as purely technical. That may be the case in the early stages of Start-up growth as developing MVP is crucial.  In the past, CTOs could exist within the boundaries of their own department. However, a CTO needs to see everything from business goals to strategies to products being created for clients and more.  Some note that the CTO should be called:  Chief Transformation Officer. As such you need a person with more managerial and business qualities than hard technical knowledge. Naturally, those persons are harder to come by and often have multiple options to work on well-paid prestigious positions in big companies.

Get Technical Advisor or Part-time CTO on board:

You still can hire a technical advisor to act as a counsellor on the development of your Start-up. This person could be a friend, ex-colleague etc and not necessarily shareholder. He could do advise on the technology stack, do code reviews, etc. If you establish a good relationship with him and you get good traction together, he could later on fill in the ranks as CTO.

Outsource:

Starting a business is a challenging and resource demanding endeavour. Hiring an in-house developer team or CTO could be risky and could drain many of your financial resources. Yet somebody should do the coding right?   Many successful start-ups like Skype, Slack, GitHub started their journey to success by outsourcing some of the technical activities to third parties.

The primary reason is that outsourcing costs start-ups much less. Furthermore, Outsourcers come with skills already in place, so you do not spend time training. The low costs and knowledgeable talent means you can get your idea or product developed faster and your company launched sooner.

Choose someone with experience in your area and excellent customer service skills and focus on building a good relationship with him. Ask yourself about the priorities of your product/service to further optimise reduce costs e.g. scope, timeline etc.

Take advantage of what is already available:

The world has never been so generous for tech entrepreneurs who don’t have coding skills and don’t want to outsource the development to somebody. If your start-up is not putting technology as its most innovative feature, you can take advantage of dozens of website or app builders that can serve as building blocks for an MVP. Take Wix for a simple website or Appzio to build an application. However, note that is a short-term solution as you would need to confine your vision for your product with what the platform offers and you will have limited control over the technology and its development.

What is your opinion,  share with us your greatest technical difficulties

The post How to start a tech company without a CTO? appeared first on Payapars.