Post on 15-Aug-2015
transcript
From LazyCoffee to Appstore
The Key stages of app development
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 1
First of all Who am I• Scott Roberts (@scottmkroberts)
• Founder of a Local Mobile app development company Systematic Apps
• Been developing mobile apps (mostly for iPhone and iPad) for around 5 years
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 2
What is this talk about (Agenda)A journey on how you take an idea all the way to the App Store.- Idea- Funding- Team- Design- Development- Marketing & Shipping
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 3
Idea !
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 4
To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier.
Execution is worth millions.
— Derek Sivers© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 5
IdeaEverything starts with an idea.- Coming up with an app idea- Validate your idea- Define your main feature set- Always be thinking of your USP (Unique Selling Point)- Remember: An app's main aim should do one thing and one thing well especially when starting out.- How will your app make money?
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 6
Funding !
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 7
"Cash flow is more important than your
mother"— BillionDollarApp Book
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 8
How much does an app cost?
We surveyed some of the leading mobile app development companies on the cost to develop a mobile app, and found that the median cost range is between $37,913 and $171,450, but could climb up to $500,000 or higher.
• Source: https://clutch.co/app-development/cost-build-mobile-app-survey
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 9
Example: Monument Valley
• Apple Design Award Winner 2014
• 55 Weeks in Development
• 8 Core Team Members
• Development cost: $852,000.00
• Revenue: $5,858,625.00
(source: http://blog.monumentvalleygame.com/blog/2015/1/15/monument-valley-in-
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 10
How will you fund your idea?• Bootstrapping
• Angel Investing/Venture Capital
• Crowd Funding (e.g. Kickstarter)
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 11
Team ! " #
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 12
"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is
success."— Henry Ford
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 13
Roles in the team• Design
• User Experience Designer
• User Interface Designer
• Mobile Development (Depending on platforms)
• iOS (iPhone and iPad)
• Android
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 14
Roles in the team• Web Developer (backend / frontend)
• Someone with API experience
• Quality Assurance
• Marketing
• Sales
• Business / Financial
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 15
Early stage teams• Single Founders (Indie Developers)
• Co founders (e.g. Design and Developer Duo)
• Full on teams
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 16
Design !
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 17
"One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity."
-- Bruce Lee
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 18
Design Tools• Sketch
• Pixelmator (Photo Editing)
• Invision App
• Marvel App
• Pen and Paper
• Whiteboard
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 19
Process• Tight feedback loop, you don't know how good you design
is until it is infront of your users.
• Wireframes to outlay the basic features and flow of the application.
• Test with real users via interactive prototypes.
• Start making it look good
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 20
Quick things to think about• Limited screen space
• Use colour wisely
• Pick clean easy to read fonts
• Does your design fit with multiple languages.
• Icons should not confuse the user
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 21
Development ☕
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 22
“Always code as if the guy who ends up maintaining your code will be a violent
psychopath who knows where you live.”
— Martin Golding© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 23
Time to make your idea (Method)• Native
• Cross platform
• PhoneGap/Cordova
• Xamarin
• appcelerator
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 24
Platforms• Android
• iOS
• Windows Phone
• Blackberry?
• Firefox OS
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 25
How we create the iPhone App• Apple Developer License
• You need a Mac
• Download Xcode and get developing
• Code the app in Swift or Objective-C
• Taking a Test first approach will reduce bugs
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 26
Marketing !
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 27
"Word-of-mouth marketing has always been important. Today, it’s more important than ever because of the power of the Internet."
-- Joe Pulizzi & Newt Barrett
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 28
App Marketing Tips• Do not rely on the App Stores they have terrible SEO.
• Press Releases and giving early access to Blogs, magazines etc.
• Always think of marketing through the whole process of creating an app.
• Create a landing Page / website for your app early to generate "Hype" and interest.
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 29
Shipping !
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 30
"Move fast and break things."
— Mark Zuckerberg
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 31
Required Reading & Resources• The Lean Startup
• How to build a billion dollar app
• Deckset App Best way to create presentations.
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 32
Thank You
Any Questions?
@scottmkroberts
© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 33