Being in the technology industry, I am always bombarded with requests such as “What should I do if my Wifi is not working?” or “How can I get Microsoft Office for free?”. I usually just giggle and change the subject by asking about their family 🙂
On the other hand, my favorite thing to hear is, “I have an app idea”. That statement excites me because I always love talking about new ideas. Building an app is a rollercoaster of a journey. When you finally have an app idea, keep these following tips in mind while turning your idea into a reality!
Do Your Research
The best ideas pitched are the heavily researched ones. If you want to build a “search engine for cheese”, make sure to do research and see if that concept exists. Additionally, do not let competitors discourage you, but know who they are. MySpace existed before Facebook, Microsoft before Apple, AOL before Yahoo. These companies have proven to be successful without being industry pioneers.
Get Constructive Feedback
Great, so now you have done research and have an Idea you cannot stop thinking about. Now it’s time to share your idea with those around you and get critical feedback. Do not hesitate to share your idea because you think it’s unique and do not want anyone to “steal” it. No one is going to take your idea from you! It takes tons of time, effort and money to make your idea a reality. The most important thing is to find out what people like or dislike about it so you can improve on the concept.
Keep it Lean
The feedback provided needs to be utilized with the intention of building your “beta” or minimum viable product (MVP). Make sure you focus on the core of your app and build on top of it based on metrics and user feedback. Starting with your core gets your product to market quicker and helps you understand what new features to prioritize for the next launch. Remember, Snapchat didn’t always have stories, videos, and geofilters. Instagram didn’t always have videos and direct messages. The core of your idea is one that is going to attract a solid user base.
Find the Right Team
Whether it’s business partners, developers, designers, or marketers, having the right team that is equally as passionate about your idea is key. Make sure your potential team is one you can trust to provide proper knowledge and guidance. A great founding team is one with diverse talents and pushes you to be fully motivated.
Have a Long Term Vision
As previously stated, building the core of your product is vital. With that in mind, you need to have a vision of your product’s lifecycle and potential opportunities for the future. As the quote attributed to Lewis Carroll goes, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there”. Having long term vision is essential to creating a viable road map toward the future for you and your team. Setting realistic, measurable goals will keep everyone accountable and provide invaluable feedback on the progress of the project.
Prototype with Wireframes
Before you spend the larger portion of your investment on design and development, you MUST create wireframes. Think of wireframes as a “blueprint” or a visual representation of all the components and the interconnectivity of your app. I cannot stress how important this phase is because you know exactly how your product is going to be built before anything is designed or programmed.
Design, Develop and Test
In the previous steps, I didn’t even mention the process of designing or development. This is because planning will save you from encountering many avoidable issues. After wireframing, the following steps are design and development. Make sure you are actively involved in knowing the proper steps are being taken.
Once your product is designed and developed, make sure to thoroughly test it. There will always be bugs, but the trick is to control them. Properly test before releasing to avoid having bugs that will break your app and prevent users from using it. Don’t be scared to release bugs that do not break your application.
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There’s much more that goes into the process of creating an application from scratch but these are some great pointers to consider along the way. I have met many different entrepreneurs with different ideas, yet they seem to agree the more you plan, the less problems you will encounter.
As Benjamin Franklin once said, “if you fail to prepare, you are preparing to fail”. With the proper research, planning, and understanding of your product’s core function, you will have a smoother journey to creating greatness.
If you have any questions or want to go more into the process feel free to tweet me @i_wein!
