Building a successful mobile app requires a lot more than just a great idea. Many first time founders aren’t aware of how big the gap is between inspiration and development. This is important, because it’s what you do in this gap that determines not only how successful the app will be, but also how quickly it can be developed, and at what cost.

Before developing your a mobile app, complete the five steps below to ensure you are positioned for success:

1. Answer These Crucial Questions

You have an amazing idea that you can’t wait to get out to the public. Before immediately talking to developers, ask yourself the following questions:

• What exactly does your app do?
• Who is going to be using your app?
• What problem does your app solve?
• What is your app going to look like?

Once you have solid answers to these questions, then you can start sketching out your app and deciding just how it should look and function.

2. Learn From the Competition

While your app may seem like a novel, one-of-a-kind idea, there may be other apps out there that are similar. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing because existing apps can provide you with a roadmap of your next steps. For instance, if there’s an app that already dominates the market, your app will have to substantially best it or it might be time to move on to another idea. Better yet, if there are a number of similarly matched competitors, you can use them to identify flaws or executional errors to avoid in your own app.

Once you understand the competitive landscape, you are ready to start testing your app idea with its audience. The goal is to get a better understanding of what potential users think of the existing apps, and whether they’d find your app useful. Reach out to friends and strangers (strangers are often more honest) and ask them for their opinions on your app idea, and on the apps that already exist. What do they like or dislike about current apps? What would they really like to see from your app? It’s a good idea to offer some kind of payment for their time (a $5 gift card for coffee works just fine). Even a small payment will keep them more open to sharing and out of a “stop bothering me” state of mind.

3. Create a Wireframe Prototype

In theory, you now know there is space and demand in the marketplace for your app. The next step is to create a wireframe prototype of the application to test over and over again. Wireframes are simple mockups of the application’s elements. They show users the rough functionality and help to determine both how the finished application will look and how individuals will interact with it. Two of our favorite wireframing tools are Balsamiq and Axure (more expensive, but totally worth it).

Creating a wireframe early on will not only save you money in the development phase, but it will allow you to further test your idea in a casual and inexpensive setting. The goal here is to come to your future design and development partner with a draft of how individuals will interact with your app. Although this draft may not represent the final product, it will bring clarity to the scope of work and help avoid many design and development hiccups.

Wireframing also means you can change your draft very quickly and without cost. It means you can go back to your friends, family, and strangers with the draft and refine it before you ever talk to a developer. Consider answering questions like:

• How easy is it for a stranger, using the app for the first time, to navigate?
• Are they complimenting you on how easy it is, or are they frustrated?

Make notes of all their frustration and confusion and rework your wireframe, then test again. It may take a few rounds of testing, but even the smallest bit of confusion must be addressed. In the end, you should end up with a rough draft that displays your app’s functionality while avoiding many usability pitfalls you may not have even anticipated. 

4. Gut Check: Gauge User Excitement

Now that you have a wireframe prototype that works well, with no confusion or frustration, head back to the coffee shop with a different research objective: Determining if anyone cares.

At this point the app may very well be different than your original idea, so ask yourself the following questions:

• When you show people your app are they excited about it?
• Do they ask immediately how much it costs or where they can download it?
• Are they happy to give your their email information so that they can be alerted when it comes out or are they brushing your off with a “Oh yeah, I’ll be sure to check it out”?

Another quick test is to show someone the wireframe, and then offer to sell them the final product (which you don’t really have) right then and there for your expected sales price. Do they get their wallet? Or do they go, “Oh, I wouldn’t spend $5 on this.”

This process can be a bit disheartening if you aren’t getting the expected response. Suddenly your “can’t miss” idea can begin to feel like a waste of time, but that’s why this step is so important. If you’re app isn’t as useful or exciting as you anticipated, you’re able to find out early and adapt it or scrap it before you’ve spent a fortune having it developed. This is essentially your last gut check, “Is there truly demand for this app or am I the only one?” If you find the demand is there then you are ready to engage a design and development partner.

5. Engage the Design & Development Team

Now that you have a solid sense of exactly what your app is, what it does, and that there is demand for it, you are ready to engage with a design and development team like Exygy. When working with a design and development partner, the most difficult part of the relationship is communicating your vision. The fewer questions there are to answer, the clearer the process is to development. Our favorite projects are the ones that have followed the steps above because we can add immense value to the work our clients have already done and without having to try to read their minds. Doing the work outlined in this process saves us from developing features the app doesn’t need to be successful and eliminates a lot of guess work along the way. It also clears the path for clear, quick, and high quality design and development process.

Have other tips on how to prepare an app idea for development? Let us know below.