In today’s marketplace, we are becoming increasingly reliant on technology in every aspect of business. Time is a limited resource – it is important that it is used effectively and not wasted. Businesses are constantly looking for solutions that will increase productivity and fix inefficient processes.
Off-the-shelf apps may satisfy basic requirements, they often leave you paying for features that aren’t relevant to you and, conversely, may not include features you actually need. Thankfully, new software platforms have put custom apps – the ideal solution – within everyone’s logistical and financial reach.
Thankfully, creating a customised app that meets your specific business needs is no longer something that is out of reach. With the rise of new software platforms, you can build a custom app from scratch with limited coding or programming skills.
There are three main phases to being successful – planning a custom app, designing it and deploying it. The planning process is key, so here are the three considerations for planning:
Goals
Identify your business goals for this app. How can it enable maximum efficiency and productivity? Assess the goals of the organisation as a whole and identify any common problems that the app can help to address, such as minimising redundant processes like filing or double data entry.
Identifying pain points and possible cost savings early on is useful in later assessment of the effectiveness of your custom app.
For many businesses, being able to work and access critical information on the go will be a key goal. Say you are an interior designer spending a lot of time on site quoting jobs. Instead of going back to the office following a client appointment to draft up a quote, you could use a custom app to do it there and then, meaning less time spent on travel and admin tasks, and more time making sales and closing deals.
Needs
User-centric design is crucial in creating an app that is easy to use and functional. Start by listing your team’s requirements the app is intended to satisfy. Make sure you liaise with the people that will be using the app and involve them in this stage as much as possible. Remember, each user will have different requirements so you need to take this into account when planning a custom app.
Use different approaches to assess specific needs: learn about existing processes; have conversations to uncover current problems and unmet needs; facilitate workshops and focus groups to collect varied viewpoints; and survey users to better understand their workflow and motivations. A variety of approaches will help to create a better picture of the functionality you need to provide in your app.
Ensure you assess users’ roles and responsibilities, as some may be using the app more than others, at different times and from different locations. List the features and functions of your app and cross-reference each with specific users and tasks.
At this stage plan for how your custom app will integrate with existing systems. Ensuring your custom app fits in with existing business software will allow for strong uptake.
Prototypes
Now you have a clear vision of your users’ goals and needs, you are ready to build your custom app. But before you start the real thing, creating a prototype allows you to test functions and usability early in the development process.
Start with a paper prototype in which you provide a sketched model of the different elements. Provide descriptions and demonstrations of the actions a user may take and how the app will respond.
Users can then offer their input and feedback, flag anything that would not work for them, and offer alternate suggestions early on in the process. Good development is iterative – keep revising and refining your design, while getting feedback about each revision.
It’s understandable that you want to get working as soon as possible, and it can be easy to rush the process, but planning a custom app should carefully identify the needs of the organisation and the users. Establish a framework that will increase the efficiency of business processes and lift team productivity. Once you have your plan in place, you can get creating!
David Head, APAC Consulting Engineer, Filemaker, Inc.
