So, you’re ready to develop a brand-new mobile app? Congratulations! Once you know that you want to develop a new mobile app, we can look at the step by step process of mobile app development in 2022.
The process of developing a mobile app is quite an exciting thing. To most people, it’s not something fascinating because they don’t know about it, but the process is the very thing that makes application a bliss and helps businesses to set their foot in an extremely competitive digital world. Today, mobile app development companies compete as demand for mobile apps rises.
Developing an app is a long process. Breaking down a mobile application development process into steps or stages helps you organize your application development lifecycle into more manageable phases.
In this article, we’ll look at eight main phases which come in different shapes and forms to the process of developing a new mobile app. Imagine, that each phase is a gear that is most critical to help turn all of the others in an effort to complete the whole mobile application development lifecycle. At the end of the day these steps or stages get your application from just being an idea in your head to being an app in an app store.
So, let’s get started on each phase of an app development project:
Phase 1 – Ideation
The aim of ideation phase is to think “out of the box” to generate a bunch of different ideas and then filter into the best ones with which to move forward. For this, you can ask questions to ensure that you are not proceeding with a wrong idea.
After all, it is said that a scientist is not one who gives the right answers instead asks the right questions. There are many useful ideation techniques like brainstorming to help you get a clear vision for your mobile app.
Phase 2 – Strategy & Analysis
We don’t need to get into the nitty-gritty of how to develop a mobile app strategy or how to perform requirements analysis. But there are few things you need to know and include such as doing market research, identifying the app users, establishing goals and objectives, preparing a roadmap, defining budget and timeline, choosing a tech stack, understanding target audience and defining a marketing approach.
Phase 3 – Wireframing & Prototyping
Don’t rush to build your mobile app, fake it first! This wireframing & prototyping phase is the foundation of how well your app looks, performs and eventually succeeds. At this stage, you can start creating a wireframe (blueprint), mockups and clickable prototype (interactive model) to resemble your future app and get an idea of how it will look and behave.
The wireframe is the backbone which is created by designing layout and interaction of your mobile app.
Phase 4 – Design
The design phase is a super important step in crafting a beautiful and professional mobile app. Take your time here, because the more attention you pay to every step of the design process including UI design and UX design now, the easier it will be in the end.
The goal of this phase is to design an attractive, user-friendly and killer app design for enriching the end users experience. The design stage should be done by following the industry’s best app design practices and trends.
Phase 5 – Development
Is it done yet? Are we there yet? Your mobile app is now ready to be developed. You have worked hard up until this point to define the features and functionality of your app. This part can be the one of the most difficult as you actually have to develop an app.
In this phase define the development milestones, establish the appropriate technical architecture, code the app, and incorporate the latest and best mobile app development practices to build an app.
Phase 6 – Testing
Now that you have an application, you can begin rigorous testing on that. This is the pivotal phase which includes through testing of the app for performance, usability, functionality, compatibility, security and user acceptance.
In order to achieve best results from each test, the team should also pay attention to desirability, feasibility, and viability of the mobile app. The testing of your app in a variety of real-world scenarios is essential for debugging and ensuring readiness of your app for launch.
Phase 7 – Deployment
Now your mobile app is ready to put before the world proudly. Initially, you can launch a beta version of your app to give it a test run and check how users respond to it. Then to take your app live, create an account on the app store you chose then upload and publish your app on it.
This deployment phase of your mobile app will take the best parts of your efforts and combine them into something that helps your business grow while providing more value to your customers.
Phase 8 – Post-launch Activity
The question is “are we done?”. Mostly people focus on completing the deployment phase and the post-development activity phase is tried to extend further. But, launching is just half of the actual goal and the significant part to the contribution of the raging success of your app is what happens afterwards.
This post-launch activity phase is the part of the journey where you start to market your app and provide its prompt support and maintenance. There are many little steps you can take such as using app store optimization (ASO), pitching your app, frequently updating the app, encouraging reviews, solving customer queries to convince, acquire and retain users.
Conclusion
So, there you have it, you have successfully created a mobile app! Hopefully this blog has helped you to better understand the different phases in the lifecycle of mobile app development in 2022.
Regardless of if you follow these steps exactly or if you diverge and take a different path, a professional app development company can help bring your ideas to life and create the most profitable app you can imagine.
The approach of every app development agency is different. Choosing the right company for your mobile app project can make all the difference for your new app.
