The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Mobile Aps

With everyone building a mobile app these days (yes, I am even working on one for Dime Novel Publishing), it’s critical to separate yours from the pack. Obviously that can happen for a lot of different reasons but it all begins with a firm foundation of good design and objectives. GigaOm recently published a great article on seven factors to keep in mind when building a mobile app:

1. Understand the Potential of Mobile. Mobile shouldn’t be just a fancy gimmick for your company. There should be a specific reason you are launching a mobile app. If you already have desktop software and mobile seems like a good compliment, have a clear sense on how the two will connect.
2. Target Your Audience and Their Needs. This isn’t any different than software development. If you are going to build an application make sure that your intended audience understands how to use it. Play to conventions as well. Don’t re-invent the wheel when it comes to navigation and UI/UE unless you have a really good reason to.
3. Settle on an Objective. I say this a lot to young entrepreneurs with whom I work. Don’t try to do everything all at once. Start with a single objective, do it well, and grow into the rest. A great example of this in the software space is Evernote. Although they started simply as a synchronized note-taking application, they have grown complimentary features and services around that initial foundation.
4. Measure Success. Build reporting into your application. In fact, use external services to track crashes and issues so that you can address them before your customers start complaining. If you don’t have good metrics on your app, there is no way you will know if it’s a success (as reviews and downloads are just one part of the story)
5. Test Regularly. This is no different than with other software, especially on the Web. Make it a habit to continually test your applications under different conditions as well as against different use cases. Didn’t think your users were going to do THAT with your application? You’d be surprised.
6. Develop in Phases. Iterative development on features lends itself to the App Store’s “update” option. Begin with your initial foundation/objective, get it right, and launch it. Then, update the app continually as you not only develop new features but also improve UI/UE.
7. Be Ready to Roll Out. Don’t get caught with your pants down. If you launch an application on the app store, ensure that you have the proper resources to support it. Documentation? Check. Forum? Check. Email? Check. Support processes? Check.

I have also added another one:

1. Think Mobile. Too many software developers, engineers, and designers try to cram the user experience of Web and desktop applications into the mobile framework. That just doesn’t work. Building for mobile is a different mindset. But limited screen real-estate isn’t the only issue. Mobile users have both a different usability behavior (they are often on-the-go and working one-handed) as well as different modalities (touch/swipe vs type/click). Keeping this in mind will help you design a mobile application that is focused on the mobile experience.