Many companies are unfamiliar with the whole custom app development process, so much of the follow-up work is hard to carry out; communication and understanding difficulties also delay the project, and the developed app is less than ideal. Sorting out the whole custom app development process can help you avoid some detours. Here XZS Tech explains the process: what steps does custom app development go through?
1. User requirement analysis
The most important part of the whole custom app development process should be user requirement analysis; the success of app development depends largely on it. User requirement analysis here means the set of functions the app develops for its base users. Users are the centre, not a slogan. Many apps developed by enterprises are used by users with needs, so when organising the app’s development requirements, do not develop only to the enterprise’s own demands; consider the needs of the users who will use the app. Sort and organise these requirements into an approximate functional framework. To build an app, what must we understand first? The client’s needs: who will use the app, what kind of app they need, what functions they need. Only after understanding the requirements can the next step be set.
2. Product prototype design
Product prototype design is like the sketch of the app system. After in-depth user analysis, classify the requirements into functional modules, and use them to build a simple product prototype. The prototype shows the basic functional structure; use prototyping software to simulate the app product and confirm with the client. Once the final confirmation is done, move to the next step.
3. UI visual design
Based on the product prototype, UI designers begin beautifying the app’s interface: designing layout structures from the displayed content, controlling the design style, colour-matching each area, drawing function menu icons and designing pages. Constant communication and revision are needed; finally all the app’s interface mock-ups are produced.
4. Database design
Based on the data processing required by the analysed functions, build reasonable database table structures and optimise data algorithms to raise processing efficiency, ensuring the security, accuracy, stability and timeliness of data in the app’s use.
5. Server development
The core processing of the app is done by the server-side programme: the client app needs to send and receive data, and since users’ mobile devices are limited in hardware configuration and storage, core data processing runs on the server, a method also called cloud computing, with results fed back to the client app. Server-side programme development is therefore very important, and all functions must be developed strictly according to those organised in the requirement analysis stage.
6. iOS / Android client development
Programmers develop the client according to the app’s renderings, implementing the interfaces that write function calls into the designed renderings, connecting to the server and interacting with its data, developing an app client identical to the renderings.
7. Testing
The developed app must be tested. Testing aims to discover the various problems that may occur when a simulated user uses the app in normal and abnormal situations, with necessary test data imported, and the errors are fixed. If the app passes systematic testing, the whole app is proven complete, and the finished product is handed to users for trial. We improve and retest based on test users’ feedback, and in the user testing stage we weigh every user’s opinion.
8. Upload to app stores, maintain and update
After signing and verification, the developed client app can be submitted and published to each app store: the iOS version to Apple’s App Store, the Android version to the major domestic Android stores. After launch, maintain the app, collect all kinds of user feedback and fix bugs in the app promptly.
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Shenzhen XZS Technology Co., Ltd. · Tel 0755-82494862 · 13760424861