Today, new business ideas and new apps are synonymous. To make that business idea successful, you need to create an app that can survive and shine in the competitive market.
Well, the app market is quite competitive. If we just consider the Google Play Store, the app store for Android alone has around 3.57 million apps. (July 2022, Source). This number is only going to rise in the coming years for both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Creating a new app requires high skill levels, resources, and understanding of the business idea. This is where an app development company comes into the picture.
There are unique feature requirements of different types of businesses for their apps. To ensure whether your idea can be converted into reality, what you need is a proof of concept(POC).
What is POC?
POC(Proof-of-concept) is turning an idea into reality and then testing if that idea or concept is feasible and can be scaled. Proof of concept tells you if an idea has future potential or not.
When we talk about POC in app development, it is the conversion of the idea into a real app and then testing it on a very small scale. If the feedback is good, then the app can be developed on full-scale and launched on various platforms.
Why Should You Consider It?
To understand the need for POC, let’s take an example. Suppose that you want to create an app that shows the list of nearby medical stores to its user. Also, you want to allow users to chat with the nearby stores and order medical supplies from them.
Now, the app developers will have to collect a lot of data and work on various aspects of development. Analyze if the idea to allow people to chat is feasible and sensible or not. Can it be scaled in the long run or not?
Keeping all of those aspects in mind the app developer will give you a prototype and present you with all the pros and cons.
If you are a business/entity that wants to hire an app development company to develop an app for POC, then this blog is for you. These are the 10 questions to ask when you hire an app development company for POC -
10 Questions to Ask When You Hire an App Development Company
1. Can you please share your previous work and reviews?
The previous work and reviews of a company play an important role in determining which app development company to hire. Not only does it build credibility but it also helps in deciding whether the development company will be a good fit for you or not.
Reviews give you a better idea about the real performance of the company. Any app developer can give you the best codes, algorithms, and support. But if the code doesn’t translate into real-world performance then it is of no use. Reviews are the only way to know the real-life performance of an app and the app development company itself.
If the app dev company has worked on something similar to your business domain in the past and has positive reviews, that can be a plus point.
2. What is your USP?
Once you know the USP(Unique Selling Proposition) of the company under consideration, you can analyze how well their best features can contribute to your app.
To understand this point well, let’s go back to the medical supplies delivery app example. Let’s say that the USP of an app dev company is providing an elegant UI. Then you will have to think, can it be an advantage for you. Because most of your target audience already knows what they want to order.
So what your customers would want is a simple to use design that can address their needs directly. That way, their USP is going to be more of a gimmick than a feature for your app.
3. How do you manage the project?
This is probably one of the most important questions to ask when you hire an app development company. As a client, you would want to know how the company will handle your project.
This whole question contains a subset of smaller questions:
- Ask them about their approach: If an app dev company is going to develop an app for you then they should know your business type, its model, values, etc. Along with that, they should also understand your target audience. Only then they can design an app that would fit in your category of business and would impress the customers.
- Understand their development cycle: Any app development contains several stages. Try to understand how much time the company spends on each stage and what is the development cycle of an app. Sometimes there is an urgent requirement. You do not want anything to be compromised just because the timeline is tight.
- Do they use Design Thinking: The design thinking approach is one of the best ways to solve complex problems. It is a human-centered approach that is based on empathizing. Any company that uses a design thinking process is more likely to solve complex problems quickly and effectively.
- Understand their pipeline management: App development companies handle multiple projects at a time. That is why you have to understand their pipeline management. You have to make sure that your project gets equal attention as others and does not get side-railed if new projects come. Also, make sure that the company is willing to provide your project with enough resources.
- What methods do they use: Software or app development can have a lot of different development methods. Some take the lean approach while others take the agile approach. In modern times, agile development is proven to be better.
- Can they scale: Let’s say that you like the proof of concept and you want the app developed the same way. Sometimes companies put extensive efforts into developing the POC but they fail to turn that POC into reality. With the given set of resources, make sure if they can do it the same efficiently or not?
Also, read: How to Choose a Software Development Company
4. What is the size of your company?
The size of the company matters because that determines how many people and resources a company can allot to your project. The more people you have working on your app, the sooner it will be ready for launch and any bugs or errors can also be resolved quickly and easily.
5. What is the technical expertise of your team?
Expert app developers will develop a smoother and stable app. Numerous frontend and backend processes take place in an app.
For the app to work smoothly, the frontend and backend processes must be well integrated. The smooth integration of all the processes of an app depends on the expertise of app developers.
Another reason why having an expert team of developers is crucial for the app is for your specific and unique requirements. Your requirements might not be as demanding for a POC but in the real app, it needs to be fulfilled at the best level. For that, you will need expert developers.
6. Can you develop separate apps for Android and iOS?
Android and iOS are two of the biggest platforms for apps. Based on your target audience and business type, you might want to target only a specific platform or both. There are a lot of great apps that are just available for Android and then there are some apps that are exclusively made for iOS. So you have to ask the app development company whether they can develop apps for both of the platforms or not. Sometimes it is a necessity to have an app with cross-platform support.
7. How do you assist to go live?
For your app to gain popularity, it needs to be in the public eye on trusted platforms from where people can download and use them.
For Android, it is the Google Play Store. For iOS, the only way to get an app on your Apple device is through the App Store. It is the responsibility of the app dev company to assist you in making your app go live on these platforms.
Always ask them how they will help you in launching your app on popular platforms for people to use.
8. What is your post-development support?
Anything that involves code and the internet is always vulnerable to bugs and other technical issues. Some issues only come to light when users report them after they use your app.
That is why it is important to have a company that provides post-development support. Anytime your app has some issues after going live, the company can resolve them for you.
Post-development support is also important for the scalability of the app. This again takes us to the POC point. It is possible that an app dev company provides you with the best prototype app but is then unable to turn it into reality because of development and post-development support.
The app development company should have the resources to scale your app and handle the data load, server load, requests, etc. In the future, if you want to scale your app, the company should provide you with the support to do that.
9. How can you handle my security concerns?
Data security is one of the biggest concerns in cybersecurity these days. People care about data security and privacy more than ever.
If your app takes classified information or personal information, any data leak can be harmful to the customers and also result in a lawsuit or other legal actions.
Ask the app development company about how they handle the user data, what are the security measures they take to protect it(encryption, 2FA, etc), and what do they do for app security.
10. How do you specify the code ownership? Is it me or you?
Some app dev companies reserve ownership of the source code of the app while some companies pass it on to you. In case you deal with the first type of company, you can launch an app under your name but you won’t be able to modify the code if needed.
Also, you cannot sell its code in the future to other companies which normally happens when your app gains popularity.
Do you think only budget discussions can work it out? No. You need to find out if the app development company you are considering is the piece that fits into your puzzle in every way. These questions give an idea of whether it solves your purpose in terms of size, expertise, and processes.
