Incorporating User Testing Into Custom Mobile Apps

/0 Comments/in , /by

Creating compelling custom mobile apps is only possible when incorporating an effective Beta Testing program. It’s a difficult but necessary step that will help you retain users and further grow your app in a competitive marketplace. 

1. What Is Beta Testing And Why It Matters

Whether you’re specializing in consumer or custom enterprise apps, you want to release quality products. But how do you know that you’re achieving this goal? Well, you’ll know if your app is truly high-quality when your users download it, evaluate it, and give you positive feedback. However, a rigorous Beta Testing process is essential to reach this point.

So what is Beta Testing, and how does it benefit the development process? Firstly, it allows you to gain an understanding of the user experience before releasing the final product. Secondly, you can test your app’s compatibility across browsers, devices, and operating systems. Thirdly, you can quash bugs and fix any issues that testers find before making your app available to end-users. Finally, Beta Testing commences soon after the Alpha Testing phase, and the app should be stable and at least 90% complete. 

2. How To Test Custom Mobile Apps Remotely

You may have an in-house group that handles Beta Testing. But you may not have the office space and resources available to have in-house testers. Furthermore, you’ll likely not have access to the wide range of devices to test your app on, especially when dealing with the Android platform. 

But you can solve some of these problems by recruiting remote users that can test your app. And you’ll need to incentivize these users with money, gift cards, or freebies to make it worth their while. Ensure that you’ve defined your goals and all actionable tasks, and communicate these clearly to your testers. Moreover, regularly hold video meetings with all remote testers to discuss their user experience in depth.

3. How To Choose Testers For Customer Mobile Apps 

Ideally, you’ll want to build a community of beta testers loyal to your brand and excited to help improve your products. And you’ll find many capable testers on social media and software collaboration platforms, such as GitHub. You’ll also need to decide whether to run a public or private beta program, with the latter better suited for custom enterprise apps.

Make sure to create a beta page where testers can learn more about your beta program. Let them know what type of app they’ll be testing, the duration of the test, what you’ll require of testers, what types of tasks you’ll assign, how they’ll submit bug reports and feedback, and what will happen when the beta test ends.

4. How To Gather And Analyze User Feedback

Use Google Forms or Survey Monkey to draw up surveys and Q&As for your testers to complete. If you need to beta test multiple custom mobile apps, create a beta program for each with an accompanying survey form. Then, ask your testers to fill the relevant forms after completing specific tasks.

You may also want to set up a Slack workspace, which will serve as your central feedback channel for all testers. Here, you can collate and analyze user feedback and manage your beta community.

5. How Often Should You Test Custom Enterprise Apps

Depending on the complexity of your app, the test period can range from two to twelve weeks. But even if you’re building a simple minimum viable product (MVP), make sure not to go below two weeks, as this won’t be a sufficient amount of time for Beta Testing. And the frequency of tests will depend on how often you release builds introducing new features that require testing.

Developing custom enterprise apps is a long and complex process. Contact us today to learn how NS804 can help with your mobile development and Beta Testing needs. 

Is Your App High Risk To Warrant A Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?

/0 Comments/in , /by

Deciding on whether to develop a minimum viable product or a full-fledged app can be difficult. As an appreneur, you’ll need to take a hard look at your project and determine whether an MVP is worthwhile. Below, we provide a few handy tips to help you make the right decision. 

1. Determine Whether A Minimum Viable Product Is Right For You

In many cases, it’s usually smart to develop a minimum viable product instead of a full-fledged app. And this is often the way to go if you’re a startup that needs to stick to a budget and mitigate risk. However, it’s also likely that an MVP may not be right for you in specific cases. 

If you’re developing something simple, such as a to-do list or note-taking app, then consider if an MVP is the sensible choice. After all, an app with such limited functionality and scope already fits within the confines of an MVP. But there’s a difference; an MVP can be scaled into a larger project at a later stage after testing the market.

2. Are Your App Ideas Truly High Risk? 

You could position your startup as an innovator and trailblazer that makes unique apps. And if you’re indeed creating new and unique apps, then it’s likely that your risk is higher too. In that case, you’ll want to develop an MVP to test your app ideas and appeal to investors. 

But if you’re not veering away from the well-trodden path and playing it safe, your app’s unlikely high risk. Furthermore, it will be harder to excite users with an app that’s not much different than existing alternatives.

3. Why You Should Implement Good App Design

A side benefit of developing an MVP is that it helps your team hone their app design skills. And a few areas that will improve include the following:

  • Gaining a better understanding of the product and the resources required to complete it
  • Accelerate the team’s understanding of the client’s needs and enhance iteration and delivery 
  • Significantly reduce time to market (TTM)
  • Gain a competitive advantage over rivals entering the same market 

However, developers need to understand what they’re trying to achieve with a minimum viable product. They’ll need to build a vertical slice encompassing emotional design, usability, reliability, and functionality. And never a horizontal slice across only one of these key elements.

4. How To Develop An MVP Successfully 

As we mentioned earlier, an MVP is the sensible choice when embarking on a project that’s high risk. So, you’ll want to tackle it in a manner that leads to a successful outcome. Your minimum viable product should be a usable product, even with its minimal functionality. It should never end up as a demo, feel incomplete, or be meant only to gather feedback from users.

Furthermore, your team should be capable of using the right tools for making and releasing an MVP. They should implement analytics and a robust feedback pipeline for gaining insight into user engagement and responses.

5. Consider The Costs Of Developing An MVP

Depending on the size and complexity of your MVP, it can cost between $25,000 to $100,000. That’s a significant amount of money that could go towards your advertising and marketing endeavors instead. Therefore, it’s vital that you’ve done marketing research and determined what pain points you’re addressing before embarking on your MVP. Then, ensure that you build a community around your app and that you listen to user feedback.

Given the challenges and amount of work required to complete an MVP successfully, it’s best to work with a professional studio. Contact us today to learn how NS804 can help you develop an engaging MVP with brilliant app design.

How Custom App Development Improves App Security

/0 Comments/in , /by

Do you need to address security issues, or are you concerned about the spate of data breaches as of late? If that’s the case, then you should consider custom app development as it’s one of the best ways to improve your app’s security.

1. Why App Security Matters To End Users

As an appreneur, you take software development seriously and care about the end-user experience. Whether you’re targeting the consumer or enterprise market, you need to be at the top of your game. Meaning, that you shouldn’t only focus on the quality of your applications but also their security. After all, few things can hurt your reputation more than playing fast and loose with user data. And such a scenario can unfold if you don’t lock down security on every custom mobile app you develop.

However, it’s not just reputational damage that you need to worry about, but also legal ramifications for non-compliance. Nowadays, app developers and companies must comply with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The United States has its own regulatory framework, namely, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). And developers dealing with payment systems need to familiarize themselves with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

2. How Does App Security Benefit Business Goals

Even the most prestigious and trusted brands can overlook security flaws in their apps. Recent examples include the baked-in apps found in the Galaxy S10+ and possibly other Samsung devices. 

Fortunately, Samsung was made aware of these vulnerabilities and has released security patches in recent updates. It was prudent for Samsung to respond quickly with fixes, as this mitigated significant security risks. Moreover, the company’s strong presence in the smartphone market means that its business goals are affected by how it deals with app security. 

3. How Does Custom App Development Improve Security

In many cases, it’s wiser to develop a custom mobile app if security is a prime concern. Hackers and other bad actors often target applications and websites that have known vulnerabilities. However, a custom solution designed and developed from the ground up with tight security features will deter those with malicious intent. Furthermore, by maintaining your app and regularly rolling out updates and security patches, you provide users with a near hack-proof product.

4. How Can You Improve Custom Mobile App Security

No matter how nice and shiny your new app seems, there’s always room for improvement. And one of the areas you should focus on is tightening up its security. Thus, your custom app development endeavors should include cryptography, obfuscating source code, performing security checks, reducing sensitive data storage, and securing your backend.

5. Why Security Should Be An App Marketing Point

Users have become increasingly concerned about their security, privacy, and how tech companies and other entities use their data. And with stories about data breaches and ransomware making it into the news cycle regularly, it’s not surprising that users feel this way. However, this presents a golden opportunity for the savvy development team to market their latest custom mobile app. By putting security at the forefront and delivering a product that lives up to this promise, it’s possible to win over many new users.

In Conclusion

Custom app development should always be a consideration, especially when prioritizing security. Contact us today to learn how NS804 can help you develop high-quality and secure apps.