4 Steps To Outsource iPhone App Development

The development of an iPhone mobile app for your business is a good choice. One of the facts that help to decide to invest a bit of money and time is that Apple users are said to be seven times more active and are more eager to pay for the apps than Android users.

The iPhone’s market share is also quite attractive; Apple has been among the top 5 smartphone vendors ever since 2009. Also, when you decide what platform to choose for a mobile app, consider what country you’re targeting.

[Source: DeviceAtlas]

Another thing – Apple has Search Ads for mobile apps that will help to present your creation to the most relevant audience in the App Store.

So let’s get to the tips and tricks on how to outsource iPhone app development with ease. We’ll take you through the steps to take and details to pay attention to during the preparation stage of the project. 

Step 1: Shape up the concept of your mobile product

The first thing you need to clarify for yourself – what you expect to see in the finished application:

• What problem does your app solve?
• What exact functions do you want it to perform?
• How will it simplify your users’ lives?

It’s also crucial to do your preliminary research and study the competition.

Remember! Your application should be one-of-a-kind and have a unique, so-called killer feature to attract more users.

Another side of the coin is the promotion strategy for your future mobile app. No, it’s not too early to think about that. A complete marketing concept will very much shape your product, help with UX decisions and features to add/change. You can either pass this task to professionals (btw, a stable outsourcing app development company will do it for you with an in-depth understanding of the industry).

Having a clear understanding of all the aspects mentioned above will help a lot in your further negotiations, which is a significant activity when cooperating with a remote team.

Step 2: Select your app development partner

Digitalizing of businesses around the world provides access to the widest variety of options. With your framed idea and technical task on paper, it’s just the time to find the most suitable and appealing associate for your project:

• Start with a basic search of what’s available on the market;
• Check companies’ portfolios and clients (cooperation with the respectable brands speaks for the reliability of the company);
• Familiarize with their competences (e.g., Apple gadgets except for iPhone they build mobile apps for, markets they deal with, latest technologies they employ);
• Make a request on the chosen outsourcing companies websites and observe their reaction (you want them to answer quickly, sound interested and friendly, and let you know when your manager is going to contact for a detailed consultation);
• They’ll usually offer to start a discussion by signing an NDA to protect your unique idea from stealing;
• Communicate with your consultant and ask every single question you got – you want him to be proactive, provide clear explanations and generate useful ideas for your future product along the way;
• After the whole theory is discussed, you can expect a cost estimation and prototype from the company within 3 to 4 business days (btw, a clickable prototype will also present you designers and developers assets of the company);
• Interact with a business analyst and a project manager for your upcoming enterprise. You don’t only want to hire the best coders, but also your team to be true business developers, who’d offer you nice ideas for the product and its’ marketing strategy, interested in the success of your business and build it as if it was their venture;
• Last, but not least – choose substantial-quality, not the lowest price – you can get a product for half of the cost, but get ready to spend even more money to get it fixed or rebuilt afterward.

This is it for the part of choosing the outsourced iPhone application development company. Just keep in mind that you’ll be working hand-in-hand with people first of all. So you want to feel comfortable in communication with them, be able to find common grounds, and make sure they understand you right.

Step 3: Sign the contract and clear up all aspects

Now when you’re ready to start an actual offshore development project with your team, you are going to discuss the deal: payment scheme, communication plan, deadlines, ownership details, and all other conditions.

So here are some insights brought from our clients’ outsourcing experience:

• You can negotiate the price – final price point, and payment scheme are the matter of the debate, you can ask for some discount as well as optimize the size of your team;
• Include all important aspects in the contract – whatever it is – your ownership rights of the code, range of services you order or deadlines for the entire project – confirm it on paper to avoid any misunderstandings;
• Design a detailed project brief – you’re going to communicate with your team a lot because they don’t exactly know how you see the product. So crafting a project plan with all clarified procedures is a good idea. The brief will describe the significant milestones, responsibilities of both parties, control points, and deadlines for each stage.

Step 4: Develop the actual project

Even though you hired a team to build a mobile app for you, this venture will still take a lot of your time – mostly in online meetings, discussions, solving technical questions, etc. Communication is a vital part of any outsourced project, and you are a supervisor, decision-maker, and creative director of it. Just keep that in mind:

• E-mail communication is not enough – now when you got a straight schedule of the project, you can fix the time for your meetings to discuss ideas, jobs did, etc. To assume everything is happening is not correct, you need to double-check;
• Always give detailed explanations, write the scopes of work, draw some basic schemes to show your vision of functionality, listen to feedback and come to a collective decision with your team;
• Usually, you will have quite a significant time difference with your development contractor, that’s why prepare for late working hours online.

Some excellent examples of outsourcing mobile app development for the iPhone are listed here.

Ready to start?

Native iPhone app development is not cheap, but the business rewards that it brings make up for the invested cost. So study your options, make your choice, and, if anything, the APP Solutions team is here for you.

Denys Vetriak

administrator