From LazyCoffee to Appstore

The Key stages of app development

© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 1

First of all Who am I• Scott Roberts (@scottmkroberts)

• Founder of a Local Mobile app development company Systematic Apps

• Been developing mobile apps (mostly for iPhone and iPad) for around 5 years

© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 2

What is this talk about (Agenda)A journey on how you take an idea all the way to the App Store.- Idea- Funding- Team- Design- Development- Marketing & Shipping

© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 3

Idea !

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To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier.

Execution is worth millions.

— Derek Sivers© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 5

IdeaEverything starts with an idea.- Coming up with an app idea- Validate your idea- Define your main feature set- Always be thinking of your USP (Unique Selling Point)- Remember: An app's main aim should do one thing and one thing well especially when starting out.- How will your app make money?

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Funding !

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"Cash flow is more important than your

mother"— BillionDollarApp Book

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How much does an app cost?

We surveyed some of the leading mobile app development companies on the cost to develop a mobile app, and found that the median cost range is between $37,913 and $171,450, but could climb up to $500,000 or higher.

• Source: https://clutch.co/app-development/cost-build-mobile-app-survey

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Example: Monument Valley

• Apple Design Award Winner 2014

• 55 Weeks in Development

• 8 Core Team Members

• Development cost: $852,000.00

• Revenue: $5,858,625.00

(source: http://blog.monumentvalleygame.com/blog/2015/1/15/monument-valley-in-

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How will you fund your idea?• Bootstrapping

• Angel Investing/Venture Capital

• Crowd Funding (e.g. Kickstarter)

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Team ! " #

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"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is

success."— Henry Ford

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Roles in the team• Design

• User Experience Designer

• User Interface Designer

• Mobile Development (Depending on platforms)

• iOS (iPhone and iPad)

• Android

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Roles in the team• Web Developer (backend / frontend)

• Someone with API experience

• Quality Assurance

• Marketing

• Sales

• Business / Financial

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Early stage teams• Single Founders (Indie Developers)

• Co founders (e.g. Design and Developer Duo)

• Full on teams

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Design !

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"One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity."

-- Bruce Lee

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Design Tools• Sketch

• Pixelmator (Photo Editing)

• Invision App

• Marvel App

• Pen and Paper

• Whiteboard

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Process• Tight feedback loop, you don't know how good you design

is until it is infront of your users.

• Wireframes to outlay the basic features and flow of the application.

• Test with real users via interactive prototypes.

• Start making it look good

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Quick things to think about• Limited screen space

• Use colour wisely

• Pick clean easy to read fonts

• Does your design fit with multiple languages.

• Icons should not confuse the user

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Development ☕

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“Always code as if the guy who ends up maintaining your code will be a violent

psychopath who knows where you live.”

— Martin Golding© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 23

Time to make your idea (Method)• Native

• Cross platform

• PhoneGap/Cordova

• Xamarin

• appcelerator

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Platforms• Android

• iOS

• Windows Phone

• Blackberry?

• Firefox OS

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How we create the iPhone App• Apple Developer License

• You need a Mac

• Download Xcode and get developing

• Code the app in Swift or Objective-C

• Taking a Test first approach will reduce bugs

© Systematic Apps, 2015 - www.systematicapps.com | @systematicapps | @scottmkroberts 26

Marketing !

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"Word-of-mouth marketing has always been important. Today, it’s more important than ever because of the power of the Internet."

-- Joe Pulizzi & Newt Barrett

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App Marketing Tips• Do not rely on the App Stores they have terrible SEO.

• Press Releases and giving early access to Blogs, magazines etc.

• Always think of marketing through the whole process of creating an app.

• Create a landing Page / website for your app early to generate "Hype" and interest.

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Shipping !

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"Move fast and break things."

— Mark Zuckerberg

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Required Reading & Resources• The Lean Startup

• How to build a billion dollar app

• Deckset App Best way to create presentations.

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Thank You

Any Questions?

@scottmkroberts

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