Mobile app development: Expectations vs Reality

In terms of Mobile Development, expectations are never transparent.  What most people expect versus the reality are often very different. To understand better the differences, we decided to explain a little bit of what mobile app development is versus what many people think or expect.

Today, consumers are experts in technology.  They are always connected everywhere and increasingly expect more from their devices, the apps they use, and what companies and brands are offering.

Are you planning on creating your own app but don't know where to start? Do you have too many questions and doubts and no one to turn to? If your expectations are not clear and you don't want to be disappointed, let us show you what nobody else has told you.

Expectation: The app should be easy to use, meet the goals, and always work as expected. Anything less would be disappointing.

Reality: The App becomes complex to use, there are recurrent errors, the technical capacity is exceeded by the requirements and therefore, does not meet the requirements for which the application was developed.

Consider that the emotional connection between the client and the software development company is a key indicator, with the main goal of helping to improve your brand, facilitate and optimize operations where the company must understand what you need.

What to expect when you hire a software development company?

Expectation: The price is too high because it takes a lot of development time, updates, the budget increases, everything is defined and clear.

Reality: Development prices will always be calculated based on the times and requirements of the client.  Today it is possible to reuse up to 70% of the code used in the mobile apps, reducing delivery time and costs.

Also,  thanks to the new technologies developed in the creation of mobile apps today, it is possible to develop versions for iOS and Android at the same time.

Proper planning will avoid having to carry out future updates if they are not required.  In addition, the company must anticipate the client's objectives and create the appropriate requirements as early as possible in the development phase.

Expectation: Only companies that sell a lot, big brands, and a lot of money can invest in the development of their own application.

Reality: There are different modalities to be able to invest in a mobile app, from monthly income to working for monthly equals or full investments, it depends on the options that companies offer their clients.

There is always a company with which you can create your application just as you dreamed it and with the comforts that best suit you. Remember that even the largest companies have started small.

Even Uber, according to BBC, when the app was launched in May 2010 in San Francisco only covered that city.  In just three years, it had expanded to 67 cities in 24 countries, but the big leap came in 2014 when Uber reached 230 cities in 50 countries. Today 344 cities can access the transport service, in 63 countries.

Expectation: Freelancers or independent developers have better prices and are just as professional as a software development company.

Reality: It may be true, however, there are cases where people without professional ethics can abandon your project without notifying you, deliver something that you did not expect or do not understand, and worse steal your information without you noticing.

The reality of working with freelancers is that there have been cases of not having an endorsement or a contract that guarantees the requirements and compliance of both parties.

For this reason, we recommend that you look for a company that legally supports you and that there is a contract where the guidelines of the project to be delivered are established, and finally that it meets your expectations in terms of costs and delivery times.

Expectation: Have a quality source code development that complies with security protocols to avoid being hacked by other users.

Reality: Visually it may look good, but it may not meet security requirements to prevent information theft, the structure of the code is not understood.

It would not be uncommon for a freelancer to be complicated and not deliver what is requested due to lack of capacity or organization.  In  this case, we recommend that you carry out an audit process of the source code to make sure that everything is in order, understandable and has a level of high security.

Recently, one of our team member’s discovered the vulnerability of a "food delivery" app.  In just 5 minutes, he realized that the security level was vulnerable and was able to create an account as an administrator. He immediately communicated to his friend, who owns the application and was obviously shocked at the realization.  Its pretext was that its developers were still doing "tests".

Expectation: To achieve a great user experience in addition to a great design. There is no stress or frustration when interacting with the application and the app downloads for ease of use.

Reality: There are issues while working inside the app.  When you access the app, you find problems and that certain functions don’t work or certain functions do not work. The company only develops what they can and not what you want.

In these crucial stages of development, you need a benchmark to meet all software requirements and at the same time be easy to understand, this is a great challenge that software development companies must face.

Creating a better experience for all customers and in any environment requires combining meeting the wants,  needs and expectations of users, ensuring that it works no matter where you are.

Many problems can be in the development of mobile apps due to expectations that are not clarified or are unrealistic, but more are generated by lack of ability to accurately understand customer expectations.

At Strappberry we have been experts in mobile app development for more than 10 years, and therefore we understand the expectations that people have and what they really need. We hope that the information we have shared has been useful to you and do not hesitate to contact us in case you need a mobile app.