12 Important Questions To Ask Before Hiring A Mobile App Developer

12 Important Questions To Ask Before Hiring A Mobile App Developer
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If you’ve ever approached to an agency or developer to build/work on your mobile app or web app idea – then I’m pretty sure you will easily connect with this article plus you would learn about some of the most essential questions that you should be asking to your present of next developer before hiring them. 

If you want a mobile application development team for your business or want to launch a mobile application, then you can go for it this year.

Companies globally are taking mobile as the first approach, to offer many advanced experiences to its users. Also, the way the content is used in the present generation has changed, developing a mobile application is a way of action that will consistently cater to increase in the demand of the customers.

On an average, 92% of time utilized by a person is spent using the mobile application.

So, without any further ado, let’s get started

Next time you get into a Skype discussion with your developer or if you’re making a quick call – make sure you ask the questions that you’re going to read below.

Building a mobile application is one of the important technology investments used by every kind of business this year. But a major question stands in front, how would you hire the best mobile application developer for your project.

The global mobile application market size was valued for $106.27billion in 2018 and was estimated to reach $407 billion by 2026.

Moreover, asking important questions to a mobile app developer can let you know his ability and capabilities to build your dream app for your business evolution.

Smartphone’s have become one of the best alternatives to computer to sell your product and services over internet.

You have to collaborate with an expert developers team who knows how to create an application, need to have a proven process they can follow, and maintain consistency in the process by following the standard app development process. It also helps you to cost the app development that takes no extra charge.

It’s no doubt; mobile apps are changing the approach of your business with additional customer engagement compared to desktop and other browsers.

According to a report by Evans Data Corporation data’s global developers population and demographic study, there are around 26.9 million software developers present globally. These numbers are expected to grow to 27.7 million till 2023 and 28.7 million by 2024.

USA is on the lead with the numbers of software developers up-to 4.3 million

Let’s have a quick look at user preference of mobile app vs browser uses.

Mobile App Vs Browser User

According to Statista, mobile apps forecast to generate around 189 Billion U.S. dollars in revenue. That’s HUGE

Mobile Apps Forecast

If you have still not gone for a mobile app then the above statistics clearly indicates that you are going to lose lots of money on your table

So it’s time to give a round of thought on building an app from scratch or customizing your existing app.  And I am sure, you don’t have more time to spend on the coding and development of mobile app. It’s better you should go with a mobile app developer as you might have planned, already.

Now the question arises – How you will find a right developer who is different from others and can understand your requirement?

In which platform and how the developer can extend all your app functionality, which will help, grow your business? And many more…

Within these 12+ years of journey, Andolasoft Mobile App Developers have come across a whole bunch of questions from our esteemed customers. We have the complete lists through which you can find out the right mobile app developer for your business.

Mobile App Developer (Source: Space-O technologies)

For your appropriateness I have categorized these questions into three major groups, take a peek

Contents

1. Developers Experience And Capabilities:

It’s very important to identify developers experience as that will directly imply on your app development and how he/she is going to implement required features plus functionalities.

Q1. Can You Show Me The Apps, Which You Have Already Developed?

It’s always true that you can keep your hope on someone after seeing his/her past performance. As this is the indicator of someone’s skill and ability in real-time.

Professional and skilled developers will be more than happy to share the links, which he/she had worked upon previously and will show honesty about their contribution towards the app.

Get Careful: If the app developer does not illustrate much of an interest to show the links and does not reply back as you need, then you must be sure that he/she is not the right choice for you or not that experienced in handling or building an app that brings in financials to your company.

Q2. What Has Been The Size Of The Company For Which You Have Built An App(s)?

Normally the work culture of a startup varies from the work culture of an enterprise and that directly reflects in the app development.

Mid-level to large companies focus more to documentation, project management processes, scrum meeting and update where startups give less stress in documentation and others, rather they give more importance to the working of the app (than on the development process).

App Developer having both experiences will add value to you and he/she can understand your work process better and possibilities of conflict and dispute are less.

Q3. Can I know about your present and previous clients and can I speak with them? – Ahaa…Smart question

Speaking with developer’s present and previous clients can let you know the way he/she has maintained good relationship in the development process.

You have all the right to ask the developer – to give you the contact of his/her clients (and taking the permission to talk to them)

Once you talk to his/her clients, you will be directly listening it from the horse’s mouth – –     How reliable the developer is

  • How well he/she communicates and
  • How he/she deals with pressure and tight deadlines

More towards the development process like, what hurdles the developer faced during the development process and how he/she dealt with it when nothing was working according plan.

You have to listen the voice of reference client while telling about the app developer carefully and if there will be excitement then that is good for you and for your future app.

You can also check developer’s social network common connection in LinkedIn or Facebook and ask them about his/her skills and abilities – no harm in that.

Q4. How well do you understand my customers and business?

It’s a very necessary part that the app developer must understood your business, your customer’s need and behaviors, why you are developing ‘this’ app for your business and how the features will match to your customer.

Unless and until the mobile or web app developer doesn’t understand this he/she would not be able to develop your application and more importantly making the app a success.

Added advantage: It’s always good if the developer has same industry experience and clients as yours.

Q5. How much experience do you have building the specific features needed for my app?

As an app owner you must have idea about the features and functionality that you want to include in your application. At least from the user’s perspective, what you expect – should be known to you clearly.

You need to make sure that the developer can build all your features. If your developer has already worked on these features then, you don’t have to bother about that – its a clear advantage.

Normally every developer has no practical experience in developing all features as per your requirements. That does not mean that they cannot fulfill your needs. You need to ask them the process how they will plan to implement that feature. This will give you a sense of satisfaction and uplift the trust in the developer – that he knows what he speaks.

Q6. How focused are you on design and user experiences?

User experience is the most important part for the success of your application in present day scenario. It keeps you stand out among the millenary apps in the play store and App store.

It’s not all about using good picture and color in the app but it mainly depends upon the User interface (UI) and User experience (UX) part.  UI refers to the good look of application where UX refers to how accessible and easy the app’s features are to use. High user experience can drive more value to your app quickly and easily – make sure your developer understands that clearly.

It’s your responsibility to check the UI and UX part of application, which has been developed by the developer previously. Good  and quick way to judge his work knowledge.

Q7. How can you build monetization features into my app?

Monetization feature helps you make money from your app….and that’s one of the most important aspect why we build an app (for most of us).

Before monetizing an app, there is a touch of smart work to be done by the developer while developing your dream app – and what’s that!

The developer (if he is experienced and built apps like yours), then he would be able to guide you on some of the ways your app can generate money. This is why he would be able to implement those money-generating features in your app, along with your ideas.

Some of the ways through which you can make money from your app;

  • Paid apps (pay per download)
  • In-app advertising
  • Freemium model
  • In-app purchases
  • Subscriptions
  • Sponsorships

Each model needs different methods of integration and you need to make sure – that your app developer must be familiar with these integrations so that there is a balance between technology and user conversions.

Q8. Do you have idea about MVP (Minimum Viable Product) & POC (Proof of Concept) and have you ever worked on these?

Most of the business owners generally get confused about this – that is to develop a Proof of Concept (POC) or Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for their projects.

These concepts are some of the maiden ideas to know whether the product or app will be well accepted by stakeholders and the end-users – this definitely increases the chance to launch the final version, without any doubt-able notions.

Proof of Concept (POC)POC is a maller project, typically used internally rather than introducing it to the public, to verify a certain concept that can be achieved during the development process.

Minimum Viable Product (MVP): MVP is a minimal form of your complete product that is tested in the market and which tells how your users will react to your product, before you invest a lot of money and resources building something they don’t want or need.

Before going for POC and MVP development, you need ask below questions to yourself,

  • Which industry or market you are targeting?
  • Who is your target audience?
  • What you are trying to get and what will be the result?
  • Most important – What are the pain points of the targeted market are you planning to solve through this app?

2.Development Process

Q9. How will we communicate during the development process?

During the development process, communication is the most important and critical thing and you need to be more careful about this.

Communication starts from the day one (when the project is kicked-off) and ends with the final delivery of the app. From the beginning you and developer need to agree with the features and functionality of your app.

Then you need to work together to create wire frames and mock-ups that represent what the app would actually look like, keeping all the features in mind. Once the design gets complete and approved from you – post which the app development begins.

There should be a consistent communication during the development process, and it should be consistent.

You can take the help of project collaboration tool like Orangescrum to keep all project tracks in a single place. Orangescrum will show all your app development work right in your phone or desktop.

And you must make it sure to conduct weekly meetings – to update the project status and identifying the issues, in a progressive manner.

Milestone wise project delivery (in order to verify the development in each periodic interval by getting beta links for the app)

Remote Developers – if you are opting to hire a developer who would be working on your app remotely (as that will surely help you to cut down and take control of your budget), it will be also crucial to make sure how the time-zone differences might impact the daily communication. But most of the remote developers do adjust according to the client’s time-zone and conduct the meetings/conversations without any time constraints.

Added to that – imagine if you’re from United States, Canada etc, then at the time when you would be taking your regular nap, the developers would be actually working on your app idea and nothing better than that. So when you’re up – they are ready for the next set of actions and discussions. But, make sure to choose wisely and remote agencies that are in the league for a good number of years.

Q10. Will you submit my mobile app to app stores?

After successful testing of app, now it’s time to launch that in the App store and/or Google Play store – open it for the public.

The process to submit apps especially in App store is a bit tricky and the developer must know the in and out processes so that you don’t get stuck in the last ladder of success. This is crucial and only a professional agency or developer would know about it.

So make sure – to ask this vital question and get your answer (don’t forget to ask for client apps that they had launched to the app store).

Q11. Will you maintain the app once it’s launched?

Continuous improvement in the features and functionalities of an app, as per the user needs does make it more desirable and the conversions (of using your app) are much higher.

You should ask the developer about the maintenance and future support which is most important for your web or mobile app.

It’s very necessary to set a deal with the developer to maintain your app properly, before even starting with your app development.

3.Deliverables & Payments

Q12. What are your fees and payment terms?

Fees and payment process varies with respect to company/developers. A good agency will have their own fixed prices (that they may or may not negotiate with), but it’s certain they will abide by it as they would sign the contract/written documents.

That reminds me – make sure you and company/developer should be in a legal agreement for the complete app development process.

Yes, I am sure you might be excited to know how much does/will your Mobile App Development Cost but you need to be careful in this part. As you might feel like – taken for a ride, later. And then there is something least you can do.

Normally, there are two ways for project pricing structure – hourly rate and fixed price.

In hourly rate, the developer charges on the number of hours he/she spends in your project.

Whereas, in fixed price, developer estimates a fixed amount to complete your app development and here hours may vary (but work will be done) on the quoted price – nothing more nothing less.

Then again the price may differ if your requirement changes – there are some agencies who believe in client happiness the most and so they adjust (if it’s a small change) but there are other who might charge you even for an hour increase.

I am sure the price may vary from developer to developer.

Though, hourly or fixed price developers – an advance of up to 50% of the total project cost with a balance due after project delivery (known as pre-delivery) is quite normal.

But, you have to be careful from them – who are asking for the total amount at the beginning of the project, without even starting anything on the app.

Be sure to review the work proposal, documentation and agreement before payment. And signing an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) is a must. Though, give a ‘+1’ if the developer/company/agency believes in signing an NDA without any glitch.

Taking your final decision will get easier now, some final words

Mobile apps are very much important for the growth of your existing business and it’s not very easy to find your right app developer but trust me it’s not hard or impossible.

You need to take lot of time by selecting the right one by analyzing his/her experience, ability and legal properties.

Make sure you ask the above questions – before you take a call on finalizing your right developer.

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