App Optimization: How To Create A Perfectly Refined Product
The traits and characteristics of entrepreneurs have been argued endlessly, but one thing remains certain: they’re big dreamers. They detect problems, think-up-a-storm about creative solutions, and are fearless in their execution.
But what happens when ideas run too wild? Some entrepreneurs need another, more restrained mind to balance them out and create a perfectly harmonious dynamic. If you don’t have anyone like that around, follow these five steps to achieve a better app: What’s Your Problem? The first thing you should do is go back to the basics. What was the initial idea that sparked your big dream? What was the problem that ignited your thoughts of a solution that doesn’t yet exist? Since entrepreneurs think big, they also tend to drift away from their core idea. Before executing any idea into a product – the core solution has to be detected. Better apps are ones that aim to solve a problem. Define Your Most Valuable Features (MVFs) Now that you’ve detected the main functionality of your mobile app, make a list of features that you’d like to include in it. After you’ve assembled the list, divide the features into two categories:
- Features that are vital to solving the problem – your most valuable features (MVFs)
- Features that are a nice addition and can be saved for later updates
So we’re clear – the only features in your first version should be the ones that fall within the first category. Be the Best Now that you know the single functionality that your app offers, and the features that help make that happen, it’s time to execute it the best way you can. You can always start by taking a look at the competitors to see how they’re executing their solutions. This way you can learn what mistakes you shouldn’t repeat. It’s also extremely important that the execution remains simple so that the user immediately understands what problem your app aims to solve.
Get Your Ducks in a Row A helpful method for achieving app optimization and detecting problems and bugs BEFORE turning your idea into a product is creating a list of guidelines and a flow chart. The list of guidelines should state the problem and the solution through a list of functionalities and actions, and the flow chart should visually illustrate the different scenarios the user will experience. The document should serve two purposes: make the usage of the app perfectly clear to any outsider who reads it, and help detect bugs before it’s too late. Keep it Simple Stupid The final step before the actual execution of the mobile app, is creating a wireframe that illustrates its UI and UX. Entrepreneurs often stick to their idea so much so that they design their product as if they were its target audience. These days there are so many product experts out there that specialize in sub-topics such as e-commerce, gaming, forex, gambling, and more, and are able to tailor the experience to the app’s target audience. It’s recommended to outsource when it comes to wireframes since it’s such an ever-evolving field and is detrimental to app optimization. The most common mistakes inexperienced entrepreneurs repeat is being inconsistent – features on the screen aren’t streamlined in their positioning and color. Another mistake is creating an overbearing onboarding process that includes too many permission requests, too personal setup questions, and way too many steps. This is a crucial point in the experience where users tend to lose their patience and delete the app. In that case, some good tips to follow are: stick to your MVFs, clean up components you don’t need, and use the composition on the screen to lead the user’s eyes to where you want them to go.
…and most importantly, if you want a better app remember – less is more.
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