Why Does Your Mobile App Need a Proof of Concept?

Why Does Your Mobile App Need a Proof of Concept?

Developing a mobile app is part business, part philosophy and part chaos! The reality is that launching an app that you want to turn into an “empire” is a wild ride. It can go no other way any time you’re attempting to do something great. One of the best ways to stay grounded during the process is realizing that you’ll need to formulate a proof of concept. While it may sound complex, a proof of concept is just a presentation of your app that proves its feasibility as a product. Every company and startup you’ve ever heard of before has used one to launch.

Typically, the proof of concept is created for the benefit of investors and stakeholders. However, it’s very important to still formulate a proof of concept even if you’re not technically accountable to anyone. This will help you to stay grounded in reality even when your passion for an app might cause you to lose sight of what’s feasible. It’s just a great self-auditing tool! Here’s a look at the steps to formulating a proof of concept for your app:

• Verify the Need for Your App: Identify the target niche for your app. Who are the people downloading and using it? Don’t just guess! What pain point is your app fixing for them? Create a survey to get a feel for the need level based on the answers of real people.
• Clarify What Your App Solves: Remember the pain points from the step above? Evaluate how your app fixes those pain points compared to existing solutions. That means that your app needs to be easier, cheaper, faster or more effective.
• Put Your Prototype to the Test: At this point, you should have a crude version of your final app. It’s time to test it to see how it fixes pain points. Have real people demo it! Is usage intuitive? Did you miss any important aspects of functionality?
• Rework Your Prototype: Turn your crude prototype into the most basic version of your app that you would consider to be fully functional. At this point, you can even open it up as a beta version. This is an important time for getting feedback about how your app performs “out in the wild” before you spend money on marketing.

This blueprint ensures the fastest, clearest route to launch! The beauty of it is that it gives you plenty of checkpoints along the way to ensure that you’re not speeding by pitfalls that are going to cost lots of time and money when you have to go back to fix them. You’re also able to provide investors and stakeholders with a clear blueprint for how your app was developed based on strategy and feedback instead of just “wild dreams.”