Different Stages of Mobile App Development Explained

Planning to develop a mobile app for your small business?

Given that mobile apps account for over half of all time spent consuming digital media, and consumers worldwide spend more than US $ 100 billion on apps each year, it’s no surprise that the idea of having your own small business mobile app entices you.

So what does mobile app development actually entail?   

This article gives an overview of the different stages involved in a typical mobile app development process and reviews the average timeline for each stage.

Conceptualization

The first stage in the mobile app development process is conceptualization. In this stage, you brainstorm the concept of your mobile app. 

Why you want to develop an app, what problem does it solve, how it differs from other similar apps in the market, these are just some of the questions you ask yourself in the conceptualization stage.     

Timeline: Throw in about 6 weeks.

Features and Functions

In this stage you add details to your app.

You decide upon exact features and functions of your mobile app, how it will handle and use data and which operating system(s) it will support.

Timeline: This stage of development takes about 2–3 weeks.

Planning

Planning is the third stage in the mobile app development process.

In this stage, you select your development team and discuss and finalize UI and UX requirements with them. 

Additionally, you decide on the frameworks to be applied, the coding language to be used, the libraries to be integrated, and the APIs to be included.   

Timeline: The planning stage takes up to 4 weeks.

Design and Development

This is when the actual development starts. 

The design and development stage involves two sub-stages:

· Back-end development

· Front-end development  

Back-end development precedes front-end development and includes:

· Configuration of databases

· Data integration

· Versioning

· Application of server-side logic

· Implementation of access controls and security systems

Front-end development involves creation of components related to user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). 

Timeline: Together, back-end and front-end development roughly takes 8–18 weeks depending on the size and complexity of the app.

Testing

Testing is the fifth stage in the mobile app development process.

It involves:

· Integration testing

· Functional testing

· User testing

· Unit & device testing

· Initial bug fixing

Timeline: Anywhere between 3 to 4 weeks.

Deployment

This is when you publish your app on Google Play and/or App Store.

Your primary goal in the deployment stage is to prepare for a successful launch and to get a good number of downloads for your mobile app.

Timeline: This stage usually takes a week.

Maintenance and Support

Maintenance and support is an ongoing process, where you strive to improve your app’s user experience and performance.

 

This concludes the article; we hope you found this reading informative and helpful.

About EX² Outcoding

EX² Outcoding is a nearshore IT service company located in Costa Rica. The company provides quality mobile app development services, software development services, web development services and other IT solutions for small and medium sized businesses. For more information, call +1 800 974 7219 or visit the company’s website.