When starting your search for an application development team, it’s crucial to clearly define the task at hand, and a development brief can help with that. In this article, we’ve compiled key points important for creating a custom solution. You can find links to the briefs (separately for business automation and startups) at the end of the article.
Why is this important? A brief for application development is a document that contains information about what the application should be, its functionality and its requirements. It helps developers better understand the task at hand and contributes to a more accurate estimation of the development time and budget.
Additionally, you’ll likely reach out to several companies to find the best fit, and without a brief, you’ll end up answering roughly the same questions over and over again. A single document with answers to common questions can save you a lot of time.
Why generic questionnaires aren’t suitable
You can find many generic questionnaires for website development online. These often include questions about whether you need an “About Us” page, if you’ll be showcasing a portfolio, or if you need an “Our Team” section, and so on. Potential clients visiting your site expect to find information about the company’s experience, its products and services, and to read reviews. Website owners create content that meets these expectations.
Users of an online store also expect the website to look and function in a certain way. They anticipate standard pages like product descriptions, payment and delivery information, a personal account with a shopping cart, purchase history, and more. Most of the functionalities possible for a website or online store can be listed in a brief, with the client simply marking “+” or “-” next to each item.
In developing a custom product, things aren’t so straightforward. The program being created might have no direct equivalents, and there are no “expected” requests. Or, it may have equivalents, but a multitude of nearly identical programs won’t attract users, meaning the service needs a unique “hook.” The client might know what that is right away, or they may still be figuring it out and expect the development team to help them define it.
When it comes to business automation, the main task isn’t about making the program unique, but about understanding why existing services don’t meet the client’s needs. In automation, we study the current processes within the company and focus on the desired goal to provide the best solution.
However, there are still common questions, the answers to which will help developers better understand the task and its specifics. This also enables a more accurate assessment of the effort required.
Brief for a custom application development
We’ve created a brief for application development that will help you focus on the most important aspects when defining the task for the development team. Answer the following questions, so the developer can estimate the expected workload in advance and calculate the approximate cost of the project.
1. The application development goal
The most common desired goal is to increase profits. However, this can be achieved in various ways. For example, you can reduce costs by creating a program that helps save time on report preparation or adding a cool new feature to the app that attracts more customers. You might want to implement a loyalty program so existing customers buy more, and so on. It’s important for the development team to know the specific goal you’re aiming for so they can work towards achieving it.
But there can be other goals as well, such as improving employee satisfaction by making a program more user-friendly and intuitive, among others.
2. What is the idea behind developing this app? What problem are you trying to solve?
If it’s a startup, there might be a broader idea at its core, such as creating an app to address a specific problem faced by a particular group of people.
For instance, when working on a business card exchange app, the client highlighted the main idea: to eliminate the need for physical cards and ensure quick and convenient contact data exchange. Therefore, the primary focus was on developing the logic for transferring business cards and implementing it through NFC, as this method is the fastest.
3. Have you tried other solutions to this problem? Why didn’t they work?
Unsuccessful experiences are still valuable experiences. Understanding why certain solutions didn’t work for you will help the development team focus on these challenges and consider how to overcome them in the new app. Additionally, answering this question will save you from receiving irrelevant advice about trying existing off-the-shelf solutions that may not be suitable in this case.
4. Are there similar services on the market? What do you like/dislike about these programs?
You know your competitors, but the development team does not. The services you compete with for audience attention may not always be obvious to those who haven’t spent hours with you conducting market research and audience surveys. Help the developers by providing a list of competitors, if you have already identified them.
5. What do you see as the “unique selling point” of your service?
Returning to the example of the business card exchange app, the unique selling point here is the data transfer via NFC. This feature sets it apart from similar services. It’s crucial for the developers to correctly identify this priority and focus on what truly matters.
6. Target audience for the service: who is it being developed for?
It’s crucial to clearly define your user, since the development process should cater to their specific needs. If you’re having trouble identifying your target audience, you can use tools like Google Ads. Select a few competitor services, enter their landing page URLs, and you’ll get demographic data about their users and the devices they use. Additionally, by using Facebook Ads Manager, you can input your competitor’s name in the interests field to access valuable information about their audience, such as gender, marital status, education level, etc. This will help you identify common characteristics among the audience and allow you to better understand your customer, thereby defining your target audience more precisely.
7. Is the monetization of the service planned? How will it be implemented? Has a payment aggregator been selected?
The presence of financial transactions is crucial for planning the development effort. Developers need to consider integrating with a payment service from the start and think about the logic of the planned cash flows. Additional features may be required, such as viewing payment history for the user or providing order statistics for the administrator.
8. Do you have a logo and brand colors? If not, is logo design required?
This question is important because if the logo and brand colors are not defined:
- These tasks need to be included in the budget estimate;
- Alternatively, if the logo is being developed by an external organization, the waiting time should be considered in the planning;
- The design of the service is based on the logo, established colors, and fonts. Starting the design process without them will take more time than if they were already in place. Therefore, in this case, the design cost estimate will be higher.
9. Do you have any design preferences or requirements for the service?
The developer needs to understand the complexity of the work because different styles/designs may require varying levels of effort. Custom illustrations and complex animations will be more expensive than a simple design.
10. How do you plan to implement the service (will there be employee training, or is a user manual needed)?
If documentation is required, or you want the development team to conduct user training for the program, these aspects should be included in the budget.
11. When do you want to release the first version of the program?
Information about the timeline is essential for planning the work. It helps determine which specialists to involve and how many. High urgency may affect the cost of the work.
12. What criteria will you use to determine the success of the program development?
The development team should define criteria for evaluating the result from the start. Although the development might technically be complete, it is useless if it does not meet the business goals set for it. Formulate measurable and achievable criteria. For example, instead of “should be user-friendly,” specify “The time to complete a user order should not exceed 1 minute.”
13. Comment for the development team
Any additional information that you believe is important for the development team to know.
Summary
We hope these questions will help you better articulate your idea and enable the developers to bring it to life!
As a bonus, here are links to two brief templates. How to use them:
- Copy the document.
- Answer the questions.
- Send it to potential developers.
To send us the brief for evaluation, please visit the Submit Request page or email us at info@itbrick.ru.