Questions to Ask a Mobile Application Development Company

You’ve hit upon a great new mobile app that will make a ton of money. Now you just need someone to build it. 

So how do you pick the right mobile application development company? 

You have your pick of the outsourcing litter. Many on-shore, near-shore, and off-shore software development companies can build your app for you. 

But a mobile app is a considerable investment.   

If your development partner doesn’t deliver, a significant amount of funding goes up in smoke. Promising startups have failed this way. 

It’s therefore critical to find a software development partner who knows the latest mobile app technologies, has deep experience creating mobile apps like yours, and can give you a detailed cost estimate upfront.  

To help you in your search, we’ve put together a list of the most valuable questions to ask a mobile application development company. A reliable, experienced app developer should be able to answer these questions easily. 

Have you built an app like this before? 

Your app idea may be unique, but chances are, it shares similarities with other apps—architecture, underlying technologies, and basic features.  

When shopping for a mobile app development partner, look at the work they’ve done for other clients. Search for case studies about similar apps they’ve built. Try those apps out to get a hands-on feel for their work. 

Custom software development companies also have clients they can’t talk about publicly. However, they usually can tell you about them privately and are happy to share if you ask.  

Ask for their past clients’ contact information while you’re at it. Talking to past or current clients one-on-one can give you a good feel for what it’s like to work with a potential development partner. 

Do you have a UX/UI designer on staff? 

The user experience and user interface (UX/UI) design define your app’s look and feel. Some mobile app developers do UX/UI development. Others will build the app according to a design you provide, but don’t have UX/UI designers on staff. That means you must hire a UX/UI designer.  

If you find a partner who can handle UX/UI design, clarify if a designer is on staff. Some outsource the design work. Be sure you see design examples from the specific UX/UI designer who will be working on your app.  

Do you analyze our business before building an app? 

Your app development partner should do a deep dive into your business operations and requirements to thoroughly understand the project scope. Business analysis helps them define the critical features of your mobile app development project, as well as the functional and non-functional requirements. 

Market analysis should also be a part of their planning process. By thoroughly researching your market and use case, your partner may discover insights that will help guide the design and development process. They can then pull together a rich feature list for your mobile app that maximizes its appeal to your customers and fully satisfies their needs. 

You may feel like you’ve done a thorough job of business and market analysis. And maybe you have. Nevertheless, it’s a sign of a valuable partner that they perform a deep exploration of these critical aspects themselves. 

Will you assign a dedicated team to this project? 

Taking on one client at a time isn’t a sustainable business model for a mobile app development company. Therefore, your app will be one of many that your development partner will be working on.  

Be sure to ask how many people will be dedicated to working on your app and your app only. Some roles can be performed on an as-needed basis, depending on the project phase. However, you should at least have a core team focused on building your application.  

Who manages the product launch? 

Once your app is built, tested, and ready for release, someone has to get it approved by, and listed on, Google Play and the Apple App Store. It is a complex process best left to someone with the experience of having done it before.  

If a potential partner tells you they will only hand off the app files and leave you to deal with the app stores, that’s a big red flag. Look for a development company that includes this crucial task in their services. 

What is your QA process? 

No one gets mobile app development perfect the first time. For that reason, your mobile app development partner must have a rigorous quality assurance (QA) and testing process.  

QA engineers test your app before launch to find and fix as many bugs as possible. The best QA process uses a combination of manual and automated testing to scour the app for bugs. Agile teams may include QA testing in every sprint, which helps catch code defects early in the process.  

A thorough QA team helps ensure your app is bug-free before it gets to your customers. The process can involve functional testing, integration testing, performance tests, security and compliance testing, and load testing.  

Your app may not need all that testing, but if so, make sure your development partner can handle it well. 

How long is your app maintenance and support period? 

After you launch your app, someone needs to handle updates, new feature requests, user support, and bug reports. Make sure you understand how long your app developer will perform these services for you after launch.  

Also, find out about the cost of ongoing maintenance for your mobile app. The per-year cost for maintenance averages out to 25% of the development cost, so know what to expect in advance.  

How much will it cost to build my app? 

When asking this question, be prepared to hear, “It depends.” The cost of mobile app development varies wildly. It depends on app complexity and several other factors. For a deeper look at pricing, read our blog post How Much Does It Cost to Make a Mobile App? 

Having the pricing conversation early on will quickly eliminate the development partners that are out of your budget. Also, keep in mind that an expensive developer isn’t necessarily a great developer. Like real estate, the cost of mobile app development comes down in part to location. A US-based developer may cost more per hour than an off-shore company, but you can often get the same level of quality from the latter at a fraction of the cost. 

Conclusion 

You have many mobile application development companies to choose from, but they’re not all created equal. By asking the right questions, you can partner with a reliable company that will deliver excellent work by your deadline and within your budget. 

We hope Taazaa is on your short-list of mobile application development companies to check out. We pride ourselves on delivering fresh thinking and great products for clients from startups to enterprise-level projects. If we don’t think we can deliver an outstanding mobile app, we won’t waste your time. Get in touch today! 

David Borcherding

David is a Senior Content Writer at Taazaa. He has 15+ years of B2B software marketing experience, and is an ardent champion of quality content. He enjoys finding fresh, new ways to relay helpful information to our customers.