{"id":11085,"date":"2021-05-13T20:18:30","date_gmt":"2021-05-13T20:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/limetech.co\/?p=11085"},"modified":"2021-05-13T20:18:30","modified_gmt":"2021-05-13T20:18:30","slug":"validating-and-mapping-your-app-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tjarb.com\/limetech\/blog\/app-development\/validating-and-mapping-your-app-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"Validating and mapping your app idea"},"content":{"rendered":"

Validating and mapping your app idea<\/h2>\n

Got a great idea for a mobile app? Before you start building and coding, you’ll want to validate your idea and make sure it’s got legs. In today\u2019s article, Validating and Mapping Your App Idea,<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>we\u2019ll get you started. <\/em><\/p>\n

We’ll cover three major areas:<\/em><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Determining the viability of your idea and where it will stand in relation to the competition. <\/span><\/em><\/li>\n
  2. Creating user profiles<\/strong> and establishing your target demographic<\/strong>. <\/span><\/em><\/li>\n
  3. Writing user stories<\/strong> and basic user flows.<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    All of these elements will come together later in your project brief<\/a>, the document that you\u2019ll use to guide your project and communicate your goals to your team.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

    Take a deeper dive into competitive research<\/b><\/h3>\n

    \"tabletWith your initial brainstorming<\/a> complete, you should have a better idea of what you want to achieve with your new app. Now that you\u2019ve done some <\/span>blue-sky thinking<\/span><\/a>, you can roll up your sleeves and start honing in on the specifics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Based on your early competitive research, you should be able to write down roughly five potential competitor apps found in the Apple<\/a> or Google Play<\/a> app stores. Take time now to examine your competitors a little more carefully. We recommend downloading the products and giving them a whirl.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Scope out your competition<\/b><\/h3>\n

    Trying out the apps of your competitors will give you insights into their <\/span>strengths and weaknesses<\/b>, and help you identify any gaps in the market that are not yet being served. Reading <\/span>customer reviews<\/b> will also help you understand where your competitors fall short, and how your product may better serve the market. Conducting a classic <\/span>SWOT analysis<\/span><\/a> may also be valuable at this phase.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"mobileResearching the competitive landscape helps you test whether your <\/span>unique value proposition (UVP) <\/b>is truly original. Is another company already achieving what you\u2019d like to do? Are they doing it in a way that is immensely popular and pleasing to their customers? <\/span><\/p>\n

    If that\u2019s the case, it\u2019s in your best interest to modify your UVP or pivot to a new idea entirely. Being honest about the competitive landscape now–and being willing to adapt–will save you a great deal of time, money, and stress in the long run.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Whether or not you find products similar to yours, it\u2019s still worth your while to understand the competitive landscape. Not only are you protecting yourself from building an app that already exists. This process also helps you understand your <\/span>competitive advantages<\/b> and determines your <\/span>product-market fit<\/b>. These will become important elements of your <\/span>project brief<\/b> which will help improve your chances of success in the long run.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Conduct early customer research<\/b><\/h3>\n

    Now that you\u2019ve clearly established your market competitors, this is a great time to start testing your assumptions about the market with some <\/span>early customer research<\/b>. If you have access to an existing pool of potential users, you have an advantage. For example, if you\u2019re building an app for your own business or local community, now is the time to leverage your access and garner insights from these potential users.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"teamConsider <\/span>conducting a survey<\/b> to poll potential users about their interest in your app, any <\/span>pain points<\/b> you are trying to address, and potential features you might include. Don\u2019t forget to invite them to sign up to be informed when your product is released. It\u2019s never too late to build your mailing list. E<\/span>arly adopters<\/b> will play an important role in your<\/span> marketing plan<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    This is also a great time to start collecting <\/span>analytical data<\/b><\/a> about user engagement with your website, survey, or ad campaign. Every bit of information you collect can be useful to your <\/span>app development process<\/b><\/a>. Demographic, psychographic, and behavioral data will prove invaluable as you seek to make informed decisions throughout your project.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Create customer personas or user personas<\/b><\/h3>\n

    Creating <\/span>customer personas<\/b> is one of the most important processes of preparing to build a mobile app. A customer persona establishes a detailed, semi-fictional, profile of a person who represents your target user. We recommend creating two or three personas at this stage.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"womanThe details of your customer personas are factual and informed by actual user data you have collected. This information could come from any of the sources we mentioned previously, such as <\/span>competitive analysis<\/b>,<\/span> surveys<\/b>, <\/span>early<\/b> market research<\/b>, <\/span>ad campaigns<\/b>, or<\/span> analytical data <\/b>(ex. <\/span>Google Analytics<\/b><\/a>). Your customer personas will be more general to begin with, but as you collect more data they will become more specific.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    You should aim to include most of the following categories in your user persona: name, age, gender, location, income level, marital status, goals\/needs, challenges\/pain points, and a photo or illustration. For a more extensive user persona, you might also include personality type, associated brands or platforms, and a quote.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Having clear \u201ctypes\u201d established will guide your decisions around branding, design, product voice, and user flows. We advise creating three different customer personas and getting as specific as possible with details. If you\u2019d like to try creating customer personas for your app idea, use our template to help get you started.<\/span><\/p>\n

    LimeTech User Persona Worksheet<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    Write up user stories\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

    \"notebookNow that you\u2019ve established your customer personas, you can create your user stories<\/strong>. User stories are short, informal statements that answer the questions of who, what, and why customers choose to engage with your product or it’s particular features. You can create user stories by answering the following:<\/span><\/p>\n