What's the point of your mobile app? We ask our clients even at the potential cost of losing the job

Developing mobile applications is expensive and there is nothing worse than when it goes to waste. If the supplier’s softwarehouse doesn't think about the added value of the application, no one will use it and it will be a waste of unnecessary time and money on development.

We prefer to think before we start to program

We don't just want to program blindly for our clients, we want to know the point of what we are doing. That is why we like to talk to the project owner as part of the inquiry process - we discuss the usefulness of the product and the best ways to achieve it.

We often get a really precise technical description of the solution from the client - from the architect's point of view, it is very well written, but they only touch on the purpose of the application in about three sentences. And that's not enough.

In practice, the reasons for the application to exist are usually more complex and bring a lot of challenges, which the owner can get caught up in, resulting in spending a lot of time and money. Clients often do not understand what to consider as a success or a failure when developing an application. Therefore, we reflect on the topic with them, discuss missing parts of the brief, possible challenges and define the ideal end result. 

• We look at the product through the eyes of the end user

Does the whole thing make sense? Can you do it another way? Does it meet the needs of end users? 

The fact that a development agency will be knowledgeable in the field of technology is assumed. In our experience, the end user's perspective is very often underestimated, although this is a fundamental feature that separates successful applications from unsuccessful ones.

Just because we look at the product through the eyes of the end users does not necessarily mean that the application will make more money as a result. But development will definitely be more efficient and the risk of it being unnecessary will be reduced. During discussions, we often find out that the originally intended elements of the application are unnecessary or, on the contrary, some essential features are missing.

• We keep our client’s wallet in mind

Everyone has programmers who know how to program for better or worse. But the truth is, a programmer’s willingness to look for and ability to find an easier way is what separates the best from the rest.

We try to be our client's partner and think about their project as a whole. We often come across situations where the client is not aware of the fact that they have no clue. If we see that something can be done differently, using a solution that offers better value for money, we discuss it with our client.

Speed ​​is overwhelmingly a killer of efficiency. If we discuss and think first and then work on the code, the development process may not start that fast, but it is finished sooner.

When things are created on the go, not only can the production of the application become more expensive by 30-50%, the delivery time is also extended, due to unexpected changes and discoveries.

Design concepts help us a lot

Design concepts help us at the start of a project - clickable prototypes in which we process screens, functional interfaces, data and backend. We create a visual impression of an application that does not yet exist. Thanks to these, the client will learn the maximum possible amount of information before the start of development. 

A design concept is not just about design but also about technology. We see a layout of elements and data, which will be programmed or pulled into the frontend. Therefore the programmer knows exactly what data to use at what places.

The main advantage is that we start the development knowing what everything should look like. It's a completely different kind of preparation than the common "two pages of specifications.” The designer may spend two weeks on such a prototype, but saves the client months of development in the end.

We say NO… even at the cost of losing a contract

At SYNETECH, we take the approach that rather than developing an inefficient application or developing applications inefficiently, we would rather be straight up with the client (even at the cost of not developing at all). 

An example is our recent cooperation with Pilulka.cz. They inquired about kiosks (drug dispensing terminals, a combination of software development and IoT). 

We conducted a market analysis, found out how a project like that could take shape, came into contact with foreign suppliers of hardware, and decided that it would probably be more advantageous if they cooperated directly. And that is how we presented it to the client.

So we didn't get the job, but we still had a great feeling about such cooperation. We do not do business for business’ sake, it is important to be on the same page and cooperate as partners. When a person thinks about the project as an owner, they can suddenly see it all clearly. The result is much better and more efficient.

Best intentions lead the way 

So what is our goal? We try to make sure that applications are not only effectively developed, but also work towards their purpose and are actually used by the end users. We don't want to be the ones who mean well, but develop a generic application, of which there are many on the market and which may therefore not find its user base at all.

Our intention together with the client is to think about how to make an even better application than what the competition has. Often the client only guesses what their target group would appreciate, but they do not have any substantiated data to back this up with and the reality is different. We believe that discussion at the beginning prevents unnecessary reworking later, thus saving time and money.

Do you have an idea for an application but you are not completely convinced what it should look like, its viability or its purpose? Get in touch with us. Together we can create a prototype and help you refine and develop it into the application you've always dreamed of.