Why not every app achieve a success comparable to Uber? After all, most have a real insight behind them and their technical partners or external developers do everything they can to assure the highest value of code. Well, these things matters of course. But there is one more crucial thing an app owner has to do at the very beginning of creating his/her own app – a business analysis.
The business analysis is one of the initial steps in mobile app development which allows to understand the market your app is trying to conquer, its competitors and users. The best thing about business analysis is that it can help you save a huge amont of time and money – by discovering your product’s market niche and finding the best business model for your app. Sounds good, right?
Business Analyst is able to recommend solutions that deliver the best value to app owners.
Of course, you can say that you are not a marketer or don’t have a MBA. That’s OK, nobody can do everything. That’s why in good software houses there is a position called Business Analysts – a guy or a girl that will gladly do such an analysis for you and make sure your app is well-prepared for the rest of the development process.
Check what exactly you can expect from a Business Analyst and get to know 5 tips from our experienced specialist – Bartek Talaga.
WHO IS A BUSINESS ANALYST?
Business Analyst is a person who has analytical, technical and organizational competences to facilitate identification, design, and implementation of information technology solutions in a fast-paced evolving business environment. By defining and validating business needs, Business Analyst is able to recommend solutions that deliver the best value to stakeholders.
Apart from that, in enterprises Business Analyst is often responsible for identifying, reorganizing and driving change within business processes.
WHAT DOES A BUSINESS ANALYST DO?
The day-to-day Business Analyst activities include:
- understanding business problems and goals,
- eliciting and analyzing needs and solutions,
- devising strategies,
- driving change,
- facilitating stakeholder collaboration,
- ensuring that the developed technical solutions will satisfy and meet the needs of the business.
WHY IS YOUR PROJECT MORE LIKELY TO SUCCEED WITH BUSINESS ANALYST?
During the workshop phase Business Analyst helps your business idea grow and evolve by gathering, validating, and prioritizing requirements as well as identifying business opportunities for your app idea.
In this phase, Business Analyst also works as a liaison between clients and developers – he makes business issues understandable for developers – ensures that the development team understands what they are supposed to build – as well as explains any technological issues to the client – making sure the client know what he/she will get.
The role of Business Analyst doesn’t end at the workshop phase, however. He is also the one who:
- proposes functionalities for the MVP,
- establishes the scope of the project – divides the project scope into phases,
- proposes and consults monetizing strategy for the business ideas,
- consults launching strategy,
- ensures that each solution is technically feasible and financially achievable,
- and does other business-technical consultations.
No wonder that he needs to have the vast knowledge on the various businesses and branches.
5 TIPS TO SUCCESSFUL APP FROM BUSINESS ANALYST
1) After coming up with any idea, go to potential customers as fast as you can
Founders often fall in love with their idea and are afraid to tell about it, not only by the fact that the idea can be stolen but primarily not to be rejected. This concern is so strong that people focus on creating a whole application in domesticity, without any validation with the customers. Nearly always it results in a big catastrophe: enormous waste of money and time and long-lasting frustration.
Suggestion from Business Analyst: when you have an idea, create a business model (e.g. business model canvas), go to the assumed group of customers, start validating and let your business idea evolves and grows.
2) Use a Minimum Valuable Product (MVP) to validate your idea
If your first customers „bought” your idea it is essential to make this idea happen and start building it.
At this point remember – it is still the phase where your idea is evolving so do not create the whole product. Start with MVP – Minimum Valuable Product.
The Minimum Valuable Product is a product with just crucial features to satisfy customers and to provide feedback for future development.
Want to take a Business Analyst’s advice and begin your app development journey with an MVP? Check how it works!
And if the cost is still an issue you need to rethink before looking for an investor – invest first in building wireframes.
3) Get money from your clients as fast as you can
If you are going to sell services in your application, charge your customers as fast as you can even if it is an idea phase.
Sounds crazy? It does, but if somebody gives you money before you start, there is no better assurance that you are on the right track.
Sounds impossible? Prepare simple agreement that will obligate you to return money if your idea fails.
If you are still not convinced, get familiar with the Dropbox story.
4) Make use of Scaleability and Repeatability
If you aim to evolve your idea into a Unicorn – a startup whose estimated valuation is more than $1 billion – your idea must be scalable and repeatable.
In simple words, startup is scalable when it increases sales and profits without incurring a proportionate increase in costs and repeatable when it is able to generate recurring sales effortlessly. It is a key to success.
5) Do not be afraid to start off, build a strong team and start today!
Do not wait for the appropriate time – it’s highly probable it will never come.
Instead, find eager people who want to achieve something incredible as much as you do. Build a strong team that can cover all necessary areas such as Information Technology, sales, marketing, negotiations plus any specific areas – depending on the idea domain. And just do it!
Are you ready to start off with your app? Fill in this form to get a free quote for your app idea.
