YOU’VE MADE THE DECISION TO CREATE A MOBILE APP FOR YOUR BUSINESS, OR TO REVAMP AN EXISTING APP – CONGRATULATIONS! IT’S TIME TO LOOK FOR A CONTRACTOR WHO HAS THE MOST RELEVANT COMPETENCIES FOR THE SPECIFICS OF YOUR PROJECT. AND BEFORE YOU START YOUR SEARCH, YOU NEED TO FILL OUT A BRIEF.
Why do you need a mobile development brief?
UNFORTUNATELY, MANY BUSINESS OWNERS DO NOT LIKE BRIEFS AND DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THEY WASTE TIME AND ANSWER QUESTIONS WHEN THEY CAN MEET WITH THE CONTRACTOR OR TELL EVERYTHING OVER THE PHONE. THIS MAY BE EASIER, BUT WHAT IF YOU HAVE SEVERAL APPLE APP DEVELOPMENT SERVICES IN MIND? YOU’D HAVE TO SPEND A LOT MORE TIME EXPLAINING EVERYTHING TO EACH ONE OF THEM IN PERSON. ANOTHER ARGUMENT AGAINST: THE FEAR OF GIVING UP CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION AND THEN IT WILL BE USED OR LEAKED TO COMPETITORS. WE CAN ASSURE YOU: NO SANE CONTRACTOR WOULD DO SUCH A THING, BECAUSE THEY PROTECT THEIR REPUTATION. SO WHY DO YOU NEED A BRIEF?
- TO SAVE TIME ON THE DISCUSSION OF THE PROJECT. IT IS BETTER TO FILL OUT A DOCUMENT ONCE AND SEND IT TO POTENTIAL DEVELOPERS, THAN TO EXPLAIN EVERYTHING ALL OVER AGAIN EACH TIME. AND ONLY THEN, WHEN YOU’VE CHOSEN A FEW BEST CANDIDATES, TALK THROUGH EVERYTHING AGAIN, IN MORE DETAIL.
- TO GET FEEDBACK. ONCE YOU’VE SENT THE BRIEF TO POTENTIAL CONTRACTORS, GET AN APPROXIMATE FORK OF PRICES, DEADLINES, AND SPECIFIC PROJECT PROPOSALS AND SOLUTIONS. WITH THIS DATA, IT WILL BE EASIER FOR YOU TO ESTIMATE YOUR BUDGET, YOUR OWN RESOURCES, AND WEED OUT THOSE WHO CHARGE VERY MUCH OR WORK VERY LONG HOURS.
- TO ARTICULATE, ONCE AGAIN, WHAT YOU WANT TO GET BY CREATING AN APPLICATION. OFTEN THERE ARE A LOT OF THOUGHTS SWARMING IN YOUR HEAD, BUT IT IS WORTH TRANSFERRING THEM TO PAPER – MANY ARE ELIMINATED AND OTHERS UNDERGO CHANGES. FILLING OUT A BRIEF IS A BRAINSTORMING SESSION THAT WILL HELP YOU COME UP WITH NEW IDEAS AND LOOK AT YOUR BUSINESS DIFFERENTLY. IT MAY TURN OUT THAT YOU DON’T NEED AN APPLICATION AT ALL – ALL YOUR COMPETITORS ARE SUCCESSFULLY OPERATING WITHOUT ONE. OR THAT YOU INITIALLY COUNTED ON ONE TARGET AUDIENCE, AND THEN IT TURNED OUT THAT YOU NEED TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT OTHER SEGMENTS.
- TO GET A REALLY HIGH-QUALITY PRODUCT. DEVELOPING A MOBILE APP IS MUCH MORE COMPLICATED THAN WRITING AN ARTICLE OR CREATING A LOGO, BUT EVEN FOR SUCH SMALL TASKS, RESPONSIBLE PERFORMERS ASK YOU TO FILL OUT A BRIEF. ONLY REAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE CLIENT’S BUSINESS, PRODUCT, TARGET AUDIENCE AND COMPETITORS, COMMERCIAL AND USER GOALS WILL HELP THE DEVELOPER MAKE A REALLY USEFUL AND PROFITABLE APP. OTHERWISE YOU WILL GET A MAXIMALLY AVERAGED PRODUCT WHICH WILL NEVER WORK 100%.
How to fill out a brief correctly
TO FILL IN THE BRIEF YOU NEED TO TAKE A TEMPLATE FROM YOUR CHOSEN ANDROID DEVELOPMENT COMPANY OR DOWNLOAD A UNIVERSAL SAMPLE. YOU CAN FILL IT OUT IN ANY FORM, THE MAIN THING – TRY TO GIVE ANSWERS TO EACH QUESTION OF THE TEMPLATE. WHAT SHOULD BE A PROPERLY FILLED OUT BRIEF?
- CONCISE. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS CLEARLY. THREE OR FOUR PAGES ARE ENOUGH TO GIVE THE CONTRACTOR THE NECESSARY INFORMATION. BUT DO NOT OVERDO WITH BREVITY: “WE WORK IN CONSTRUCTION” – IS NOT AN ANSWER, THE DEVELOPERS ARE NOT TELEPATHIC AND WILL NOT BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT EXACTLY YOU DO.
- CLEAR. NO AMBIGUITIES, NO EVASIVE AND VAGUE WISHES. IF YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO WRITE IT, SUGGEST A FEW OPTIONS, AND A COMPETENT CONTRACTOR WILL SEND YOU THEIR IDEAS.
- STRUCTURED. ONE QUESTION – ONE ANSWER. IMPORTANT POINTS CAN BE HIGHLIGHTED IN BOLD. THE STRUCTURE WILL ALLOW YOU TO CONCENTRATE ALL YOUR THOUGHTS IN CLEAR PARAGRAPHS AND PASS THEM TO THE CONTRACTOR CORRECTLY.