Creating Your App : The Process

Instead working aimlessly it’s better to create an internal process for your journey of app development.

Here I’m not referring the standard methods of app creation, there are plenty of articles online covering those.

I’m talking about your internal thought process of sorting the app features by priority and working your way through them.

It’s really important to prioritize your important and key features. Sometimes, it’s not easy to sort or even identify key features of your app. And if you are building it on your own, then it’s even more difficult.

It’s easy to get lost, that’s why we need some way to identify the key features of your app and work accordingly.

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First Things First!

Before you start to code, you need to think about what you are going to code.

You can’t create every feature at once. You need to have a starting point.

So, before you jump in, you need to prioritize your feature.

My suggestion would be to write down the features you need in your app.

And start with the most important feature first.

So, what is the most important feature of your app? Let’s see…

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The Most Important Feature…

…is the one that resides at the center of your app. This is what you need to create first.

Focus all your fresh momentum and energy on this one feature.

What is your main feature? It’s really easy to find out.

Ask yourself : How do you define your app? What is the one statement that defines your app?

For eg it could be this : A new chat-based application where you just chat with emojis.

Now what’s the main feature of this app? The one without which this app can’t be what it is.

For such app it would be the chat feature. Once you build this feature then you figure out how to make it emoji-only.

You get the point.

Do the same thing for your app : Define your app in one sentence. Find out your most important feature.

Create that first.

Everything else is show.

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The Next Steps…

Once you have started working on your main feature or you might even have finished it by now (if not, don’t worry, take your time); you need to select your second feature that you want to work on.

And for that you have to work your way from inside to out.

When the most important feature (or a simpler version of it) is finished, you need to build the supporting feature for it.

For our amazing emoji chat app, the supporting feature would be Signup/Login.

In fact the feature priority would be : Chat with emoji > Signup/Login > Add Friends > User details > UI.

Finish these one at a time. Tweak the list if necessary.

For your app this could be a long-list but make sure it’s not too long for your first version.

Remember : Basics first; extras later.

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The Road Ahead!

It might seem like you are wasting time and energy planning the process; which you could have used creating the app. But trust me, it’s worth it.

A blind run could lead you to a swamp or worse : a dead-end!

Have a rough map before you embark on your adventure. This will take you where you want to be and might even lead you to a more awesome territory.

Prioritize your important features. Work on them first. Add the shiny stuff later.

Plan. Execute. Repeat.

Keep moving forward!

And whenever you are stuck for a long time, take a break. It works!