It’s no news that in recent years mobile device popularity has skyrocketed. The frequent smartphone releases and the daily addition of apps to stores continue to drive the market. Not to mention, it was recently revealed that people spend five to six hours on their phones daily.
What does all this mean for business leaders? Well, for starters, you can’t overlook the importance of mobile app development any longer. After all, if users are spending so much time on their smartphones and you aren’t present there — you’re missing out.
However, there’s one thing you’ve got to figure out before building your own solution. You need to find an effective mobile app development team and decide on the type of partnership that you want to go with.
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Chances are, as an experienced organizational leader, you already know the importance of surrounding yourself with people who are great at what they do. Yet, what you may not be aware of is which roles have to be filled for a successful mobile app project and the pros and cons of in-house development vs. outsourcing. So, that’s what we’ll talk about today.
Effective Mobile App Development Team Structure
Whether you’re looking to build an employee- or customer-facing app, you’ll probably turn to an agile team structure. After all, it relates to the most popular project management approach in recent years.
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Before moving on to the key roles your app development team has to encompass, it’s worth noting that the number of people for each position will depend on your project size, timeframe, budget, and the mobile development approach you choose. Now, let’s get started.
Product Owner
First and foremost, you’ll need a Product Owner. This is often an in-house role since it serves as a link between the mobile app development team and other members of your organization. Essentially, this person is in charge of overseeing the app creation process from start to finish and ensuring the solution is always useful to the end users.
Specifically, the Product Owner will maximize the value of your application by managing and optimizing the product backlog so that the priorities of the development team are always clear.
Project Manager
A Project Manager, or a PM, is responsible for handling the entire mobile app project and ensuring it is completed on time and within the agreed-upon budget and quality.
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Essentially, a PM is someone who continuously monitors project progression and makes sure everything stays on track, the team is motivated, and the client is happy. This is the person you or your Product Owner will probably be in contact with most as they are the ones bridging the gap between business and IT universes.
Business Analyst
A Business Analyst or BA is someone who, as the name suggests, will conduct a mobile app business analysis at the initial stage of a project. They will analyze the business requirements and help set the right goals so that the approach to development is optimal for your unique case.
Specifically, BA services include a discovery to understand your idea, layout of functional and non-functional requirements, estimate of the project cost, and prototyping of an intuitive interface.
All in all, BAs are essential members of the mobile app development team. They always keep the business value in mind, continuously analyze processes, and help clients reach the goals that were discussed at the start.
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UI/UX Designer
A UI/UX Designer plays a crucial role in the mobile app development process. This person is the one that’ll make your end product intuitive, user-friendly, and attractive. They’ll make sure that everything within the application is optimized to facilitate the best user experience and, thus, higher engagement.
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Whether you’re developing an insurance mobile app, a healthcare solution, or a tool for any other field — designers are must-haves in your team. They are the key players who think about the usability of your product and always strive to deliver an app interface with a pleasant look and feel.
Keep in mind that their efforts can determine the success or failure of your project. Therefore, prioritize the mobile UI/UX design services provided by your team right from the start.
Mobile App Developers
Next up are mobile app developers. Depending on whether you choose to build an iOS application or an Android solution or opt for the cross-platform route, you’ll likely need developers with related skills and experience for each undertaking.
Developers are the people who transform all the UI/UX layouts into a real application. Thus, they should be experienced in working with your chosen operating system and its corresponding languages or cross-platform tools.
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At times, if the project is very complex, you’ll also need to enlist the help of Backend Developers. The people in this role focus on server-side work. They ensure the behind-the-scenes elements, like application logic and architecture, are top-notch so that your solution performs in the best possible manner.
Finding good mobile and backend developers isn’t usually the easiest endeavor. However, if you turn to an experienced mobile development company, they’ll likely be able to quickly find a suitable team for your project.
QA Engineer
Lastly, a Quality Assurance Engineer, QA Specialist, or simply Tester, is an imperative mobile app team member. This is a professional who, as the name suggests, is responsible for the quality of your solution.
Hence, a QA Engineer ensures that your application doesn’t contain any bugs, adapts to various devices and browsers, and generally meets all the requirements.
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Immediate perfection is almost always impossible to achieve, but a QA Engineer will work with the entire app development team to get your product as close to flawless as possible. In short, they’ll do so by testing the solution and checking its performance, security, usability, and overall quality.
Finding a Skilled Mobile App Development Team
Now that you know what roles constitute an effective mobile app development team, it’s time to talk about actually finding one.
At the end of the day, there are two approaches you can take. Either creating your own in-house department that will work on the app project. Or, turning to outsourcing and relying on external experts to deliver a good solution.
In-House
The in-house approach is probably something you’re most familiar with. You reach out to HR and put out a search for someone who can spearhead application development and subsequently build an efficient team.
As you may know, this can be quite time-consuming and costly. After all, it’s not just one person you need. Moreover, the nuances of paperwork, employment benefits, and the like can end up outweighing the benefits of having someone work on the project internally.
Outsourcing
Essentially, it involves partnering with an external software development vendor to deliver a part of your solution, the entire thing, or to just add manpower or team members with new roles to your in-house resources.
An experienced vendor will help you estimate the cost of mobile app development, be able to get started almost immediately, and guide you throughout the entire process. As a result, this approach tends to be speedier and more cost-effective than building an in-house team.
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Ready to Work With a Mobile App Development Team?
So, now you know what it takes to assemble a mobile app development team for your iOS or Android solution and that it can be challenging to find a company with the right expertise. Yet, it is doable when you know what people to look for and the type of engagement model you want to have.
If outsourcing mobile app development is something that’s of interest to you — don’t hesitate to reach out to Velvetech. Our team has years of experience in working with companies to deliver software solutions that drive efficiency and business growth. We’ll be happy to discuss how we can solve any IT challenges you may have.
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