Building a mobile app is not imperative for every business. But a mobile app can add value in terms of brand reinforcement, and increase visibility and sales, hence, providing ROI. With the new technologies available nowadays, mobile apps are constantly changing and impacting the lives of users. A good mobile app can help businesses easily connect with their customers, improving the overall user experience. So while at different times of our lives, we have praised apps, in this blog we have shared some of the challenges faced by developers while developing mobile apps.
But behind an app with a good user experience and functionality goes the days of hard work of engineers and developers. And trust us when we say, it’s not easy. The better an app is, the harder work and effort go into its making.
Mobile app development is rapidly growing as more customers are investing their time in it. It’s not an easy task for developers to build and develop a mobile app.
Here are 7 Challenges Faced by Developers
1. Understanding the Client’s Requirements
Understanding user requirements is the most crucial part of mobile app development. And yet it is sometimes the only reason for the roadblock. When it comes to mobile app development, non-technical factors like clear communication, cooperative collaboration, and understanding of each other’s ideas matter equally as technical skills.
So when there is a gap in communication there can be an obvious glitch in the whole system of workflow. There might also come times when due to misunderstandings, engineers and developers are unable to understand the client’s requirements. This might take a toll on the whole development process.
In order to get a better understanding of how to prepare for a market-fit mobile you can check out this guide on how to get started with a mobile app idea.
2. Mistakes are Hard to Rectify
In mobile apps, mistakes and errors can be hard to rectify. There come times when an app is distributed with a client-side bug and the user updates to that version. They are stuck with it till the time the next update is launched.
This situation usually gives rise to several challenges faced by developers:
- New updates might take days to release.
- Even after a new update version is out, users might take time to update it due to several different factors, knowing and unknowingly.
- There is no sure-shot guarantee that everyone will update to that version.
This challenge is hard to solve. The only way it can work out is by putting self-control in place and integrating a force update. While Android has a support system for in-app updates, iOS doesn’t.
3. Getting your Mobile App Noticed
An app should be upgraded with high performance and powerful features. Mobile apps have to work quickly to keep users satisfied with what they are looking for.
With the higher competition in the market, developers need to work on better features. According to the latest trend, getting users is the biggest challenge for your app in app stores.
The ultimate goal for the developers is to create attractive graphics, intuitive layouts, and rich functionality for the mobile app to provide a better user experience.
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4. App Crashes and Debugging
An app crash is one of the biggest challenges that engineers face. Not only does it leave the clients annoyed and frustrated but also can add a bad review to your work portfolio. Crashes are a priority area of concern when it comes to the backend teams.
Although web app crashes are a rarer phenomenon than mobile app crashes, there is always a chance of it happening. But there is nothing that you can do about it.
Whenever a crash happens the first thing is to get the whole information and track where the crashes are happening and which sessions are expiring. Then try to limit those crashes as much as you can. You can also invest in third-party or custom-built tools for reporting crashes.
Want to know how to debug app crashes? This guide on ways to help debug application crashes will help you.
5. Providing Offline Support
Offline support might be an interesting feature of an app, but it comes with its own challenges. As the users expect the app to stay functional even with bad connectivity, there is a lot that engineers have to think about.
Offline support in an app adds a level of complexity to it. This requires the state to exist locally in spite of a network connection. As soon as the network recovers, it needs to be synced back. Deciding on the features that will work offline is yet another crucial step that engineering teams miss sometimes.
6. App Accessibility
App accessibility is yet another challenge engineers face during the mobile app development process. There are millions of app users around the world. Those users have their own expectations when it comes to applications in that they invest their time and money. Also, a large user base comes with different accessibility requirements and needs.
If you don’t provide adequate support for all their needs they might not interact at all with your mobile app. So when it comes to app engineering there is a lot that goes into mobile app development. That’s why we always follow a time-tested development process that takes care of everything from thorough ideation to final deployment and support.
7. Staying Updated
Now, this actually might not be an engineering challenge, there are some things that engineers will always have to stay on top of. For instance, staying updated with all the device models and operating system fragmentation.
The two operating systems Android and iOS both come with their own pain points and advantages. Staying up to date with all the new OS releases, APIs versions and updates is a challenge of its own for mobile engineers. In a fast-moving tech ecosystem, everyone wants to give their best to their clients. Staying on top of tech trends can go a long way.
8. Minimize Interruptions
Mobile application development is a task that takes a lot of focus and streamlined workflow. Sometimes the app developers run sprints to follow through the process. In such scenarios, interruptions can be challenging and lead to a loss of productivity. When we say interruptions we mean unnecessary meetings, walk-ins, stand-up calls, phone calls, and off-site and on-site excursions. A lot can be interruptive and focus disturbing.
Writing code takes a whole lot of focus. It’s not just about the time of the whole interruption but also each time an interruption occurs, it takes quite some time to gather the mind back to the code. You can easily overcome this common hurdle by simply minimizing interruptions. Cut short the number of times you organize meetings and instead gather everyone for one meeting at the beginning of the day. And if need be, another follow-up meeting at the end of the day.
Remember all the downtime adds up and is ultimately delaying the development process. Leave your mobile app developers alone to get the most productivity, so they can write cleaner codes. Minimize the interruptions to as less as possible and you will see the results in the form of efficiency and productivity.
9. Communication Breakdown
Communication during the process of mobile application development is essential and one of the most common obstacles in the development process. It is necessary to understand that the development process is not just only limited to the developer but involves a team of testers, designers, QA, etc. That’s why hardcore communication is of utmost importance between the testers, designers, and developers to make an app development process error-free.
For a hassle-free development process, it is important for all the teams to get on the same page. Communication breakdown not just results in the delayed launch, but also faulty products. Take it as a priority to align communication between developers and designers and testers and let them be acquainted with each other. Better indulged teams perform effectively.
Another good way to avoid any delays in the timeline is to brainstorm with the team at the very beginning itself. This leads the teammates to coordinate better during the process. In today’s work environment where professionals mainly work remotely, it is crucial to include some good communication tools in your workflow for effective communication.
Do you want to fix the communication breakdown in your workspace? This guide on tips to correct communication breakdowns will help.
10. Poor Time Management
Delays in delivery are something that clients exclusively do not like at all. Therefore to ensure the timely delivery of the app to the client it is important for everyone on the team to stick to the timeline. Mismanaged timelines and missed launch dates are very common obstacles that people overcome during mobile application development.
These delays might be a result of unforeseen blockers or maybe some issues that are just expected to come up. A top-notch solution for this kind is obstacle includes, firstly the team being ready with the alternatives always and secondly questions such as “what could go wrong?” and “what if this will not work out?” etc have been discussed with the team in advance. Also, it is important for the team as a whole to stay calm and act calmly if any such situation arises.
11. Underestimating the Importance of Quality Assurance
When it comes to quality assurance plays an important role in the process of app development. Quality is something for which the clients never want to compromise. Customer satisfaction exclusively depends on the quality of the app. Even the best app idea but with poor quality tanks.
An app that can give the customers a better experience is what the developers must focus on. In order to achieve a high-performance product, the quality of the coding needs to be reviewed and tested continuously.
We understand the importance of quality products that’s why quality assurance is one of the main parts of our development and maintenance services.
Conclusion
There are a zillion challenges that engineers face during the mobile app development process. The above-mentioned points are some of the biggest and most common challenges faced by developers. We hope that this article gave you a perspective on the common roadblocks faced by mobile app engineers. Planning in advance and staying informed can go a long way.
If you are going through any of the same challenges in your mobile app development process, Applify is here for you. We are your perfect outsourcing partners. Our team of engineers is experienced, skilled, and know-how to overcome challenges when it comes to app development.
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