My development process for shipping apps

Every project I take on follows the same five steps. The size changes, the order does not. Here is what happens at each step, and what you get out of it.

1. Requirements

Before any design or code, I need to understand the project. I ask about your goals, your users, the features you cannot launch without, your budget and your deadline.

Two questions matter more than the rest: what should a user be able to do on day one, and what can wait until later? The answers become a short written scope, so we both know what we are building.

2. Prototype

Next I build a clickable mockup or a working prototype of the key screens. It is much cheaper to change a prototype than finished software, and it is far easier to react to something you can tap than to a description.

This is where most misunderstandings surface. Better to find them in week one than in week ten.

3. Approval

You review the prototype, the scope and the timeline, and you sign off. From this point I am not guessing: development starts from something you have seen and agreed to.

If you want changes, we make them now, while they are still small. This step is also when I can give you a firm quote based on the approved scope.

4. Development

I build in short iterations, with automated tests and regular demos, so you see progress as it happens instead of at the end. For a web app that usually means the screens people use and the system behind them. For a mobile app, it means one app for iPhone and Android with that system behind it.

Because the plan is approved, the demos are about checking the work, not rediscovering the project.

5. Delivery

I deploy the app, hand over the documentation and the access, and for mobile apps I take care of submitting to the App Store and Google Play. I stay available after launch for fixes and next steps.

You should never be left with something only I can run. A good delivery means your team can carry on without me, or hire me again because they want to.

Want to start?

If you have a project in mind, the first step is simply a conversation. Tell me what you want to build, and I will tell you what I would do first.