Requirements For Developing A Mobile App Essay For Company X.

Objectives

The importance of the mobile app in the business of today’s world cannot be overstated. With the advent of technology, many small and medium scale organizations are also considering the idea of creating personal apps for their companies, so as to reach a wider group of consumers, as well as to offer 24*7 services as per the individual needs of each client. By creating a personalized app, a company not only manages to improve its operational efficiency by catering to the needs of the clients as and when the need arises, but also offers the autonomy to the clients to rate and review the performance of the company in terms of delivery of its service (Chaitanya et al., 2017). In addition, the semi-automated customer engagement further helps in transforming the customer experience from a mere ‘okay type experience’ to an amazing one. Research suggests an average adult devotes a minimum of two and a half hours daily on digital media, and the same research has indicated that an average number of apps a person uses daily is 9 (Ghiciuc 2017). Considering the time, an average person spends on apps, it can be easily stated that the use of mobile application platform can easily help companies increase customer engagement with the brand, develop brand reputation and ultimately improve sales. This is the reason why the food providing company X will be developing an app, and the purpose of the concerned task is to discuss and critically analyse the requirements of creating the app, so that the company make the necessary arrangements for the same.

In case of any plan or project that an organization decides to engage in, there should be clearly defined objectives that the company wishes to accomplish, through the implementation of that specific project. Accordingly, in case of Company X, there are various kinds of objectives that the company wishes to accomplish, through the development of the app. The app will be developed in order to enhance consumer engagement with the company, reinforce the brand image as well as increase the exposure of the company and its products to a wider set of consumers (Barnett et al. 2015). There are three kinds of requirements- functional, structural and resource-related requirements, that will be satisfied by the creation of an app, and have been discussed below:

The functional requirements of a product to be developed, can be defined as the function or duty of the system or its components, that will explain the need of developing it. In case of company X, the mobile app of the company is a product, which is expected to perform a set of functions (Weitzman et al. 2015). Research suggests that nearly 75% of the adult people of a developed country actively uses smart phones, and a person spends three and a half hours on apps, on an average basis, that clearly explains the importance of apps in any business organization that wishes to experience growth in the customer service (Hsu and Ching 2013). The function of the app to be created will be created in compliance with the convenience of the customers, and are being stated below:  

• The app will offer round the clock service to the customers, offering food products even at the odd hour of the day
• Provide easy accessibility to the customers to reach out to company X and order whatever the wish (Gair 2011)
• Consumers can review the items available for purchase, the price of the same before making the buying decisions
• The app will have a rating feature and thus consumers will be able to make informed decisions while buying the products
• Respond to the needs of the consumers and offer fast, and seamless service
• The app will keep on updating the customers regarding the new discount rates and lucrative offers (Zhang et al.2014)
• The consumers will have to wait no more, as they should be able to track where their food is, live on the app
• In case of any special event such as mega sale offer, the consumers must get automatic notifications on their apps
• The consumers should have one-touch access to the contact information of the company.

Functional Requirements

While creating the new app for company X, it is not only enough to have comprehensive knowledge about the functional requirements that the app must possess, but it is equally important to be aware of the basic structural requirements, that will be kept into consideration, while implementing the development of the app (Joorabchi et al. 2013). It is not enough to formulate the idea of app and chalk out certain basic features, as it is equally important for a company like X to analyse the market, study its consumer requirements and expectations from the app,  consider its budget, and understand how far the app features can be accommodated within the budget. Again, the release of the app in the market is not enough, as regularly checking on the cutsomers’ feedback and making relevant the app is also required to stay in competition. Accordingly, the basic structural requirements of the app are stated below:

• Research the consumer market and understand the basic features that the consumers of the food industry are likely to expect from the app
• Consider the cost, as developing a quality app will never be cheap, and it is bound to cost somewhere between $50,000 to $1, 20,000 and choose accordingly (Khorkov 2017)
• Find a reliable app developer
• Design the user interface
• Create a clickable prototype that can run on any phone
• Assure the quality by conducting a test on its user-friendly attributes and collect consumer feedback
• Launch the app
• Maintain the app (Ithnin et al.2017)
• Support the app by reviewing the ratings, and making necessary changes through updates of the software.  

Launching an app is never as easier as it apparently sounds, as it does take active engagement in the app building process, as well as adequate resources for the same, and most importantly money is not just the only resource needed here. One of the most impotant resources that will require to be developed here include the icons of supported size, such as, iOS @1x, @2x images and Android, that is, mdpi, hdpi, xhdpi and so on and so forth. Again, at the same time, the company will also need Splash screens of supported sizes as well as the  screenshots in the correct sizes with the specific languages that the company wishes to use for its target consumer audience (Vliet  2007). In order to develop its mobile app, the company will need app descriptions alongside which it will need languages and  search keywords in the required language. At the same time, a list of supported devices and the OS version  and  Google play developer access, containing  store listing name, description of the paid or free access, short description of the app and full description of the features of the app, a well-defined logo and app icon, feature graphics, content ratings, and review section, contact information, feedback support and privacy policy and screenshots etc  will also be needed(Dave  2017).

Conclusion:

To conclude, it can be stated that the development of the app is of paramount importance if the company wishes to boost its sales. However, for the effective implementation of any prject, the project must have clear objectives. In case of the project t at hand, the distinct objectives have been clearly stated and defined well.  The functional requirements enlighten about the  basic functions expected out of the mobile app, while the structural requirements shed light on the basic structure of developing and maintaining the app. Lastly, the resource requirements throw light on the necessary and required resources that will be used to develop he mobile app like Google play developer access.

Reference List:

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