The mobile app development industry is a dynamic one that is characterized by constant change and innovation. A mobile app lifecycle model that integrates agility and flexibility is necessary to give out reliable, user-centric mobile applications. It is a sequence of organized steps that one can apply in-app planning, design, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance.
Furthermore, a mobile device lab and automation testing can be very crucial in the testing stage of this lifecycle, offering a complete setting for exhaustive mobile app testing and guaranteeing excellent compatibility of the app with various devices and platforms. This not only ensures a seamless user experience but also speeds up the development process by automating repetitive testing tasks and identifying potential issues early on in the development cycle.
Zippia’s report indicates that over 71% of American companies use Agile development. The approach is dynamic and differs from traditional application development techniques. Of all the ways to ensure the best quality software and the highest level of customer satisfaction, adopting agile development is one of the best.
Unlike the traditional software development approach, agile methodology embraces adaptability, flexibility, and customer-centricity that allows developers to quickly adjust to customers’ feedback and changing market needs. These can help you meet the deadline and stay within budget to deliver high-quality mobile applications.
This article will discuss ways to optimize your app lifecycle model mobility. By following these tips, you will succeed in the competitive environment of mobile app development. You will get high-quality, user-oriented apps that excel among other apps.
How Does Agile Mobile App Development Work?
Agile mobile app development methodology is a six-stage process often called Agile phases. Now, let’s examine each one.
Phase 1: Requirement Analysis
At this point, the team identifies and examines the app requirements. They take into consideration business goals, user needs, and industry trends at present. Development teams comprise all the stakeholders who provide inputs on the features, functionalities, and benefits of the app. This data forms a basis for the following phases when formulating an app.
Phase 2: Design
During the design phase, the team develops a comprehensive design plan on the visual and functional aspects of the app. That stage is essential in determining the look and functionality of the app.
This phase involves the following key activities:
- User interface (UI) design: This entails the graphic design and structuring of the app, such as screens, icons, buttons, and navigation.
- User experience (UX) design: The UX design gives users an intuitive and efficient way to navigate the app.
- Technical design: The team also develops an app design roadmap that outlines the app’s features, functionalities, system architecture, data models, APIs, and necessary third-party connections.
- Interaction design: This team is concerned with how the users will interact with the app and how the app will respond to user inputs.
Phase 3: Development
The “implementation phase” or “development phase” is a crucial stage in Agile mobile app development. During development, the team iterates through short cycles called sprints.
A sprint is 2-4 weeks, with features and functions defined during design. During the development phase, there are daily stand-up meetings called scrums, during which team members inform each other what they have been doing. Thus, it enables the detection and clearing of any blockages to ensure the project goes on.
Phase 4: Testing
The Agile mobile app development methodology includes testing. Testing occurs from the early stages of development right up to every sprint. This approach focuses on automated testing for a quicker testing process.
The tests confirm the usability, functionality, performance, and other vital factors of the application. Such testing is necessary because it ensures the stability and functioning of the software even while new features are added.
Agile methodology involves various tests, including:
- Unit testing: Separate testing of single components to ensure the correctness of the functions.
- Integration testing: Making various modules or components work well together
- Functional testing: Ensuring the app works as expected to the specifications.
- Performance testing: Evaluating the app’s speed, responsiveness, and consumption of resources in different situations
- Security testing: Data protection and security vulnerability identification under various situations.
- Visual Regression testing: This is done to ensure that existing features and functions are not interfered with by new changes or upgrades.
Moreover, there is one valuable tool that can significantly aid in the testing phase is LambdaTest. LambdaTest is an AI-powered test orchestration and execution platform that enables developers to test their applications across various browsers and devices. With an increasing number of web browsers and mobile devices, your mobile app must be consistent on different platforms.
LambdaTest offers a cloud-based testing platform that allows your team to test your app on various browsers and devices simultaneously. Not only does it save time, but it also helps in making an app more efficient for multiple user experiences. It is also an effective testing platform, supporting different testing, including automated and manual testing.
LambdaTest allows you to detect compatibility issues early to enhance user experience as they access your mobile app regardless of what device or browser they use. It goes in line with the agile process of continuous testing and quick feedback, which results in an outstanding, user-driven mobile app.
Phase 5: Deployment
The last phase, which is the deployment phase, entails providing the app on different platforms where it can be downloaded and installed by users. The quality assurance team performs the ultimate test to confirm that the app runs as expected.
Whenever any code defect or bug is detected, the development team works hard to solve it. At this stage, user training, release schedules, and communication channels are conducted. After all these activities are over, the app is released for production.
Phase 6: Review
Once the application is deployed and available to users, the review phase will start. During this phase, app performance is assessed, and user feedback is sought to identify areas where improvements are needed. The development team aims to increase the efficiency of reviews and performance to match user expectations.
Why Would One Use the Agile Methodology for the Development of Mobile Applications?
Most organizations, ranging from large enterprises to start-ups, use the Agile approach that helps break down the mobile development process into smaller portions. This process enables the development of agility to the changing market demands. Now, let’s explore why you should adopt agile development methodology.
1. Excellent Product Quality
It is part of the Agile development methodology to ensure quality mobile applications. Testing is done at the end of each iteration, ensuring bugs or code errors are removed quickly.
Additionally, Agile development involves regular retrospectives, which enable the teams to reflect on their work and address any shortcomings for subsequent iterations. Moreover, the client is involved in the development process so that any changes could be incorporated during the development stages.
2. Faster Time-To-Market
An iterative approach, agile development helps create and release a simple app version. One can improve upon such a version in the following iterations to provide immediate feedback and constant fine-tuning. The approach involves minimal changes needed when the project is completed. The Agile model cuts down the development period, leading to shorter time-to-market and superior performance.
3. Lower Cost of Development
Using sprints, which are priority-driven, is a strategy from the Agile development model that ensures the utilization of resources economically. The approach is also cost-effective as it saves time that could be spent on less critical areas. It helps discover faults in time and rectify them without incurring expensive and time-consuming changes later in the project.
The Agile method also permits the development team to consider changes at any time. Taken together, these factors lead to a significant reduction in development costs.
4. Better Flexibility to Changes
Flexibility in project management is enhanced with the application of the Agile mobile app development method. The Agile approach provides for easy inclusion of changes at any point of the project, unlike the other conventional methodologies, which are less adaptive.
The Agile method also offers an advantage because planning and development evolve as the project progresses, and it is more adaptive to new changes.
5. Better Control
It is the reason why project managers should be flexible enough when it comes to making decisions on the changes that have occurred along the project process. Agile’s short-run cycle allows for real-time feedback on the project, identifying and rectifying problems early before they snowball.
Moreover, ongoing dialogue with the stakeholders and regular communication ensures that the product development process aligns with the customer’s requirements. This alignment helps the project managers make the right decisions, leading to smooth development. Therefore, the Agile method enables project managers to exert more control over the project.
6. Increased Customer Satisfaction
The customer is involved in Agile only within the process and not outside the process, as is the case with traditional development methodologies. This inclusion assists in creating a software product that fits the customer’s needs and requirements.
Because the customer is involved at each stage, the development team can make adjustments based on the feedback. Furthermore, the Agile method significantly cuts down the period of development, which contributes to higher customer satisfaction.
Top Best Practices To Make Mobile App Lifecycle Model More Agile
1. Choose an Agile Methodology
The first step to having an agile mobile app lifecycle model is to choose an agile methodology that matches the goals, team size, and customer needs of the project. Agile methods are based on an iterative and incremental process where each increment is completed in short cycles called sprints.
The most used agile methodologies for mobile app development include Scrum, Kanban, and XP. There are several methodologies that you can consider employing, each with its own merits and demerits. Take time to research extensively and choose the one that suits you best.
2. Involve Your Users and Stakeholders
Involve your users and stakeholders to make the mobile app lifecycle model more agile during the second step: users, stakeholders, and people who will be using, benefiting, or influencing your app. Involving them will give you feedback, insights, and suggestions, which will help improve your app and meet their expectations.
Conduct user research, develop user personas, test prototypes, collect reviews, and make improvements based on user and stakeholders’ input.
3. Utilize Cross-Functional and Self-Managed Teams
The third step to make your mobile app lifecycle model more agile is using cross-functional and self-organizing teams. These are teams whose members have specialized disciplines, such as designers, developers, testers, and marketers.
Self-organizing teams (SOTS) can control their work and make decisions without requiring management supervision. The collaboration is enhanced with cross-functional and self-organized teams, which enable faster and superior delivery.
4. Adopt Continuous Integration and Delivery
The final step is to adopt the continuous integration and delivery practice. Continuous integration and delivery is a practice through which you can carry out integration, test your code, and deploy it frequently or automatically.
Continuous integration and delivery will also eliminate errors, bugs, and conflicts, enhance quality and performance, and give users value faster and more reliably. Continuous integration and delivery are adopted using tools like Jenkins, Travis CI, or Firebase.
5. Apply Lean Principles and Practices
Using lean principles and practices is the fifth step to making your mobile app lifecycle model more agile. These principles are founded on cutting down the extra steps and maximizing value during the development process.
Defining your value proposition, building an MVP, and measuring It is the way to add value to your users, test your assumptions, and enhance your app and process.
Conclusion
The agile methodology has revolutionized the mobile app development process. The Agile development process is beneficial as it involves improved product quality, better customer satisfaction, and shorter time to market. The iterative and collaborative nature of Agile development makes it possible for the development team to respond to changing customer needs.
In the case of Agile methodology, developers receive regular feedback, allowing them to improve continually, leading to high-quality apps that offer exceptional user experience.
