A question that worries those who are thinking about developing a mobile app. The point is that at the initial stage of the project, when you just have an idea and just want to know the approximate cost of developing a mobile app in a studio, filling out a long and “complicated” document is an impossible task (in other words “lazy – just lazy”).
However, the problem is that without input data, it is sometimes impossible to name even an approximate cost. For example, a mobile application for an online store can cost as much as 600,000 rubles or 6,000,000 rubles.
So filling out a brief is an important stage of mobile development and if the “customer’s intentions are serious”, that is, if he is not just collecting proposals for idle curiosity, then a well-thought-out brief will help to avoid all kinds of misunderstandings in the future.
A simple example: a client decided to make a promo reminder app for clients, described the functionality in 2 words and sent requests to 10 companies; all 10 of them submitted quite a democratic price tag. The Customer, being very happy, “knocked out the money” and moved on to a more thorough discussion of the project. And here it turned out that the amount you specified is the implementation of one specific function, and the fact that he didn’t mention the need to integrate with the loyalty programmer, add analytics, etc. – Here, sorry, it’s his fault. As a result, the project cost increased by at least 2 times. This is disappointing and unpleasant.
However, let’s not start a rant, we think it’s clear what we’re trying to get at. This article launches a series of useful materials about how to create a “competent” brief that will help you communicate effectively with potential developers.
Brief – a document containing basic information about the mobile application, which is filled out by the customer.
In fact, a more succinct definition is impossible to find, but even here, there are nuances. For example, a lot depends on the specifics of the project and the level of the client. Therefore, a person who is far from IT and has only one idea can hardly fill in a brief competently. Moreover, if the brief is “voluminous and complex”, it may be, in principle, incomprehensible to him.
Thus, we come to the 1st statement – briefs come in different forms and are classified into:
simple ones that contain only a general description and so-called “guiding” questions (we will talk about them in more detail in the next article);
Multi-component, most often focused on a particular type of application with more in-depth analysis and the ability to make accurate assessments.
Of course, the client may well fill in a document downloaded from the Internet, for example. However, due to lack of competence, he or she may miss a number of important issues, so it is still more effective to request a brief from the contractor.
The document deals with development goals, information about competitors, advantages of the future application, functionality, structure and much more. Most importantly, the brief reflects the customer’s vision of the future project.
Filling out the brief solves several problems at once:
- Time savings.
Taking the time and answering questions once is much easier than having hours of tedious conversations with each of the potential contractors and repeating the same thing repeatedly.
- Obtaining feedback.
After completing the brief, the customer will receive approximate information about the cost and timing of the work. Will be able to estimate the estimated budget and make a choice in favor of the most suitable candidates.
- Project feasibility
Filling in the template means formulating the idea and the intended result. Often the initial product idea needs to be changed over time, less often it is simply discarded. An additional look at the future product when filling in the template will help to take into account many nuances for development and promotion.
- Creating a quality product.
The more details the developer has about the project, the better the result will be. Having the necessary information about the product or service, project objectives, competitive advantages, it is possible to execute an order that will be really useful and profitable.
Well… that was a quick run through the brief, if you have any questions write in the comments, or better yet read our next article on how to properly fill out the brief.
