Basic steps of application development

First, the basic steps of APP development:

1, APP project preparation period

As an enterprise or entrepreneur, the problem that needs to be solved in project preparation is: What kind of mobile APP should be made? Why do you want to make a mobile APP? What is the problem solved by mobile APP? Who are the service targets and people of mobile APP? . In the preparatory period, the original intention of making APP should be clearly in place, and we must combine our own resources and advantages to avoid blindly expanding the demand for APP, which will eventually lead to difficulties in running the project after it is launched. In short, during the preparation of the project, we should make clear our own advantages, determine the problems that APP solves and the objects we face.

2. Application project requirements document

After the project preparation period is over, you can make the project requirements document. Project requirements document refers to explaining what you want to achieve in common language, such as: making a mobile App mall, where merchants and consumers can trade and shop on my mobile APP platform, and explaining in detail the characteristics or differences with other platforms; Enterprises or entrepreneurs should pay attention to defining the functions you need to realize and your own creative parts when writing requirements documents. After you have the basic requirements, you can communicate and analyze with professional product managers, and finally form a detailed App requirements analysis.

The preparation period and demand documents are completed by the demand enterprise or entrepreneur alone. If these two items are not completed and confirmed, we suggest not to contact the App development company. As an App development company, the main function and role is to help you realize your ideas through professional technology. He can't help you create your ideas. As an APP development product manager of Mingxun Software for many years, I know this very well.

3.APP project analysis

As an enterprise or entrepreneur, after the above two steps are completed, you can contact your trusted development company for detailed exchange projects. As a professional app development company, after getting your needs, we will give you some development suggestions based on the experience of previous development projects, such as what development methods to use in development, how to improve the user experience, how to make users use it most easily, and how to make the development process most concise. Including the problems encountered in the future project development, will also be raised to you. When getting the demand analysis, the development company will evaluate the difficulty of technology realization and development cycle, and estimate the development cost, including the materials you need to prepare in the early stage. The main problem of App project analysis is to diagnose the project, the development difficulty, the development cycle and evaluate the development cost for you according to your needs and the strength and experience of the development company. Generally experienced development companies will give you more project guidance.

4.APP project flow chart

After the project analysis of the project development company is completed, a detailed project flow chart, also called mind map, will be drawn according to your project requirements. The main purpose of this step is to analyze all the processes of the project in detail. After the completion of this process, two questions will be clarified: first, whether the project developers have an accurate understanding of your project requirements, and second, whether the project demanders will know whether your expected process is reasonable. After many times of communication, the developer and demander of this process will finally make sure that both sides understand the correct process. Several aspects should be paid attention to after the establishment of the project flow chart: the demander must fully understand whether the process of the project and each interaction link are clearly expressed in the flow chart, and the developer must make the optimal process according to the previous experience and user experience. Generally, this step requires long-term communication between the two parties in the development. This is also a key step in the initial stage of project development. The product manager of Mingxun Software APP suggested that if this step is unclear, don't blindly proceed to the next step.

5.APP project prototype.

After the flow chart is determined, as a developer, it is necessary to start drawing the prototype, which is the first step in drawing the project requirements. The purpose of the prototype is: first, to help demanders understand the layout and structure of the future mobile App through simple graphics; The determination of the second interaction, because the mobile APP is a complete process, how to proceed to the next step of each process, how to return to the previous step after the next step, and how to prompt when the process is abnormal will all be displayed in the prototype diagram to help the demander determine the integrity of the process again. After the prototype is completed, the developer will communicate with the demander in depth, because in the interactive steps, everyone's cognition and habits are different, and each audience group is different; This step, as an experienced developer, will also consider that this step needs to be finalized through repeated communication between the product manager of the developer and the person in charge of the demand side. This step takes a lot of time.

6.APP project renderings

After the prototype is confirmed, congratulations, the project development has completed 20% of the workload. Next, the developer's UI design department will make an illustrated rendering according to the prototype and the flow chart. The renderings are the closest to the shape when the project is completed. The renderings will be made according to the needs of the project, the LOGO of the project and the people of the project. For example, JD.COM APP is red, Taobao APP is orange, and government APP is blue. The UI design department of the general project developer will complete the renderings of the project homepage in the first time. After the first page of renderings is completed, it will be discussed with the demander, mainly about color. Generally, large enterprise customers will have standard enterprise colors, but as entrepreneurs, there may be no standard enterprise VI design in the early stage, and the main color of the project needs to be finally determined according to the project and demand preferences. In this step, the development company will complete all pages according to the design of the prototype diagram. After this step is completed, the visualization part of the project is basically completed.

7.APP project development (page APP tag adaptation, project background interface development, project database design)

After the renderings are completed, the program development and database design will be carried out after the demanders confirm. However, as an important part of App development, there are also page tagging and mobile phone adaptation, which is also the uniqueness of App development. Many customers can't understand why there are labels and adaptations. I'll focus on explaining it to you.

7. 1, page APP labeling and mobile phone adaptation

As a product of the new era, smart phones not only complete the basic functions of making phone calls and sending short messages, but also have the characteristics of computers, cameras and positioning. With the development of the times, mobile phones have gradually developed from small screen and low configuration at the beginning to diversification now. Screen differentiation: full-screen mobile phone, header mobile phone screen, 1080 screen, true color screen, etc. Division of mobile phone operating system: Android system (version 2.0- 10.0), IOS system, Symbian system, Microsoft (WindowsPhone) and other systems; Mobile phone manufacturers: Apple mobile phone, Huawei mobile phone, Xiaomi mobile phone, Lenovo mobile phone, vivo mobile phone, OPPO mobile phone, etc. Other configuration differences: front camera, rear camera, fingerprint identification, GPS positioning, Beidou positioning, built-in gyroscope, etc. You will see many mobile phone models and operating system versions. In order to make the developed APP best displayed and normally used on all mobile phones, developers have to do a lot of adaptation work, which is also a very important part in the development process and an important part reflecting the strength and experience of a mobile APP development company. The quality of this step will directly affect the user experience after the project goes online in the future.

7.2, database design and background system development

The design of database is the work of professional database engineer or project engineer. Generally speaking, the database is a data storage box, which will store all databases including member names, product information and transaction data. In this storage box, it is divided into several' shelves' according to the type of storage database, and stored on the' shelves' in an orderly manner according to the category and frequency of use, so that the system can obtain and store them as quickly and accurately as possible when it is used. Reasonable database structure will greatly improve the time, efficiency and storage required by the system, which is why some projects run very fast, some run very slowly, and some even make calculation errors in the middle of running. Therefore, engineers will give full consideration when designing the database.

The popular understanding of system background development is the centralized management place in system operation, including important work such as data viewing, data publishing and data statistics. It is also an important place for daily processing of system data. The function of background design is generally determined according to the needs of the project. For example, there should be product release, product management, member management, product orders and so on in the background of the mall app.

Android and ios engineers design front-end programs according to the marked renderings and prototype drawings.

After the development of the APP project is completed, the development of this project has basically completed 70% of the workload.

8.APP project first draft test

App development company completes an internal testing link after project development. General APP development companies have many people, departments and posts to jointly develop a project, which ensures the allocation of specialized personnel and posts, and also ensures that the project can be completed in the fastest time. Therefore, after the project is jointly developed by multiple departments, it needs to be tested within the development company. The development company will have a special post called test engineer. The general test content is divided into several parts: process test, experience test, function test and performance test.

Firstly, process testing is carried out to test whether the process of the project is carried out according to the project requirements, project flow chart and project prototype. During the test, the test engineer will not only test the accuracy of the system process, but also test the project process according to his previous experience to make up for some uncertain factors in the design and improve the project.

Experience test is to test the overall user experience of the project, including the fluency of interaction, the sense of interaction experience and whether the interaction is smooth.

Functional testing is a systematic test of the project's functions by test engineers to ensure the integrity and availability of functional development. At the same time, more optimized suggestions and opinions are put forward for the function.

Performance testing is a systematic test of the stability, security and carrying capacity of the system, including multi-terminal testing, mobile phone adaptation testing and testing of different mobile phones and system versions to achieve strong system compatibility; Carrying capacity refers to the test of the data processing capacity and response time of the system, and the detailed test of the concurrency of the project software and the requirements for the server environment, so as to achieve the centralized processing capacity of high concurrent big data.

9.APP internal testing

After the internal test of the development company is completed, the internal test of the system can be conducted online. Participants include project demanders and testers from development companies, and the test version can be downloaded and installed. The test of this process includes the background training of the system. The developer will train the demanders on the background usage method and system parameter setting method, and the demanders can give test reports according to the actual test and internal operation, including optimization suggestions on the data statistics part and operation habits part in actual use. The front end can invite more internal personnel to test, and fully optimize and test the experience and stability of the system. The completion of this part also means that the development of the whole project is coming to an end.

10, the APP is online.

After the internal test of R&D company and the internal test of demand company, the project basically meets the requirements of online operation. According to the demand side's schedule, you can choose the time to officially go online. In the meantime, you need to rent a formal cloud server as the running environment.

1 1, technical operation and maintenance of APP project

A question that many enterprises or entrepreneurs often talk about is, how many post-operation and maintenance personnel do you need after the APP is developed? For example, the normal operation of a shopping mall APP requires financial personnel, product management, product after-sales, product logistics and other personnel. Technical operation and maintenance personnel fix system bugs by one person, Android by one person, ios by one person and backstage by one person. Generally, a good system development company will track the operation and maintenance of the project for a period of time.

How many people and positions does the development of mobile APP need?

1, product manager of APP project

Product manager is the link between project demanders and software development engineers. He should not only make corresponding project analysis and diagnosis according to the demand document of the product demander, but also provide project flow chart and project prototype diagram for the later development of the project, so that if it is over-developed, it can save time to the maximum extent. At the same time, it can ensure that developers can develop according to the needs of customers and prevent misunderstandings in the process of project development. At the same time, the project manager will give more development suggestions to enterprises or entrepreneurs according to the needs of the project and his own experience.

2. APP project background, database engineer

The person in this position will complete the programming code, including the design of database, in strict accordance with the analysis and planning of the product manager. The general engineer type is Jav or PHP engineer.

3. Android engineer of 3.APP project

Android front-end development engineer, mainly completes the coding of the front-end logic part of the project and the adaptation of multi-version mobile phones.

4.IOS (APPle) app project engineer

IOS front-end development engineer, who mainly completes the coding of the front-end logic part of the project and the adaptation of multi-version mobile phones.

5.APP project test engineer

Project testing and defect discovery. Ensure that the project is completed and tested before going online.

6. Cloud service construction and security engineer

Responsible for the security and construction of the project server. After a project is completed, there must be a container to host the program and database of the project. Using cloud services has many unique advantages. The overall investment ratio of adopting cloud server in the early stage is the first choice for project server deployment.

Commonly used interface or service applications in app development.

Many third-party software interfaces will be used in the project development process, which can realize multi-platform integration and enhance the user experience. Generally, the interface application will be prepared according to the project requirements in the early stage of the project. Commonly used interfaces are as follows:

1, WeChat open platform

It goes without saying that there are many users of social software at present, and it provides powerful communication functions, such as authorized login, payment and sharing.

2. Alipay open platform

As a well-known payment platform in China, payment can provide Alipay payment.

3. Push interface (aurora push, friendly alliance push, etc.). )

Many APP projects have to push some information (also called mobile taskbar messages) to customers, so as to provide them with data changes or message notifications at any time. At present, the background process can close the push with the help of the third party push, with low delay and low power consumption. Support a variety of mobile phones.

4. SMS verification code interface

As a necessary option when registering as a member, the purpose is to verify the availability of the mobile phone number, including the verification work when modifying important information, such as the second verification work of modifying the login password and the verification work of modifying the payment password, so as to provide safe data.

5. Alibaba Cloud server leasing.

With the rise of cloud services, many large platforms have opened up cloud services, which is a relatively economical deployment as a choice of cloud services in the early stage of the project. Flexible computing in cloud services can effectively manage expenditures. At the same time, it provides comprehensive cloud products on cloud services, including efficient CND distribution, load balancing, cloud security and foreign cloud resources. At present, the most recommended projects are Alibaba Cloud and Tencent Cloud.

6. Other interfaces used (ID card verification, ID card identification, face recognition, instant messaging, etc. )

According to the actual needs, you can apply for more interfaces, such as ID card verification of identity recognition and face recognition of living body recognition. At present, the technology is relatively mature and easy to use, and you can pay on demand.

The choice of cloud server

1, Alibaba Cloud service

2. Tencent Cloud Service

3. Baidu cloud service

4. Other cloud services (jingdong cloud service, Amazon cloud service, etc. )

Verb (abbreviation of verb) What should I do if the demand changes after the first development of the APP project?

Generally, after a project is developed and put into the market, the structure or process will be adjusted according to the actual operation of the project, which is inevitable. No matter how comprehensive the preliminary planning is, there will inevitably be adjustments and changes in the later period. Generally, it takes half a year for a project to mature and make major changes, so it is necessary to make full preparations in the early stage of development. Our consistent practice of Mingxun Software is to be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the basic functions of the project, which lasts for about one year. We can also sign strategic partners by paying monthly maintenance fees, and they will provide customers with monthly technical upgrades.