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Our very own co-founder & COO, Jordan Gurrieri, was recently interviewed on Webmaster Radio’s popular “Mobile Presence” program for the segment “You Have An Idea For An App, Now What?” During the interview, Jordan spoke at length about the beginning to end process of mobile app development, particularly as it’s done here at Blue Label Labs.
While iTunes is celebrating the 10th anniversary of their Apple Store, so too is Jordan recognizing a decade working in the realm of mobile applications. He began his career at Microsoft at a time when everyone was learning to work with the rapidly evolving software. The difference today, he says, is mobile software is made to work with people’s lifestyles, removing the friction from any number of tasks.
App users are so accustomed to high-functioning software that their patience has essentially disappeared: on average, apps have three seconds to load before the user will delete it, never to attempt to use again. That’s a high bar for performance!
“Apps aren’t just islands anymore.”
During the segment, Jordan also discussed the evolution of the mobile app landscape since founding Blue Label Labs. The greatest innovation during that time: the ways that mobile products integrate with customers’ lifestyles. Early apps were simple and had far fewer behind-the-scenes connections, especially before there was any link to the cloud. They were islands, detached and disconnected from anything else online. Today it is the complete opposite – apps connect users to their location, their money, their living room light and more.
“Don’t reinvent the wheel.”
Solving a problem at hand is the goal of creating a new app – but Jordan wants to remind those looking to develop an app that the most effective solution is found by integrating into the lifestyles of potential users. Today, people are much more likely to use an app that helps them do what they’re already doing in a more convenient fashion. Apps must bend to the users, not the other way around.
Here at Blue Label Labs we use Design Sprints to help our clients boil down their ideas to figure out exactly what they want and what makes the most sense. Rather than a design phase lasting four to six weeks, the sprint condenses it into five days of intensive problem-identifying and problem-solving. With a small portion of the budget, clients are able to gain a deep understanding of the app they aim to have built. The BLL team identifies the core problem that needs to be solved and then tests the idea with customers. Once the experience is validated by the potential app-users, BLL goes on to execute the full development, which is more costly and requires the initial design sprint stage to justify the caliber of the project.
“I’m a consultant, a coach and a partner.”
As the mobile app markets evolves so does Jordan’s work. The cost of building a well-connected app has increased significantly, mainly due to the fact that apps are now talking to other business products, to back-end servers and often to the cloud. These connections are all out of view of the user, but are a highly important aspect of a well-rounded app that customers will use regularly and rely on.
In order to get to the building phase, Jordan and the rest of the team are called on to be more than just mobile app developers. Blue Label Labs cares about creating a product that will succeed, so we take the time to consult with clients, coach them through the process and partner with them to create a finished product that meets and exceeds everyone’s expectations.
Click here to hear Jordan’s interview on Webmaster FM.
Natasha Singh
Senior iOS Developer at Blue Label Labs
