{"id":8146,"date":"2022-10-20T15:17:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-20T19:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nventive.com\/articles\/how-to-make-great-mobile-apps\/"},"modified":"2025-05-27T22:33:57","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T02:33:57","slug":"how-to-make-great-mobile-apps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nventive.com\/en\/articles\/how-to-make-great-mobile-apps\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make Great Mobile Apps"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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David A. Hamel, VP Strategy, CX & design, is a true digital tool design specialist. Always on the lookout for innovations, he constantly questions existing practices. With our teams, his mission is to enrich the users\u2019 experience to meet our clients\u2019 needs. Today, he shares his knowledge on mobile app development.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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In my opinion, the goal when planning a mobile app is first to create engagement and provide value to the user. Unfortunately, not every app embodies this main goal, leading to the failure of demand generating and app usage.<\/p>\n

So, what do you have to keep in mind when working on a new app?<\/strong>\u00a0In addition to adopting a user-centric approach, I\u2019ve identified three key elements that a mobile app minimally needs to include:<\/p>\n

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  1. Have a clear value proposition<\/li>\n
  2. Leverage the mobile contexts<\/li>\n
  3. Focus on actions and interactions<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Let me explain.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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    Have a Clear Value Proposition<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    The best apps are built around a clear value proposition:\u00a0it\u2019s the app\u2019s reason for existence and the way features are leveraged<\/strong>\u00a0that make an app successful, it\u2019s never just the features by themselves. There are often two opposing forces when ideating on an app\u2019s scope. On one side, we are tempted to load the app with all possible business unit requirements, often to satisfy everyone on the corporate side. On the other, many successful apps are single purposed and streamlined:\u00a0that\u2019s the number one recommendation offered by most strategist and designers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Single purpose apps allow users to do one thing very well and all other features are serving that proposition. For instance, picture apps do offer editing, filtering, and sharing capabilities, but they are all centred around the core value proposition of viewing photos.<\/p>\n

    Google is a great example to illustrate this concept; it has a very large offering and could be tempted to bundle them into a few apps. On the contrary, the company decided to segment its offering in well over 30 apps. Included in the list is Google Photos, an app that any user can use (not only Android users) and that focuses on a photo \u201cmanagement\u201d experience with added features. One of the reasons supporting this strategy is the need to compete in the market against other dedicated photo apps. That competitive battle revolves around convenience, storage space, filters, sharing, and so on \u2013 but it\u2019s all centred around the photo experience. This happens in many sectors where there is a high level of competition like travel, insurance, on-demand video, e-com, training, and social media apps to name a few.<\/p>\n

    Single purpose apps are also easier to manage from a product management point of view, as requests come from a single business unit.<\/p>\n

    On the technical front, they are also easier to maintain, and updates don\u2019t break other business lines\u2019 code. In the end, they are often way more convenient for users who can quickly learn how to use them, because they are often optimized and intuitive.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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    Leverage the Mobile Contexts<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe\u00a0mobile context<\/strong>\u00a0is composed of many variables, from the\u00a0very high quality of recent devices<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0micro moment interactions<\/strong>. People want to consult information\u00a0on the go<\/strong>, easily and friction-free, setting the expectations very high. Let\u2019s look into some of these elements in more detail:\r\n