Why Choose Agile Methodology for Mobile App Development?

As the world is getting confined to mobile screens and every business shifting towards apps, the pace to enter the mobile app market is getting accelerated. The startups and established brands are competing extensively to launch their application at the earliest. But, how is it possible with the dramatically changing market environment and user demands? One solution to this is an Agile methodology for mobile app development.

As per the market survey, about 71% of organizations use Agile methodology at some stage of the app development process, if not all. Also, the Agile projects are 28% more successful than the conventional projects, entailing one should choose Agile for effective app development.

But, if you are someone who is not convinced by these two statistics only, this article will be a good read for you. Here, we will discuss the benefits, principles, and situations when to choose Agile. But, before that, let’s have a look at what Agile is.

Agile Mobile App Development Process

In layman language, Agile is an iterative and incremental app development approach where each sub module is treated as a mini-project. Every sub task goes through all the phases of the app development and delivered to the client individually. This helps the teams to evolve with time and ensure higher business value, provided the principles of Agile approach is taken into consideration.

Principles of Agile Mobile App Development Process

The Agile methodology for app development aside certain rules and principles for rendering us optimal results, some of which are:

1. The mobile app development company has to share the app delivery routinely, often at a time gap of 1-4 weeks.
2. Simplicity is the core element of the complete mobile app development project. The simpler the app plan, the better the results from the Agile process.
3. Continual communication between the app developers and business people is a must.
4. Changes in the existing app development plan can be made even at the last stage, implying higher opportunities to cope up with the changing market trends.
5. You need to be technically sound to bring up with the technical challenges.

With this you are acquainted with what Agile methodology is and what are the principles behind, it’s time to dive deeper into why choose the Agile methodology for mobile app development.

Benefits of Agile Methodology

When it comes to why use the Agile methodology in mobile app development, the following are some of the significant reasons to consider:

1. Predictable Delivery and Cost

Going with the principle of delivering a new sprint every 1-4 weeks, the process prompts the mobile application developers to deliver newer features more swiftly and frequently. This provides the opportunity to predict when the next sprint will be delivered, and by what time the whole mobile app will be ready. In addition to this, the Agile strategy also empowers you to look into how much does it cost to create an app.

2. Better Quality

In Agile, every product module is served as an individual entity and all the stages are covered accordingly. In other words, every module goes through the complete cycle from planning to testing. This helps to gauge if the app developed is as per the idea behind and is fit as per the market at every phase, which implies better possibilities for improvement and higher quality of work delivered.

3. More Transparency

Agile mobile app development model renders a unique opportunity to keep both the client and the hired mobile app development company on the same page. It builds a communication relationship between the two ends, enabling both to know about the timeline of the project, the number of stages covered, the issues and challenges related, and initiate regular reviews for excelling the opportunity. In short, this process let both ends informed about the work progress, which means a transparency in the business relationship.

4. Higher Customer Satisfaction

Since Agile follows an incremental model of app development, the project is developed and delivered in iterations. This provides the clients ample opportunities and conditions to evaluate where their app is moving in the right direction or not, which implies higher customer satisfaction can be attained.

5. Quick ROI

The Agile process works with a business-centric approach, where the client can inform the app development agency regarding which feature to give first priority, and so, deliver the features such that a ‘ready to market’ product is delivered earlier. This enables the team to test the app in the market at the earliest and enjoy higher ROI.

Now, as we have covered what Agile methodology is, what guidelines one needs to consider, and what is the need to prefer Agile mobile app development process, let’s move to the next key part of the article, i.e., determining if you should invest in Agile methodology.

I know, almost every one of us thinks that Agile is the best optimal mobile app development model approach. But, there are various situations where the Agile process does not fit into the business models. So, it advisable to look into the factors that help you take the decision to invest in Agile methodology for Android application or iOS application development.

Factors to Consider For Incorporating Agile into Your App Process

1. Consistent Changes

If your business app/mobility solution needs to be improved and updated regularly, go for Agile. The Agile process, as you know by now, provides you with the freedom to implement changes at every mobile app development process steps, and that also by optimizing the cost of the frequent increments.

2. Hectic Development Schedule

If your development team has a completely packed schedule, then go for an Agile approach. It enables them to add/rollback any feature/functionality even from the mid of the development process (sprint-wise configuration), which saves the development time.

3. Limited Planning

You can also prefer Agile over Waterfall approach if you have less time for planning before executing the development process. The agile mobile app development process works with the ideology that the market needs to keep on changing. So, you discuss and implement the changes based on the market research and feedback every now and then, which implies planning is done frequently but for shorter time intervals.

4. Flexible Planning

Unlike Waterfall and other traditional software development processes, the Agile provides the mobile app developers with the freedom to keep a particular task at hold and proceed with the other, rather than following a rigid sequence of mobile app development process steps. So, if you fear that your team might require more research on a certain stage of app development process or there’s a possibility of getting stuck with a particular task, prefer Agile so that your project could continue forward instead of getting standstill.

Agile methodology, as you have learnt in this article, is becoming a norm in the app industry due to exceptional advantages and applications. In case, you still have any doubt, feel free to leave a comment below.