How to Create a Brilliant Technical Specification for App Development?

According to AppMy Site statistics, 85% of shoppers prefer to order goods in mobile apps rather than on websites. And here is the result of another survey: 99.5% of mobile apps on the App Store and Google Play are little known and only half of 1% are popular.

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So why is it that some apps are amazingly successful and others fail?

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Errors can occur at various stages of development, testing and deployment. These can be minimised by having a well-written technical specification for the mobile app. Ptolemay, who has 7 years' experience in app development, carried out its research. It found that a well-written technical specification reduces development time by more than 13%.

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The Secret to a Brilliant App Specification

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Creating a brilliant technical specification for a mobile app follows the same principle as building a strong house. Like a solid foundation, the technical specification should be based on a detailed idea. The more careful you are in outlining your requirements, the more your customers will benefit and the more you will earn from the finished mobile application. Grab a sheet of paper and a pen, this article will take you through all the stages of turning your idea into a successful technical specification for an application that will exceed expectations and attract new users.

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It should be noted right away that the essence of any idea is its uniqueness, so even very similar templates can lead to distortion of your thoughts. The algorithm of writing a technical task is necessary not to bring the task to a standard document, but to reveal the essence of your problems, needs and goals. A clearly stated task will help eliminate ambiguity for developers and will be the key to creating a successful application.

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Algorithm for Writing a Technical Task for a Mobile App

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First of all, tell us about your business and state your goals related to the app. Keep in mind that in the process of analysing your needs, new challenges may emerge, and that's fine. Creating a technical specification for a mobile app is necessary to ensure that everyone involved in the project, including developers, designers, investors, and even yourself understands the problems that the future mobile app must solve.

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1. Outline the Problems That the App Will Solve for Your Business

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Problems always arise from specific situations - describe them. At what points in your business activities does the need for the future app's features arise?

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A prime example of many initial problems is the Airbnb project. Their goal was to create a platform that would allow people to rent out their homes to travelers, seamlessly connecting hosts and guests. Their technical specification outlined user profiles, the need for a booking system, secure payment gateways, and more. Their app exceeded expectations and became popular worldwide because it took into account many critical situations.

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You need to identify the weaknesses of your customer interactions and set goals to address them.

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2. Describe Who Will Use the App

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Give a brief portrait of your ideal customer and what they will do in your app. For example, in retail, a customer might fill a shopping cart with products, add the delivery, enter a promo code, sort and pay for an item, ask the chatbot, read product descriptions, add products to favorites, make a return request and more. First, describe the actions your customers usually perform, and then indicate the desired features that can be achieved with your new app.

If there is a need, categorise users according to their access level and the tasks they will perform in the app. For example, a guest, a subscriber, and a paid member may have different functions available to them. Spell out the tasks of the administrator, if his presence is required. Don't forget to specify the frequency of visits and the approximate number of users.

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3. What Features do you Want to Include in the App?

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To stand out in the highly competitive app market, you need to understand what your competitors are offering. Analyse their apps, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and see what sets them apart.

Do some research.

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• Analyse the features in your competitors' apps. Think about whether there are any unique features you can add?
• Read user feedback. What do users like or dislike about your competitors' apps? How can you improve their user experience?
• Survey your customers. What features would help them better solve problems and use your services more often?

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For example, when Zoom was developing a technical specification for a video conferencing app, they analysed existing solutions such as Skype and WebEx. This helped them identify the need for a more user-friendly and scalable platform, leading Zoom to market success.

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4. User Interface and Design Guidelines

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According to Standish Group research, 45% of software application functions are rarely or never used. Overloading your app with marginally useful features will do nothing but waste your money, developers' time, and invaluable customer attention. To leave only the necessary features, conduct a mental experiment; write out a rough user navigation through your new app. It's even better if you have ready-made scenarios of your users' behaviour.

Establish clear acceptance criteria for each feature.

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For example, in a ride-sharing app like Uber, one of the acceptance criteria is "User can book a ride within two minutes".

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In the Terms of Reference for the app, you can specify acceptance criteria for popular features as well, such as:

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• pop-up notification;
• GPS navigation;
• calendar;
• customer basket;
• card payment;
• messaging centers in various formats;
• booking facilities;
• catalog selection;
• a promotional code system and so on.

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By carefully detailing each feature, you minimise confusion and ensure that developers have a clear implementation plan.