what it takes for mobile development projects to succeed

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We surveyed 585 mobile-focused developers and development managers from nine countries

... to better understand their approach to mobile application development.

Source: IBM Center for Applied Insights, Star qualities: What it takes for mobile development projects to succeedFor more info, visit: ibm.com/ibmcai/mobiledev

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Only 1/3 of mobile application development projects are successful --fully achieving budget, schedule, and project objectives.

What’s their secret?


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The secret to success does not appear to be related to

• Programming languages• OS platform choice• Native vs. web vs. hybrid approach• Size of development teams

So what are successful projects doing differently?


Successful projects have a different team and approach

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Platforms set the stage for flexibility

Leverage platforms that use cloud services and APIs

Two-thirds use cloud APIs to assemble the application.

Collaboration keeps the production on track

Developers collaborate continuously with the business, designers, testers, IT and end users.

Nearly two-thirds collaborate closely with business stakeholders.

User analyticsinspires the next act

Find inspiration in usage analytics, not just direct feedback

58% more likely to cite usage analytics as a top source of inspiration for mobile app innovation.

The right approach

The right teamExperience and expertise for a strong cast

Successful projects teams have greater mobile development experience, and are more likely to have the development expertise and specialized business/industry expertise needed


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Successful projects All others

Successful projects vs. all others

27%

26%

Inadequate staffing to meet objectives -31%

-30%

39%

37%Lack of development expertise

Major challenges faced

23% 32%Lack of specialized business or industry expertise -28%

Successful projects are 30% more likely to have at least one developer with more than 5 years of mobile development experience*

Successful projects are more likely to be adequately staffed, with the right development and specialized business expertise

*A majority of developers still have 5 years or less of mobile development experience


Experience and expertise make for a strong cast

Successful projects are more likely to leverage platforms that use cloud services and APIs

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67%

53%

46%

31%

Cloud APIs for application assembly

Mobile application development platforms (MADPs)

Cloud-based platforms for development

+20%

+31%

+29%

+35%

56%

41%

35%

23%

Mobile Backend as a Service (cloud application development services)

Due to the flexibility afforded by both cloud and MADPs, successful projects are 33% less likely to report being locked into a particular platform.

A platform approach


Platforms set the stage for flexibility

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Three-fourths of successful projects collaborate using agile software development methods.



62%

58%

Business stakeholders +29%

+26%

48%

46%End users

67%

74%

Quality assurance

IT operations (deploy/support the application)

57%

64%

69% 57%Mobile interaction designers/user experience experts +21%

+18%

+16%

Mobile app developers/managers say the #1 trait for developer effectiveness is ability to collaborate with non-developers, such as marketing, communications, technical support


Collaboration keeps the production on track

On successful projects, the development team is more likely to collaborate closely with the entire ecosystem throughout

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Successful projects are 1.6 times more likely to cite usage analytics as a top source of inspiration for mobile applications



65%

66%

User behavior (app feature usage) +20%

+27%

54%

52%Regularity of application use

Significant analysis of

48% 35%Social media sentiment about the application +37%


Two-thirds of successful projects analyze user behavior closely (20% more likely)

Successful projects and others are on par with monitoring direct user feedback (e.g., user reviews and bug reports), but the successful projects are more likely to analyze indirect user feedback

User analytics inspires the next act

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Successful projects are more likely to have at least one developer with five-plus years of mobile experience. They make use of strong communication and collaboration skills, as well as specialized business and industry expertise. And more than half favor using developers who regularly work together.

• Identify skill gaps and determine how to fill them through training or partnering.

• Foster a stable team, identifying top developers and mapping out a career path to keep them.

Build a team of mobile stars Satisfy the need for speed and flexibility with platforms

Platforms that use cloud services and APIs provide enormous speed and flexibility. Successful projects are less likely to feel locked into any particular mobile platform or technology.

• Consider cloud-based platforms and APIs to boost development speed.

• Use standards-based mobile application development platforms to avoid vendor lock-in.

Collaborate with the ecosystem

A top trait of an effective mobile application developer todayis collaboration. Ongoing collaboration with others outside the core development team can lead to higher customer satisfaction and better reviews.

• Identify developers with strong communication and collaboration skills.

• Provide the right tools and environment to foster collaboration with designers, testers, IT ops, marketing, business stakeholders and end users throughout development.

Keep an analytical eye on your audience

Successful projects are improved by indirect audience feedback, such as how they interact with the apps. Whether gathering feedback during usability testing or after the app goes live, successful project teams keep a close analytical eye on their audience.

• Conduct usability testing during development, and use analytics after launch to identify popular (and unpopular) features and functions.

• Continually improve the application by incorporating user feedback and analytical insights.


How to make your mobile project shineTake your cues from the successful mobile application project playbook

QUIZ SNEAK PEEK (coming in November)

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Stay tuned at the study site…

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ibm.com/ibmcai/mobiledev

To learn more about the study, please visit

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