Mobile Development: Why Using an Agile Methodology Makes Sense
The world of the 21st century technology is one of divisions. Virtual vs. augmented reality, iOS vs. android, PS4 vs. Xbox. However, one of the greatest delineations can be seen in the mobile development niche. Naturally, we are talking about waterfall vs. agile methodology. Sure, both of these techniques have their advantages and downsides, but lately, it seems as if companies that opt for agile are getting quite the lead. Why? Well, it may be because business can utilise the app monetization platform far better when an app is designed a certain way, but simply because it seems to fit this industry better. Here are a few theories why this is so.
More Control to the Client
The first major advantage of agile methodology is that it gives client the impression of being in control. Asking someone to part with their money is not that simple, so why not help them overcome their fears by giving them a direct oversight of where their money is going. According to many,this inclusion of the client also gives you an opportunity to create a better end product. This makes sense, since the term ‘better’ in this context gets determined by how pleased the client is with it. In mobile development, every client can contribute with fresh ideas, seeing how a person who already possessed several smartphones can hardly be considered a layman. Finally, it resolves most of the tension about the final release, since product developed in this way bears little to no surprises.
More Efficient A/B Testing
Another thing you need to keep in mind when considering advantages of agile is the fact that it gives you a much greater audience for testing of all sorts. Needless to say, this makes any test or survey you intend to conduct much more efficient and with much more reliable results. Therefore, you can start a/b tests on mobile device and then gradually change variables until you reach the perfect recipe. The best thing about this is that you no longer need to change variables one by one, but use multivariate tests which are bound to make visible results much sooner.
Revolutionized Development Management
Probably the greatest difference agile methodology introduces is on the level of development management. Instead of managing an entire project, all manager is supposed to do is pursue a certain goal defined at the beginning. All one is supposed to do here is spontaneously allocate resources towards changes that will result in greater customer satisfaction. This type of management is particularly popular in app development, which is one of the fastest growing industries of the early 21st century.
Drawbacks
As we mentioned at the start, there are some drawbacks of agile methodology, as well. It simply wouldn’t be fair to miss out on mentioning at least some of them. The first problem you are likely to encounter is the lack of user-initiative or lack of interest from your customers to take part in this testing. Still, it is your job to build up the hype around the project and in this way encourage your clients to pay closer attention to it. The second problem happens when you get too many different ideas about the project. Sure, including all of these features is impossible, but this means some of the customers are going to feel left out. Finally, the two aforementioned problems can also have an influence on the overall project cost.
Conclusion
All in all, it goes beyond doubt that using agile methodology in mobile development can give some amazing results. However, there is no 100% guarantee that this will happen in your case. What you need is the right plan to make all of this work. Best place to start is by looking for adequate tools to gather and process this enormous amount of data. After this, you will already have a great head start.