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"result": {"data":{"allArticles":{"edges":[{"node":{"excerpt":"","fields":{"slug":"/blog/starting-app-development-efficiently-how-to-do-it/"},"frontmatter":{"title":"Starting app development efficiently - how to do it?","order":null,"content":[{"body":"**Beginnings are important.**\n\nAsk any storyteller.\n\nAnd if you want the story of your digital product to end well, the best way is to begin well. At the beginning of any agile project, you need to get the right people working in the right direction (not to mention the same direction!) and on the right problem. What you’re aiming to do is align everyone behind a deep understanding of the issues, problems, and likely solutions. How to do that?\n\nBoldare **co-CEO [Piotr Majchrzak](https://www.linkedin.com/in/piotrmajchrzak)** has the answer:\n\n> “We start with a meeting. A very long meeting.”\n\nWe call that meeting a **Product Discovery Workshop**.\n\n\n\nIt might seem more obvious to start with reading through the client’s desired **product specifications**. But that’s getting ahead of ourselves and there are risks to using documentation to find out about the product; not least of which is that assumptions might be made (about users’ needs, about the product’s purpose, etc.)\n\n**Much better to start with as blank a slate as possible**, get all the right people (and knowledge) in the room and work out the picture together. Especially when we’re working with a client with little or no experience of scrum or agile product development, in general.The benefits of product discovery\n\nBefore we get into the ‘**what**’ let’s agree on the ‘**why**’. There’s one **key benefit to beginning with a product discovery workshop**: shared clarity.\n\nWith the right focus, after a couple of days of exploring everything about the product to be built, both our development team, the scrum master and the client’s product owner have a common understanding of what we will be building, how we will go about building it, who we’re building it for, and why.\n\nThis **shared clarity** means that the whole team and all of the major stakeholders are viewing the project in the same way. This means project decisions are relatively easy to make because the priority goals and features have been agreed in advance. Likewise, if any of the key influencing factors change (market, users, client’s business needs) and a pivot is necessary, that same clarity and priorities usually mean identifying the project’s new direction is relatively easy.\n\nFurthermore, teamwork is enhanced as not only is everyone on the team involved, but also the necessary protocols (e.g. for communication within the project) are agreed, effectively laying out a route map to the project’s core goals.\n\nA product discovery workshop is a time- and resource-efficient way of focusing the team, building trust, and motivating key players.\n\n\n\n## Product discovery meeting goal #1: Meet the team\n\nIt might seem the most obvious (and easy) outcome but the value of getting everyone who’ll be working on the project (in whatever capacity) together cannot be underestimated. Diverse teams bring a variety of experience, knowledge and perspective to bear on the project, resulting in a better quality product. One purpose of the product discovery workshop is to align and focus that diversity on a single problem: the development of the product.\n\n**Who should be there?**\n\nFrom the client’s side, at a minimum the **product owner.** The product owner is the representative of the client’s business and strategic needs, and can provide insight into the ‘why’ of the product and what user problems the product is intended to solve.\n\nAlso attending is the [development team ](https://www.boldare.com/services/development-teams/)itself, including not only the experts who will be doing the coding, but also **UX** and, **product designers, quality assurance specialists (QA)**, and **business analysts (BA)**, depending on the complexity and requirements of the project. Also present is a **scrum master**. The scrum master is not intended to be a project manager. Rather the role is one of facilitator, keeping the team (and project) within the scrum framework; i.e. he or she is focused on the process, allowing the rest of the team to dedicate their efforts to more creative work.\n\n\n\nOften, when the product development is being carried out by an outsourced team, the product discovery workshop is the first (and perhaps even only) time everyone involved in the project is together – it is the golden opportunity to ensure the project is heading in a productive direction from day one.\n\n## Product discovery meeting goal #2: Discover the product\n\nNow we’re getting to the heart of the matter – or at least, the activity that the workshop is named after: finding out all about the future product for development. To do this, at Boldare we recommend a few key tools:\n\n**Product canvas** – A product canvas is a simple template that ensures we address the key questions in relation to the product, gathering all the necessary information for an agile user-centered product solution: the **product’s goal** or reason for being (i.e. what problem does it solve?), the **business benefits**, **metrics to help measure success**, **details of target user groups** and the **benefits the product offers** them, and the product’s non-technical context (including UX, user journeys and visual design), all wrapped up in actionable goals. As a tool, the product canvas works perfectly with scrum and the lean startup approach that we combine in our projects at Boldare.\n\n**Product backlog** – Once you know what you’re building and why, you need to agree what to do and in what order. This is the product backlog, effectively a to-do list of all the work and tasks necessary to build the product. Each individual sprint during the project is focused on selected items from the product backlog. Naturally, **the product backlog is under regular review throughout the project**. It usually covers the next three sprints, with additional tasks (and sprints) being added as they are identified. Part of managing the product backlog is agreeing the ‘definition of done’ for each task.\n\n**[User story mapping ](https://www.boldare.com/blog/build-digital-products-with-user-story-mapping/)**– To ensure user focus during product development, we use [user story mapping](https://www.boldare.com/blog/build-digital-products-with-user-story-mapping/) to delve deep into specific user needs. A user story is a brief description of a product feature from the perspective of the user, incorporating three key elements: the feature, the type of user that needs or wants it, and the motivation for that need or want (i.e. the benefit to the user). **By mapping the various stories we create a detailed picture of the product’s intended use**. User story mapping keeps users front and center in the product development process.\n\n\n\n## Product discovery meeting goal #3: Plan a release\n\nNow you know each other, and the product, the third step in product discovery is to agree the scope, deployment and timeframe for the first product release – probably a minimum viable product that will be used to gather user feedback for further development.\n\nThis discussion also includes agreeing the development process – effectively a set of project protocols, including how long a sprint will take (usually two weeks), what tools will be used, how team members will communicate, and also risk management for the project.\n\n## Product discovery meeting goal #4: Plan a sprint\n\nThe final major task of the product discovery workshop is to plan the first sprint, ensuring that the project gets off to a flying start. This begins with deciding which items and actions from the product backlog will be tackled in the first sprint. The results of the planning process should be threefold:\n\n* The agreed list of backlog items to be the focus of the sprint.\n* The ‘definition of done’ for each item.\n* An overall sprint goal (this ties the sprint activities together; it’s effectively a ‘definition of done’ for the whole sprint).\n\nFor more detail and depth on sprint planning, check out our [Guide to Efficient Sprint Planning](https://www.boldare.com/blog/guide-to-efficient-sprint-planning/).\n\n### Once all four of these goals have been achieved, the preparation is done.\n\nAnd, more importantly, it’s signed up to by all involved – the development team and the project’s key stakeholders. Now you can get on with the project, start the first sprint, and begin the practical product development secure in the knowledge that you’ve done all you can to ensure you’re on the right track to success.\n\nYes, you may have to pivot later but if you’ve done the right preparation, any future pivots will be due to unforeseen circumstances and not a lack of planning.\n\n\n\n## A final thought: Do you meet remotely or face to face?\n\nIn the past, we would gather everyone together in the same room for a product discovery workshop. But in 2020 (and beyond), this shouldn’t be an automatic choice. In fact, many people may prefer to be part of an online event, given the pandemic crisis.\n\n\n\nThe good news is that like any other meeting, it’s possible to run an online version of a workshop with multiple-participant video-conferencing software (like Zoom or Google Meet). Undeniably, the first time you run an online product discovery meeting, with everyone scattered, collaborating on these critical project questions will be more difficult. Communication may not flow quite so smoothly. The facilitator will have to be especially observant. Everybody may need a little extra patience.\n\nThe value of the [product discovery workshop](https://www.boldare.com/blog/product-vision-workshops-toolkit/) as a start to your digital product development project means that whether it’s face to face or online, you really shouldn’t start development without one.\n\nSo long as it achieves the following:\n\n1. A clear vision and goals for the project\n2. A structure for communication and decision-making within the project team.\n3. Agreed project roles and responsibilities.\n4. A detailed route map for moving forward.\n\nCurrently we are conducting those workshops online. We established some good practices that allow us to keep both sides engaged and fresh during those intensive hours. The secret ingredients are good tools (we usually use Miro and Mural but also user story mapping, and product canvas/vision techniques), two facilitators and … regular breaks!\n\n\n\n## Start well, design well\n\n**Endings depend on beginnings.**\n\nAnd if you want your project to result in a high quality digital product, developed with your specific user groups in mind, proper preparation is key.\n\nThe core of a good beginning is the product discovery workshop; an event that brings everyone together (physically or virtually) and allows them to explore in detail the task ahead of them using tools such as the product canvas and user story mapping. The outcome is a detailed plan for the project, including everything you need to get started on that initial sprint and deliver a first product increment."}],"job":null,"photo":null,"slug":null,"cover":"/img/Starting_app_development_efficiently.png","lead":"Whether your new digital product is part of a complete [digital transformation](https://www.boldare.com/services/digital-transformation/) of your business or just you dipping a toe in the app or digital platform waters, here at Boldare, we know **agile is the way to go**. It allows you to be both bold and cautious – brave enough to aim high but careful enough to minimize the risk of doing so. Agile frameworks like **scrum** are tailor-made for digital [product development ](https://www.boldare.com/services/full-cycle-product-development/)and beneficial for both business stakeholders and end users of the application. **But while agile might be the professionals’ choice, that still leaves the question of how exactly to begin your agile project so as to give yourself (and your product) the best chance of success.** Read on to learn more!","templateKey":"article-page","specialArticle":false,"isNewWork":null,"isNewNormal":null,"service":null,"settings":{"date":"2023-04-27T09:35:50.474Z","slug":"starting-app-development-efficiently-how-to-do-it","type":"blog","slugType":null,"category":"Agility","additionalCategories":["Digital Product"],"url":null},"author":"Tadeusz Rolski","authorAdditional":"","box":{"content":{"title":"Starting app development efficiently - how to do it?","tileDescription":"Whether your new digital product is part of a complete digital transformation of your business or just you dipping a toe in the app or digital platform waters, here at Boldare, we know agile is the way to go. It allows you to be both bold and cautious – brave enough to aim high but careful enough to minimize the risk of doing so. Agile frameworks like scrum are tailor-made for digital product development and beneficial for both business stakeholders and end users of the application. But while agile might be the professionals’ choice, that still leaves the question of how exactly to begin your agile project so as to give yourself (and your product) the best chance of success. Read on to learn more!","coverImage":"/img/Starting_app_development_efficiently.png","tags":null},"coverImage":null,"settings":null,"type":"BLOG"}},"id":"3a64071c-dc53-5c07-ac4b-0c4c9cc4c336"}},{"node":{"excerpt":"","fields":{"slug":"/blog/how-to-choose-a-software-development-company/"},"frontmatter":{"title":"How to choose a software development company?","order":null,"content":[{"body":"**The process of choosing a software company should be as rigorous as possible.** The cost of poorly-designed software or an otherwise failed project can be dangerous - financially and strategically. The starting point is your organization’s business needs and strategic goals, and a clear idea of how these will be supported by the digital product. With that in mind, together with a broad concept of what your digital product should be, you can start looking for candidate companies to shortlist.\n\nThe key is having clear criteria to compare the various candidates. Hence this article: a guide to what to look for – the good and the bad – **when choosing a software development company.**\n\nLet’s start with some positive values to look for in the potential partner’s portfolio.\n\n\n\n## What to look for in a software development company?\n\n### 1. They have a good track record\n\nWe all have to start somewhere and every software development company has its first project. But let’s be honest - you don’t want it to be yours. Unless a company is looking especially hot on your other criteria, it’s better to see a solid track record of successful projects.\n\nAny potential partner should be able to talk about the number and type of products they’ve developed, and who their clients are and have been (within the professional bounds of any NDAs, of course). Ideally, they’ll have a wide selection of case studies, demonstrating their various experience; including the right technologies for the development of your digital product; and for clients in your industry sector. Maybe it goes without saying but let’s say it anyway: that track record and [portfolio of case studies](https://www.boldare.com/work/) should be backed up by client references and referees.\n\nThe more complex the product you want to build, the more important the track record is.\n\n\n\n### 2. They have the right skills & knowledge\n\n**How to choose the right software development company?** Look for professional skills and knowledge that your project needs. And while coding skills are vital, developing a truly excellent piece of software is about much more. At Boldare, we know that the full development package requires a wide range of essential roles, including:\n\n* Software engineers (including frontend and backend developers)\n* Quality Assurance (QA) engineers\n* [GenAI Engineers](https://www.boldare.com/services/ai-software-development-consulting/)\n* Product and UX/UI designers\n* Certified Agile coaches and scrum masters\n* Business analysts\n* [DevOps](https://www.boldare.com/services/devops-consulting-services/)\n* Information architects\n* [Product Strategists](https://www.boldare.com/blog/the-role-of-product-strategist/)\n\nFor some of these roles (e.g. the developers, the scrum masters) mastery is usually demonstrated through professional certifications or qualifications.\n\nWhat’s more, the company should be open about the seniority and/or[ experience of the developers who will be building your product](https://www.boldare.com/services/development-teams/). You should definitely ask about their experience and be able to evaluate their individual resumes to assess that experience for yourself.\n\n\n\n### 3. They use the right processes\n\nThe question is, how do they work and – most importantly – is it:\n\na) An efficient method of software development?\n\nb) Compatible with how you work in your organization? (NOTE: not ‘the same’, just ‘compatible’.).\n\nThe most important process is the software development methodology used by your potential partner company. Let’s be clear, a waterfall approach to the project is out of date and likely to be ineffective. Why?\n\n**In a waterfall methodology, as client, you’re responsible for providing detailed documentation at the start of the project.** That documentation is the full specification for the product and you are unlikely to have any further involvement until the product is delivered. This may sound attractively straightforward but a waterfall methodology is rigid by nature. If any of the project’s influencing factors change (user needs, business goals, competing products launched on the marketplace) the process does not facilitate the project changing course to suit the new circumstances. This approach may work for uncomplicated and simple products. Otherwise, in case of any necessary changes in the product, you may end up as a hostage to the documentation you provided, without the chance to change anything in the ongoing process.\n\nDiscover our scrum-dedicated series:\n\n* [Building successful apps using scrum development](https://www.boldare.com/blog/building-apps-using-scrum-development/)\n* [Guide to efficient sprint review meetings](https://www.boldare.com/blog/efficient-sprint-review-meetings/)\n* [The best tools for online Sprint Retrospectives](https://www.boldare.com/blog/best-tools-for-online-sprint-retrospectives/)\n* [What is a sprint retrospective? A brief guide for agile software development teams](https://www.boldare.com/blog/what-is-a-sprint-retrospective/)\n* [Guide to efficient sprint planning](https://www.boldare.com/blog/guide-to-efficient-sprint-planning/)\n\n**So what’s the alternative?**\n\n**Agile frameworks**, such as Scrum, are much more inclusive of the client. In Scrum, your representative is the Product Owner, an integral part of the scrum team, working closely with the developers and other experts right from the initial [product discovery workshop](https://www.boldare.com/blog/how-do-you-make-first-product-discovery-workshops/) in which you work together on the product specifications. Scrum teams produce iterations of the product in a series of short sprints (usually 2-4 weeks). The sprints are linked by review and planning meetings that enable you to pivot the project easily and when needed. For more on the differences between the two methodologies (and let’s be honest, more on why the agile option is best) read our article, [Agile or Waterfall](https://www.boldare.com/blog/agile-vs-waterfall/).\n\nFor more information about how the Scrum framework helps building software development products, read our article, [Building successful apps using scrum development](https://www.boldare.com/blog/building-apps-using-scrum-development/).\n\n### 4. They believe in open communication\n\nIf you’re using an agile software development methodology, you’re part of the team but that doesn’t mean you’re on-site all the time. In fact, given the nature of the software development outsourcing market, you may not even be in the same country or time zone. And yet, the quality of communication affects the results of the project.\n\nThe question is, **when choosing a software company, will you have open and transparent communication as part of the project?** How fast will they respond to questions (how fast did they respond to your initial contact)? What comms channels do they prefer? How easily can you access the team?\n\n**An approach we find works well at Boldare with the Scrum framework is giving our clients and product owners direct access to all members of the** [development team](https://www.boldare.com/services/development-teams/). You’re not asked to go through a manager or any other kind of gatekeeper. If you have a question about the user experience, you talk to the UX designer; if it’s about the quality testing, you talk to the QA expert; and so on. This philosophy, along with online communication tools such as Slack and Google Hangouts means our scrum teams are in constant contact with no delays.\n\nTo maintain a high quality of communication on the business side of the endeavour we also try to meet with our customers regularly, each month or quarter. This helps to keep the focus and understand how priorities are changing, and discuss face to face the most important issues.\n\n\n\n### 5. They supply dedicated teams\n\n**What’s a “**[dedicated team](https://www.boldare.com/services/development-teams/)**”? It means the team working on your digital product is doing only that.** They’re not also working on projects for other clients, juggling resources, priorities and deadlines. The benefits are obvious: this kind of focused teamwork coupled with a taut timetable of agile product iterations delivers high quality products, on time. The exception is when there’s no need for, let’s say, a full-time Product Designer or QA, in which case they devote the hours that are needed to your project.\n\n**The use of dedicated teams is one of the biggest advantages of choosing a software development company rather than a freelancer, who is inevitably navigating multiple priorities.**\n\nHowever, just because a dedicated team is on offer does not always mean the team members are employed by the software company. The practice is called ‘white labeling’ and involves your outsourced software company outsourcing in turn to another company or freelancers. Again, perhaps this approach is reasonably safe for simpler projects with few risk factors but for a relatively complex bespoke digital product, white labeling puts the client at one step removed from the action. This results in poor or fragmented communication, lengthier processes, and a lack of clarity around roles and responsibilities – not a recipe for success.\n\n## What to avoid when choosing a software development company?\n\nAnd now - few warning signs. What should alarm you?\n\n\n\n### They are cheap\n\nIn software development as with any other field, the old saying is usually true: you get what you pay for. Especially if the company is offering fast development, high quality and a low price – that’s almost always too good to be true.\n\nThe exception may be to search internationally. For instance, if you are in a ‘high rates’ market like the US or Western Europe, you could look to Eastern Europe for software development to a high standard for a seemingly reasonable price, purely due to the economic differences between the territories.\n\n**If your only (or main) factor is price, then … you should definitely rethink your strategy.** Most likely, you will find a company that offers their services cheaper than any other European or American company, but let’s be honest, you won’t be happy with the results (or their lack). Over our 15 years of experience, we have spoken with many companies that have contacted us to finish projects that were started then left unfinished by an unreliable partner company. And to be fair, it’s not a matter of the country the service provider is from, but that they originally offered the cheapest price for the job.\n\nWhy does creating digital products cost so much? One of the reasons can be seen in the table below. It shows the [costs incurred by Boldare](https://www.boldare.com/blog/hidden-costs-in-house-app-development/), which are included in the costs of our services and which our partners do not have to worry about.\n\n![Hidden costs of software development](/img/Hidden_costs_of_software_development.jpg \"Hidden costs of software development\")\n\nFor more on the relative costs of software development in different regions, try this article:\n\n\n\n### They are “YES”-people\n\nBeware of an expert that constantly agrees with you. After all, if you know it all already, why do you need them? But you don’t and that’s why you’re looking to outsource to an expert provider. If a software development company you’re interested in just agrees with whatever you say, including project structure and deadlines, dig a little deeper. They should have proven methodologies, procedures and standards of their own.\n\nYou’re looking for a provider with ways of working that are compatible with your own, and not a company that will say whatever you want to hear just to get a contract.\n\n### They are late\n\nQuite simply, if a company is tardy during the selection process – slow replying to messages, late providing documents or estimates, taking longer than 24 hours to reply to your initial contact – then that’s a red flag. Their turnaround times are unlikely to improve once you have an agreement.\n\n### They are vague\n\n**How to choose a software development company?** If you find you can’t pin them down on details… if they can’t fully explain their time estimates (why will item X take three weeks?)… if they’re hazy on the planning… then again, red flags.\n\nThe best defense against this is to engage an outsourced partner that uses an agile methodology. For example, the planning approach, daily meetings, and between-sprint reviews and retrospectives makes Scrum an excellent ‘vaccination’ against project vagueness. It’s easier to plan knowing that feature A will be delivered in sprint one, and then feature B in sprint two, etc. This is the huge advantage of Scrum over other, non-agile frameworks.\n\n\n\n## Summary\n\n**Choosing a software development company is the first and possibly the most important decision in outsourcing the creation of your digital product.** A company with a proven track record, offering a dedicated team with all the necessary skills, using an agile project methodology, and insisting on open communications is equipped to deliver a successful digital product.\n\nBut having these criteria, where do you find such potential partners? [Clutch.co](https://clutch.co/profile/boldare) is an excellent starting point, with its own expert analyses and to-the-point interviews with listed companies. Similarly, try the [Awwwards](https://www.awwwards.com/boldare/) platform which acts as a showcase for more design-oriented projects.\n\nUltimately, you’re looking for a partner company that can support you through the process of software development, give you confidence in their processes, and – who knows – bring the potential to become a longer-term partner in your organization’s future digital transformation.\n\nFingers crossed for a (hopefully) successful search!\n\n"}],"job":null,"photo":null,"slug":null,"cover":"/img/how-choose-software-development-company.png","lead":"If you decide to work on your next app with the help of an external [software development company](https://www.boldare.com/services/software-development-outsourcing/), then your success or failure depends on finding the right partner. With this in mind, and based on our own many and varied experiences at Boldare, this article outlines the key criteria – **what to look for in a software development company**: a future partner that will help you to build great software and solve your business challenges. But how to find such a trustworthy, reliable and efficient collaborator?","templateKey":"article-page","specialArticle":false,"isNewWork":null,"isNewNormal":null,"service":null,"settings":{"date":"2023-01-02T06:43:26.946Z","slug":"how-choose-software-development-company","type":"blog","slugType":null,"category":"How to","additionalCategories":["Digital Product"],"url":null},"author":"Piotr Majchrzak","authorAdditional":null,"box":{"content":{"title":"How to choose a software development company?","tileDescription":"If you decide to work on your next app with the help of an external software development company, then your success or failure depends on finding the right partner. With this in mind, and based on our own many and varied experiences at Boldare, this article outlines the key criteria – what to look for and what to avoid – for selecting your software development company: a future partner that will help you to build great software and solve your business challenges. But how to find such a trustworthy, reliable and efficient collaborator?","coverImage":"/img/how-choose-software-development-company.png","tags":null},"coverImage":null,"settings":null,"type":"BLOG"}},"id":"de6ec011-e82e-59fc-9227-0aeae90843f8"}},{"node":{"excerpt":"","fields":{"slug":"/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-develop-an-app/"},"frontmatter":{"title":"How much does it cost to develop an app?","order":null,"content":[{"body":"\n\n## First things first: what kind of app do you need?\n\nIf your idea is “**the next Facebook**”, and you want to start from scratch, its development will take long months and quite a **budget**. And success is likely only possible if that development is carried out by an experienced team, with clearly defined business goals and stakeholders who have a clear vision of what they want to achieve. Moreover: **it can be more expensive than initially estimated; only very rarely is it less expensive.** \n\nHowever: everything is relative. If you need a simple ecommerce website for your small store, you can also do it without spending a fortune. How? There are solutions that offer **out-of-the-box products** that can be easily adapted for most businesses for no more than **$100 per month**, depending on the features. There’s actually no need for any development at all in this case, because such platforms tend to offer a good level of technical support and can guide their customers through installation and maintenance. \n\n![app development cost ](/img/app_development_cost.png \"app development cost \")\n\n\n\n**This table shows how versatile the market for out-of-the-box platforms is**. If your needs can’t be fulfilled using one of the above mentioned solutions, then it would be smart to look for something custom-made. \n\nSimilarly, if you want to create a webpage for a magazine, community website or personal webpage, you can do really great stuff with a budget as low as $100, or less. There are plenty of platforms like WordPress that offer a decent quality and great value for this kind of budget. You can start **a business website** for €25, and this price already includes server space and 24/7 support. Again - in this case you don’t need any **[development team](https://www.boldare.com/services/development-teams/)**.\n\nBut if you can’t do it using the methods mentioned, then you may need help from a **software development company**. So, let’s start from the beginning. \n\n## Do you have a budget?\n\n**Let’s kick off with some harsh but realistic statements:** if you don’t have a budget or have no idea how to find the funds, it’s very unlikely that you will be able to create an application or a more complex and visually interesting website.\n\nMaybe you have secured funds but they are not enough to develop your digital product? Don’t worry - from a business perspective it’s still worth working on the idea, maybe with slightly different assumptions. Sometimes it’s better to start humble than lose funds trying to do something unexecutable in the longer perspective. In such cases, you can spend the budget in a slightly different way - for example by creating a **[digital prototype](https://www.boldare.com/services/full-cycle-product-development/prototyping/)** that can be used to pitch investors for a more appropriate budget for further development.\n\nSo, **the first step of building a digital product is always securing funds.** And if you’ve already done that, you’re probably asking: **why is this so costly?**\n\n\n\n## Why is software development expensive?\n\nThe answer is quite obvious: **software engineers are among the best paid specialists on the job market.** Furthermore, software development is a team sport - to create a meaningful, efficient, beautiful and user-friendly product, you need other experts as well: **UX/UI designers**, **devops engineers**, **quality assurance specialists (QA)**, **business analysts, copywriters**. Not all of them will need to be involved during the entire development process, but each is significant at some stage in the process.\n\n**What influences developers' salary the most?** Surprisingly for some, not the technology they specialize in, but their experience. Every product owner would like to have senior software developers with 10 years of experience working on their digital product. **The reality is less optimistic - there are not enough great senior developers for each product!** Most digital products are made by developers with significant-but-medium experience being led by some excellent, experienced colleagues. Also junior developers have to learn their craft somewhere, and as long as they can do it under the eye of real experts, it’s done without any harm to the product.\n\nJust to summarize this topic: **software development is expensive because it’s based on a very specific knowledge and skill set, and the developer’s experience.**\n\n## **What else influences app development cost?**\n\nFor a start, **the methodologies and frameworks used by the software development company! Even if a company invests heavily in amazingly skilled and experienced engineers, their work can be ineffective if they use an obsolete methodology, like waterfall.\n\nA methodology aligned with a framework should help to create software according to efficient processes. The right methodology influences the way developers approach software development, helps to set positive work standards, and find practical solutions to the most common issues. Here at Boldare, we work according to **Agile principles** and the **Scrum framework**. Why do we prefer this set of methodologies? Because **they help to cut software development costs for our customers** by providing applications better suited to users' needs, faster. \n\nNeed more evidence? Choosing an **agile framework** (like Scrum) can give you more certainty about finishing the product as planned. Agile has a higher project success rate in comparison to waterfall. [Only 9% of agile projects fail. This number is significantly higher in waterfall, at 29%.](https://blog.ganttpro.com/en/waterfall-vs-agile-with-advantages-and-disadvantages/) \n\n**How does the methodology influence the app development cost?** The employees of a company have to learn how to work with it, so the organization needs to invest heavily in training for employees and hire experts, like agile coaches and scrum masters who guide development teams in building the software. This means that choosing an agile-powered company to build your product might be more expensive. Yet - it can save your project from long delays or a complete fiasco caused by unsound methodology. \n\n\n\nAlso: I can’t stress enough how **communication is important**, yet very often it’s treated dismissively. Poor communication lengthens processes, negatively influences decision making and creates conflicts. **If you look for a good partner, pay attention to their communication style:** responsiveness (including how quickly they answer your questions), transparency (can you access all team members and task management software?) and style (do they treat you as a partner, or like a younger colleague?). Good communication helps to work seamlessly and prevents costly delays. \n\nCompanies that are investing not only in experienced employees, but also into knowing how to work and communicate better are less likely to miss deadlines or interrupt the process because of the internal issues. the approach pays off with better results.\n\n## What are the hidden costs of software development?\n\nThe shortest, yet entirely accurate answer is: it’s the knowledge you don’t have. The more information you miss in your plan, and the more the product development company needs to research or provide, the more they need to invest their time. Among many other quite obvious things, such as software developers’ salaries, profit margin, office costs, etc., there's quite a big group of **software development costs** that are somehow “hidden” (in most cases not with bad intent!). Let me name some of them:\n\n* **Knowledge about the market and target persons.** If you don’t know too much about it, the company will have to spend their time doing research. \n* **Ability and skills in building proper user tests** and validating business hypotheses. \n* **Setting up the infrastructure for the app**. At Boldare, we usually suggest matching infrastructure to business goals - a simple infrastructure may be all that’s necessary for an **[MVP app](https://www.boldare.com/services/mvp-development/)** used only to validate business hypotheses quickly. You can develop something more complex later, as necessary. Greater complexity generates more cost because it’s necessary to prepare the infrastructure for a wider range of events and scenarios. \n* **Vendor lock-in** – Some development companies would rather have you dependent on them for your app’s ongoing operation and build that into the development contract. Thus, **while making a shortlist of potential partners**, make sure to check if the company is trying to insist on you using their services after the application has been released to market. Also, find out if you have access to the source code and all the materials during the whole development process. If not, this might be a signal that your contractor will play unfair. \n* **Support & maintenance** – Any software or digital product needs continuous supervision and maintenance if it’s to continue functioning as designed. Sometimes, it’s covered by the company who’s ordering the app, sometimes it's provided by the development company. It’s up to the stakeholder plan.\n* **Marketing** – You have your app and it’s both beautiful and efficient, but how do you bring it to your target users’ attention? Advertising? A dedicated landing page? A marketing campaign targeting its users? And if you want your product to feature in the Apple Store, Google Play, or Amazon, be prepared to pay a fee.\n* **Extra services** - if you plan to fill your amazing website with great copy and catchy calls to action, remember that it’s not really the web developer’s responsibility. This has to be done by other experts - copywriters or UX/UI designers - who are sometimes not included in the development team. \n* Last but not least - **subscriptions, licenses, and other ‘function-related’ costs, such as photos, graphic designs**, etc. Depending on your app’s features and functions (and how they are implemented) you may need to pay a fee or subscription for usage (e.g. for SMS or push notifications, or to access particular SDKs or libraries).\n\nEach of these points influences the final app development costs in various ways.\n\n## How much does it cost to develop an app at Boldare?\n\nAs mentioned, it’s really difficult to say how much it will cost to develop the digital product you need, without a complex interview and research. Building a digital product that is aligned with your business goals requires more than just linking a bunch of features together. Thus, I would be very careful with using some online cost calculators that focus on selecting features and technologies, like adding items to a basket in some kind of online store.\n\nFrom our perspective, and this is what we always try to highlight to every of our customers, the vision and business goal are crucial for every app and more important than any list of features that you might already have in mind. If you don’t know what the business goals are for your product, don’t worry, we have tools that can help you firm things up - not least the [Product Discovery Workshop](https://www.boldare.com/blog/how-do-you-make-first-product-discovery-workshops/) or [Product Vision Workshop](https://www.boldare.com/blog/product-vision-workshops-toolkit/). \n\nIf you want to know **average cost to develop an app**, and want to have an overview of our process, use our [app costs calculator](https://www.boldare.com/resources/app-costs-calculator/) - it’s a simple, 5-question test.\n\n**Please, bear in mind that the tool only shows approximate costs**. You can obviously [contact us](https://www.boldare.com/contact/#form) for a more accurate estimate for your product, if you’re OK with the budget range.\n\n## How do we estimate the costs of app development? \n\n**Who decides that your new mobile application, SaaS website or a new feature added to an existing one, will cost $60k and not $5k?** And how? There are various approaches to this topic and each company does it slightly differently. We usually create estimates for our clients twice. First at the beginning of the process, after so-called needs analysis research, to see if there’s common ground when it comes to budget size. \n\nThe second time is a result of the product discovery workshops, when we gather and explore the business goals and other requirements in more detail. Sometimes, if the client has trouble giving us the necessary details during needs analysis, we suggest starting the collaboration with the product workshops, before we propose a price range. \n\n**How accurate are our estimations?** Well, it depends - the more we know about business goals of our partner, the more clarity we have and the more accurate the initial cost calculations. The graph below shows how the accuracy grows with the amount of information we have about the product. \n\n![Average cost to develop an app](/img/cone_of_uncertainty_software_development_estimations_-_Boldare.png \"Average cost to develop an app\")\n\nOur estimations are made by frontend and backend developers who have appropriate experience in working with similar products. They start their work by getting as much information about the product as they can get, and this is one of the main goals of the Needs analysis research. All information is helpful, and even at this stage we try to figure out if we are talking about a prototype, MVP or other type of product. It’s important, because we choose different solutions for different kinds of products.\n\nThe next step is to divide each feature described by the client into smaller parts, down to the smallest possible piece. Next, going through all the listed features, each part or element of the application is costed. This way, all of the dependencies and connections between features are clear and it’s easier to spot potential issues. Finally, the time required is summarized, and this overall is the basis of our costs proposal.\n\n![how much does it cost to develop an app](/img/app_cost_estimations_-_software_development.png \"how much does it cost to develop an app\")\n\nWe don’t choose any particular technology at this point of the process, unless it’s justified somehow.\n\n\n\n## How does the choice of technology influence software development costs?\n\nSome companies will vary their prices depending on the technology they (or you) would like to use in the product. At first sight, this seems quite reasonable - various technologies should be priced in various ways. But in reality, differences between the salaries (and this is the most important factor when it comes to software development prices) of a web developer and a mobile developer can be quite vague, and what really influences their salaries is their seniority.\n\nAt Boldare, **we don’t focus on any particular technology at the early stages of cost estimation**, because it rarely impacts the price of the product. Of course, some types of products are possible to create without using particular technologies, and mobile applications will be built with a slightly different team to that needed for desktop software. \n\nInstead, we would rather focus on solving business problems than on the means necessary for the process. When there’s such a need we can, obviously, suggest the best technology for a particular product. **For example, mobile apps are usually created with React Native while a web based e-commerce platform can be developed using PHP.** \n\nAdditionally, we can adjust the proposed solution to your business goals. If one of the main requirements of the stakeholders is quick time to market, we usually suggest building the application with pre-built components and out-of-the-box solutions to save time. On the other hand, If we know that the product already exists and will be continually developed for many years (in case of scaling for example) we can suggest an architecture based on **microservices** or DDD (**Domain-Driven Design**). To make such a decision we need to know more about the product, its vision and business goals. \n\nSo, **how much would it cost to create an app with us?**\n\n## What are the factors influencing the cost of software development in the US, Europe and Asia?\n\nIf you already know the budget range, **you can start looking for a contractor**. For many reasons, mainly economical, many decision makers decide to look for a partner abroad. Different economies equals different costs - that’s the reason. The conditions of the software development market in each country will differ and so will the prices. The base factors are:\n\n* Cost of living\n* Level of education and qualification of developers\n* Infrastructure quality and security.\n\nOf these, maybe the most basic determinant of rates and salaries for developers is the local cost of living, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, or CPI. In the following comparison of three very different countries known for software development, we can see that developer salaries broadly follow the CPI:\n\n![costs of software development ](/img/costs_of_software_development.png \"costs of software development \")\n\nThis explains a lot in terms of **why many European or North American companies are looking for a software development company in India, or another country with a lower CPI indicator**. The differences are even more visible if we dive into the details of average software development salaries by region: \n\n![how much does it cost to develop an application](/img/app_development_cost_calculator.png \"how much does it cost to develop an application\")\n\n* The average software developer salary – Tells you how this skill set is valued in each region. (Source: [Glassdoor](https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Salaries/warsaw-software-developer-salary-SRCH_IL.0,6_IM1114_KO7,25.htm))\n* The average hourly rate for a software development company – A key component of the overall cost of the services provided. (Source: [Clutch.co](https://clutch.co/developers/poland); taken as the average of the top five ranked software development companies from the Clutch regional listings)\n* The average minimum project size in terms of cost – (Source: Clutch.co; as above)\n\nWhile price often broadly reflects quality, it should be apparent by now that there are many other factors involved. **Put simply, there are probably some companies in India that will do an excellent job, and it’s perfectly possible to find unprofessional companies in the US or Western Europe**. However, collaboration with a company from Asia brings some risks, such as different approaches to work culture, poor knowledge of software development methodologies, infrastructure issues, or lack of control over product development. \n\n## Should you hire a freelancer instead of a software development company?\n\nSometimes it’s better to hire a freelancer, instead of looking for a software development company. **When is it better to look for an independent expert?**\n\n* If your budget is too small to hire more than one software developer,\n* When you don’t need a team of experienced developers, product designers and QAs. In other words, if your product is very simple - it’s a straightforward one-page website or it can be built using out-of-the-box solutions,\n* If the work that has to be done can be done in 2-3 days by a single person,\n* If you need someone to simply write code, and you don’t need any business-related support,\n* if you can provide a continuity to the process and support the development process, when somebody calls a sick day, or wants to go for a 3-week holiday. \n\n### How much does it cost to hire a freelance app developer?\n\nThe basic costs can certainly be attractive:\n\n![how much does it cost to develop an app ](/img/how_much_does_it_cost_to_develop_an_app.png \"how much does it cost to develop an app \")\n\nBut while the price tag might look good, and working with an individual can be a flexible experience, **there are other factors to take into account**:\n\n* Yours is **not the only project they are working on** – a company can give you a team dedicated solely to the development of your app; a freelancer usually cannot promise the same focus and oftenly they are working on two or more projects at the same time. \n* **Limited expertise** – a freelancer may be the world’s best developer, but how are they on UI or UX design? Or quality assurance? Or business analysis? Will they review their own code? How secure is it? \n* **Lone wolf** – the other downside of dealing with a small operation is that unrelated setbacks (e.g. sickness) can stall your project; a larger company has the resources to fill such gaps seamlessly.\n* **Quality verification** - it can be really difficult to check a freelancer’s experience and skills, especially if you’re not ‘fluent’ in the technology yourself.\n\nWorking with a freelancer will definitely be the best choice in some conditions, especially with smaller and simpler products. But for most digital products, it brings so many risks on so many levels that the results risk being disastrous.\n\n## Conclusions\n\nLet’s try to summarize the article briefly: \n\n* **Business goals for the app are everything** - make sure yours are clear and executable. Build the product around them, not around your opinions. \n* **Software development is expensive** and its cost depends on dozens of factors - not only developers’ salaries.\n* **Software development methodology and frameworks are crucial**. Agile and scrum are practical and effective. \n* **If your budget is rather frugal, try to look for out-of-the-box solutions that don’t involve any development.** Alternatively, invest in a digital prototype and look for investors.\n* **The less you know about the product you want to build, the more you will pay for it**. Look for a partner who will help you to discover the missing pieces together.\n* **Technology matters, but mostly when it comes to the practical aspects of development**. It shouldn't overly influence the cost of your digital product. \n* **Don’t think about your app as a jigsaw puzzle with various features as pieces to be put together.** Instead, it’s like building with a particular purpose, that needs proper materials, solid foundations and… a corresponding budget.\n\n**If you still have questions about your app development cost -** [let us know!](https://www.boldare.com/contact/#form)"}],"job":null,"photo":null,"slug":null,"cover":"/img/How_much_does_it_cost_to_develop_and_app.png","lead":"**The most honest answer to this question is**: it depends on thousands of various factors. I know - this is disappointing! But if you already know something about the product you want to build, I can help you with a broad estimate and guidelines you will find in this article. But there’s much more to know - read on if you want to learn **what influences the costs of app development**, why product development can be so costly and **why sometimes building an app is not the right option**. And if you want to know even more, see our app cost calculator.","templateKey":"article-page","specialArticle":false,"isNewWork":null,"isNewNormal":null,"service":null,"settings":{"date":"2021-02-05T07:50:59.677Z","slug":"how-much-does-it-cost-to-develop-app","type":"blog","slugType":null,"category":null,"additionalCategories":["Digital Product"],"url":null},"author":"Katarzyna Rybicka","authorAdditional":"Adam Surdy","box":{"content":{"title":"How much does it cost to develop an app?","tileDescription":"The most honest answer to this question is: it depends on thousands of various factors. I know - this is disappointing! But if you already know something about the product you want to build, I can help you with a broad estimate and guidelines you will find in this article. But there’s much more to know - read on if you want to learn what influences the costs of app development, why product development can be so costly and why sometimes building an app is not the right option. ","coverImage":"/img/How_much_does_it_cost_to_develop_and_app.png","tags":null},"coverImage":null,"settings":null,"type":"BLOG"}},"id":"78d6106d-4b97-5d09-8177-ad683fd08ba2"}}]}},"pageContext":{}},
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