Planning to develop mobile application for the enterprise? You think you have it all figured out? Maybe. Perhaps. Probably Not.

Unlike consumer apps, enterprise mobile applications for a business are game changers. Enterprise mobility, when leveraged properly can empower your workforce and provide tremendous competitive advantage. However, before jumping into development, many considerations need to be taken into account to ensure enterprise mobility readiness and appropriateness of the enterprise mobile application development strategy.

Just as Goldilocks tried out a few beds before settling down for the ideal one, you may also take the ´trial & error´ approach with your enterprise mobility strategy. But, for businesses incorrect choices & approaches in the enterprise mobility strategy are expensive and take a lot of time, effort & money to fix. However, it doesnt have to be that way.

In this checklist, we have listed various aspects that you must consider before commencing your mobile application development initiative. Whether the mobile application development is done in-house, or by a third party enterprise mobile application development company, this checklist will help you prepare for successfully creating a mobile app for the enterprise.

 

Using this checklist

To figure out how prepared you are for embarking on your enterprise mobile application development initiative, in the checklist below, check off everything you are currently doing. Your score will go on adding in the counter. We sure do hope that you get a high score.

Remember, your business environment & situation is unique to you. Please read this checklist with ´If applicable´ discreetly added. If a checklist item doesnt apply to you, then check the box anyway.

Once you are done with the checklist, you can make a to-do list from the unchecked items. And if you need any help, guidance or would like to just use us as a sounding board, please feel free to get in touch with us by filling the form on this page and get a free, no obligations consultation from our Mobility Experts.

Checklist:

Business Requirements
1. Do you have a definitive business case, key stakeholder buy-in and budget for the enterprise mobile application development initiative?
2. Have you decided if the mobile application will be targeted to internal or external customers of the enterprise?
3. Have you identified application objectives, made use cases and determined if one or multiple enterprise mobile apps need to be developed?
Technology Requirements
4. Have you decided on which platforms (iOS, Android etc) and OS versions to develop for?
5. Have you determined if you would like to develop native apps, hybrid apps or mobile web?
6. Have you finalized which devices and screen resolutions should the app be optimized for?
7. Do you want separate versions for smartphones and tablets?
8. Are you planning on using scalable cloud based infrastructure for your application?
9. Is the application tested for data connectivity - GPRS, 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, NFC, Intermittent connectivity, No connectivity?
10. Have you decided what data can be stored for offline access and what data needs to be put online?
11. Will your app need integration with any hardware device - memory, wearables, smartwatches, sensors, storage devices, GPS, camera etc.?
12. Have you thought about the need for push technology and device synchronization?
13. Will the app need integration with calendar and maps?
14. Have you identified which payment gateways to use? And, do you have working accounts with the Payment Gateways?
15. Do you need to ensure that your application is handling time-zone changes smoothly?
16. Has the decision been made whether or not to embed in-app advertising or any social functionality within the application?
17. Have you thought about app distribution, deployment and optimization?
UI Requirements
18. Have you decided the content, app skins, workflow and features for the app?
19. Do you have a style guide/theme to be followed for UI design?
20. Do you know, for which orientation (Portrait or Landscape) the app should be designed for?
21. Do you know which gestures will the app use - tap, swipe, pinch, spread etc.?
22. Would you want to white label the application to enable personalization later?
23. If the app is multilingual, has it been tested for character encoding, data truncation or any UI issue?
Development Methodology
24. Have the development team (in-house or third party), project stakeholders and the decision makers been decided?
25. Have you finalized the development process & methodology to follow (Agile, Iterative, Waterfall etc.)?
26. Are necessary project management tools in place for project monitoring, tracking, quality control, interacting with the development team etc.?
Performance & Scalability
27. Have you thought about the application behavior in case of interrupting events (Incoming Call, Text message, App notifications, Low Storage, Low Battery, No Storage, Airplane Mode, Intermittent Connectivity, Sleep mode etc.)?
28. Does your mobile application have a server side component or a web service (SOAP or RESTful)?
29. Does the app performance reduce with increase in the size of mailbox, messages or any other content relevant to the application? What are the performance parameters?
30. Can the app scale to massive volumes and deliver desired response time? What are the scalability parameters?
31. Do you want to stay informed about crashes in real time use?
Security Requirements

Devices:

32. Are all inlets (camera, GPS, sensors, platform) tested for security issues?
33. Can you manage your BYO or corporate devices (may be by using app or data containers)?
34. Have you thought of a way to manage UDID numbers?

Network:

35. Does your application use secure network protocols?
36. Can you provide scenario-based network access?
37. Are you securing the communication to server against data breach and data leakage using encryption and up to date SSL certificates?

Application:

38. Is your application storing sensitive information such as credit card details and user profiles?
39. Can you secure and manage your mobile or web app using access policies, secure connectivity and data controls?
40. Would you want to use sandboxed alternatives to native apps?
41. Can the application be reverse engineered to view the control flow or pseudo code?
42. Can the application '.$comma.'s presentation layer or binary executable be modified?

Data:

43. Can you give your users SSO and make any app available on any device?
44. Can you let your users access their content while still protecting data?
45. Can the application protect user privacy?
Maintenance Requirements
46. Do you have a plan in place to handle App version upgrades?
47. Will the app be able to handle OS updates?
48. Do you plan to integrate analytics and usage metrics to track downloads, user engagement and retention for your mobile app?
49. Do you prefer Server side app update over Application side app update?
50. Have you finalized, who will be taking care of the support and maintenance of the application on an ongoing basis?
Planning and executing an Enterprise Mobile Application development initiative can be a daunting task. With 12+ years of experience in all facets of mobile - design, development, deployment, support & QA - Mobile Pundits team of 120+ Mobility Experts is happy to help.

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