Tips For Brainstorming About Your App Idea
You’ve had that lightbulb moment where you’ve come up with the next billion-dollar mobile app idea, but have you really explored all of the possibilities of where your idea can go?
“But wait!” you’re saying, “You guys keep telling me to keep it simple and I’m not stupid, so I’ve been doing just that. Now you want me to come up with ideas about my idea?” We can be frustrating like that.
One of the first things we do with a new Apptrepreneur brand Startup Program client, as one of the best mobile app development companies, is to sit down with them for an hour or two and let our collective minds wander. We write down every idea with no judgement as to the quality of the idea. Some are bad ideas, some are great. The point is to get this list on paper because that helps us frame what the essence of the idea really is, and that is what we want to build in the prototype phase.
This, by the way, is one of the more fun parts of mobile app development. You get to act like you’re one of the top app development companies in the world and have already built a wildly successful product.
Here are some tips for letting the mind wander around an idea.
What do you want?
Chances are, you had this idea because this is a product you yourself want. So, what do you want? How can you make it solve your problems?
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak built the very first Apple computer because they wanted one for themselves, only to quickly realize that other people wanted that same thing. So, if you’re scratching your own itch there’s a good chance other people need one of those little telescoping claw thingies too.
Become your user
You need to put yourself into the shoes of who you think your user is. Ask yourself what kinds of features he or she might want in such an app. What are some of the reasons he or she might want an app like this? This kind of thinking will also help when you get to the stage of developing your user personas.
Think about the app design
What will the app look like? Think about how the user will flow through the app. What colors will it use? What is the significance of those colors? How can you utilize app design to make your app stand out from your competitors?
Where can you innovate and differentiate from your competitors?
Speaking of competitors; it’s unlikely yours is a wholly original idea and that’s not a bad thing. Take a look at what the competition is doing and think about what you can do better. What can you do with your app that will make it stand out from the competition? That can be functionality, user interface, user experience, or any other element that will help you differentiate yourself and make the experience better for the end user.
Skate to where the puck is going
Wayne Gretzky famously said, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” (Apparently the Canadians want us to stop using that quote, so that was the last time, ok?)
Still, give some thought as to where technology is going. Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality. These are areas that all the big tech companies are pouring money into at the moment. Assuming one or more of those technologies are getting built into a future mobile app platform, how can you make use of them with your app?
As I mentioned, not all of these ideas need or should go into the first version of your product. But by brainstorming you get a clearer picture of what your app really is and where it can go. In fact, you should at some point take some of those ideas and put them into a product roadmap. In the meantime, the sky’s the limit!
Courtesy of Darrell Brogdon, CIO of Raika Technologies and GotAnAppIdea.com.GotAnAppIdea is an app design and app development company, primarily working with new ideas in the earliest stages of incubation. As one of the top app development companies in the Denver, CO, area, we help new start-ups get from idea to execution planning quickly, efficiently and with as little time and money invested up front as possible. Our philosophy is that failing quick and often leads our clients to better outcomes, bigger businesses, and healthier work-life balance. Need Android app development, iOS app development or app design help? Call us today!