ITP 140 Mobile Technologies

Build vs. Buy

App Development Process 1. App idea 2. User profile 3. App definition statement 4. Design (wireframes, prototype)

–  Functionality layout –  App icon, color palette, any other images you

need for the app 5. Development

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Types of Mobile •  Native app

–  Specific to the operating system –  Great if charging for your mobile product

•  Mobile-optimized websites –  Mobile version of your website –  Can’t integrate with iTunes billing –  Normally free –  Cross-platform –  Great for marketing

•  Cross-compiled app –  Games

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Basic Buckets of Apps •  Basic table functionality •  Database driven custom functionality •  Games •  Enhancement or modification of the device firmware or

hardware –  This means that you take certain functions of the phone, such

as the alarm, camera, or flash, and make it better –  Example: Camera+ app

•  Fully dynamic apps –  Rely purely on external information –  Examples: Twitter, Weather Channel, Flipboard

•  Custom utilities –  Allowing the user to input content in a specific way –  Examples: Pages, Adobe Ideas, Numbers

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Simple, Table-based App •  Hierarchy - opening screen has big topics and

you click one and you now have a set of new lists to click on

•  Definitely the easiest to build and design and a good option for businesses who want a “simple” app that displays basic information

•  Example: email •  You provide all the content, clear direction, and

example apps of what you want it to do •  Cost: $1,000 - 4,000

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Database App •  Creatively parsing out content •  Example: dog breeds •  Development on this gets more complex and

starts to get into whether or not you want the data housed “native” (built into the app) or “dynamic” (built into an online web services)

•  you provide every piece of content, image, writing, sound, etc.

•  Cost: $8,000 - $50,000

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Games •  Largest range of complexity, starting with

something as simple as a PONG type functionality all the way up to a 3D physics engine that does high speed air racing

•  Scoring points, incorporating the user experience through the physical movement of the device, and hooking into Game Center are all possible

•  Cost: $10,000 - $250,000 –  Hardest to ballpark –  Angry Birds cost ~$125K - $180K to develop

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Additional Includes •  In-App Purchasing

–  Allows for users to buy new content or full versions of the apps

–  Cost: $1,000 - $3,000 •  Web Services

–  Update your app with XML files –  Cost: $1,000 - $5,000

•  Game Center –  Cost: $1,000

•  Share Capabilities –  Integrate with social media (twitter, facebook), emailing,

and other APIs –  Cost: $500 - $1,500

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How much? Infographic •  http://www.ideatoappster.com/how-much-does-

it-cost-to-make-an-app-an-infographic/ •  A bare-bones app costs $1,500 to $5,000 •  A decent app costs $10,000 – you can just

throw in a few graphics and tables here in there and voilà – you’re ready for the App Store

•  If you’re serious about developing an app that actually gives value to its users, expect to spend anywhere from $30,000 to $150,000 for a high-quality product –  You will need to invest in hiring a programmer,

testing, and additional costs

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Average Cost of Initial Development •  A survey of IT professionals was conducted in 2013 by

AnyPresence. •  Over half reported spending more than three months and

over $50,000 developing a typical app. •  Very nearly a quarter reported spending over $100,000.

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Calculators •  We’ve now found four different websites designed to

estimate the cost of developing an app. •  They each ask somewhat different questions about

your requirements, which can be useful in thinking about what your requirements actually are.

•  We ran an example app through each calculator, answering the questions to represent, best as possible, the kinds of features and complexity we see in our own customers’ high-end mobile solution requirements.

•  In general this meant we required most but not all available features.

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Otreva •  App development company

Otreva has a calculator site to estimate the cost of developing an app based on features chosen.

•  We entered features that seemed suitable for an enterprise app of the kind our customers typically need, for iOS and Android, and the estimate came to over $360,000.

•  Average cost = $218,100 •  http://www.otreva.com

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Tusnua Designs •  Another calculator is

available at Tusnua Designs, who generates an estimate of what they’ll charge to create your app for you.

•  We generated an estimate for an iOS/Android app with similar bells and whistles, and the total came to around $300,000.

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•  http://appestimator.tusnuadesigns.net

Kinvey •  We tried out the app cost calculator

at Kinvey, a Backend-as-a-Service company.

•  This time we ordered up a large app with similar features for iOS, Android and Windows, and the estimate came out at $321,000.

•  This Kinvey estimate was for the price of building the apps yourself.

•  To be fair, Kinvey also calculated the lower cost of $139,000 to build the app using their own platform.

•  http://www.kinvey.com/app-cost-estimator

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Kony •  Finally, we tried the TCO estimator that

MADP company Kony offers to determine the 3-year total cost of ownership of an app.

•  Their estimate came in a little lower at $256,000.

•  Like Kinvey, Kony also suggests the same app would be substantially less expensive ($133,000) on their own platform.

•  https://www.visualize-roi.com/launch/kony/cloud/

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Cost for Design •  One type of device (such as iPhone or one

specific Android device) –  Cost: $500 - $10,000

•  Add another similar device –  Cost: add 25% to above cost

•  Add a different kind of device like a tablet (iPad) –  Cost: add 50% to above cost

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Costs •  As a general working figure, we can say it

costs at least $30,000 to design, implement and deploy a brand-quality native app

•  Mobile web design and development is usually less than the cost of a mobile native app

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Costs •  A survey of 96 mobile app developers showed the

average cost to develop an app was $6,453. –  Alex Ahlund, former CEO of AppVee and AndroidApps, and

later an advisor to Appolicious, wrote a guest blog article about app sales on TechCrunch.

•  The development cost range for “small apps” is $3,000 to $8,000 and that “more complex or recognized brand apps” can cost $50,000 to $150,000. –  This was reported in an article on OS X Daily about iPhone

Development Costs. •  The development costs (as compared to design and other

costs) range from $12,000 to $150,000 or more. –  This was reported in an article on PadGadget.com that

explored The Cost of Building an iPad App.

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Costs •  The average app developer in the US

charges around $100 per hour, and the time required to code even a “simple” app quickly pushes the cost up.

•  Types of contracts: –  Time & materials –  Fixed-price

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Get Quotes •  The only sure way to find out what it will cost

to get your app idea developed is to get some quotes from experienced app developers.

•  They can discuss the details of your idea with you and give you a pretty good idea of what it will cost.

•  Getting three quotes is helpful as it will give you an idea if a quote is too high (or too low, which can be just as bad).

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Finding a Developer •  Get multiple bids from experienced app

developers. •  The lowest bid is not always the best or even

the cheapest. •  Ask questions.

–  You want them to have experience in what you need. •  Check out the developer's website. •  Check out other apps developed by the

developer. •  Don't pay to train an app developer.

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Ways to Reduce Costs •  Third-party providers •  Native wrappers •  Pick one operating system (OS) / device

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Third-party Providers •  Consider working with a third-party mobile

platform provider that is willing to build and host a mobile app for you on a revenue share basis. –  These platform vendors typically have template

solutions that you can leverage to get to market quickly for little cost.

–  Their offerings normally include the key features that you’ll want already built in (e.g., push notifications, sharing functionality, and rich-media advertising).

•  Pay to have the third-party provider only develop the app.

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Native Wrapper •  Another approach to building an app in a

cost-effective way would be to consider rebuilding your website in HTML5 and then placing it in a “native wrapper” rather than building a pure native app.

•  If it’s done wrong, users will see a degradation of app experience in terms of speed and functionality.

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Pick One OS •  The third cost-effective approach would be to

build a native app for only one operating system (e.g., iOS).

•  The value of this approach will depend upon both the concentration of your user base and your access to skilled developers, either in-house or contracted.

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Return On Investment (ROI) •  Using a conservative estimate of 234 million

US adults with mobile phones

Type Cost Reach Number of People per $

Mobile Website $30,000 36.4% 2839.2

Mobile App (iPhone only)

$30,000 6.75% 526.67

Mobile App (iPhone, Android,

Blackberry)

$90,000 23.04% 599

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Continuing Costs after Dev •  Forrester estimated in 2012 that the average amount

spent on a typical customer mobile app ($50,000 to $150,000) turns out to be just 35% of the true two-year cost.

•  According to the AnyPresence survey, over 80% reported updating their apps at least twice a year and nearly a third were updating at least once a month.

•  An app developed today will need to be updated in the future for changing business processes and for operating system updates.

•  It will need to be ported to any new platforms you want to support.

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Develop Yourself •  Need to learn how to code! •  Take a programming class

–  ITP 165 Intro to C++ Programming –  ITP 109 Intro to Java Programming –  CSCI 103 Intro to Programming using C/C++

•  And take a data structures class –  ITP 365 Managing Game Data using C++ –  CSCI 104 Data Structures and O-O Design using

C++

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Native Apps Development

OS Programming Language IDE Store

iOS Objective-C Xcode Apple AppStore

Android Java Eclipse Google Play

Windows Mobile C++, C# Microsoft Visual Studio Windows Store

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OS = Operating System IDE = Integrated Development Environment

ITP Courses •  ITP 342 Mobile App Development

–  iOS apps using Objective-C –  Available Spring 2015

•  ITP 341 App Development for Smartphones and Tablets –  Android apps –  Available Fall 2015

•  ITP 382 Mobile Game Programming –  Cocos2D & Unity –  Available Spring 2015

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Developer Sites •  iOS

–  https://developer.apple.com •  Android

–  http://developer.android.com •  Windows

–  http://dev.windowsphone.com •  Blackberry

–  https://developer.blackberry.com

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Companies •  http://www.meetup.com/LA-Mobile-App-Developers/ •  http://losangelesappdevelopment.com •  http://www.appmuse.com •  http://www.isbx.com •  http://www.foundero.com •  http://web2mobiledesign.com •  http://www.linkedge.com/mobile-application-

development.html •  http://www.veztekusa.com •  http://www.saritasa.com/mobile-app-development

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Mobile App Designers •  http://www.floor84studio.com/ •  http://www.plaveb.com •  http://99designs.com/mobile-app-design •  http://www.scoutzie.com

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Resources •  http://appmuse.com/appmusing/finding-a-

developer-for-your-app-idea/ •  http://appmuse.com/appmusing/how-much-

does-it-cost-to-develop-a-mobile-app/ •  http://www.bluecloudsolutions.com/blog/cost-

develop-app/ •  http://www.foliomag.com/2013/3-tips-cost-

effective-app-production •  http://www.formotus.com/14018/blog-mobility/

figuring-the-costs-of-custom-mobile-business-app-development

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