Application characterization

An application specification is the initial, fundamental, and most important step in the entire application design process. It is essentially a document whose purpose is to help the designers and builders of the application define it and briefly present (to themselves and the client alike) the application – how it will look, how it will function, and most importantly, how it will fit the definitions and goals set for it. If you are interested in an application for an online store, an interface for customers, an online mobile game, if you are interested in building an application of any kind and whatever the reason, you cannot give up the characterization stage, which is the most important and basic of all. Let's understand the importance of application specification, what are the steps in the process, what are the benefits of this, what an application specification document looks like, and more. Let's get started.

What is the importance of application characterization?

When you want to build a house, you can't start from the roof and walls. To build a strong and stable house, you have to start from the foundations. The same is true when building and establishing applications that require a strong and clear infrastructure that defines who it is aimed at, what features it should include, what the user experience is and the nature of its use, and more. The characterization of an application is exactly that, the foundation on which we build the entire application. Building an application without a neat characterization will not allow us to focus and understand exactly what we are striving for, will often result in an unstructured result, with many open ends and without consideration for the final user experience. It can be said that the characterization is a very important part, if not the most important, and it is the one that will ensure a good application that truly serves the goals of the Kama oil.

What are the steps for characterizing an application?

In the most general sense, application characterization is divided into these stages:

• Defining the target audience: The most basic and important step is defining who the app is intended for. Are we targeting young people or adults? Is the main target audience women or men? Are we interested in attracting paid users or is it intended for an audience looking for free services.
• Market research: After understanding exactly what the target audience is, we must deeply research competing and launching applications and learn from them, for better or worse, to understand what competitive advantage we can offer our customers.
• Setting goals: The app is not something you do on the go, but a sustainable business investment. That is, we need to be clear about exactly what we want to achieve from it, with the ability to measure it.
• Defining the application: This is the important part of the process where sketches and examples of the application windows are created and the development activities required for this are precisely defined. It is advisable to characterize in a tree flow diagram that accurately shows the processes that occur with each click and tab. The characterization also defines the basic design line according to which we will create the visual part of the application.
• Setting a budget: Now that we understand exactly what we are aiming to produce, we need to calculate the cost so that the app will also be profitable. Setting a budget is essential and will allow us to understand that we are not exceeding the expense we can and want to meet.

How do you characterize an application?

A full and professional application characterization is performed by going through the above steps. This should be done in the form of a pyramid and the steps should be performed in this order, with each added step essentially being like the next stone in the building. It is very important to go through each of the steps separately and not to give up on any part. The technological feasibility of the application should be carefully examined already at the stage of defining the goals, when we will begin to form a clearer picture of what our application should look like. In many cases, we discover that there are too many technological restrictions and it is impossible to design the application as we would like and we have to go back and make the necessary adjustments. If you are not involved in the field and do not have the technical knowledge required to create an application characterization, the smartest and most correct thing is to use the help of an experienced external company that specializes in building applications. Later, we will expand more on the service of WeDev and the benefits of building applications and an organized and comprehensive characterization through us.

What does an application specification document include?

Application specification documents are essentially a combination of visual sketches of the application and accompanying texts and explanations that should touch on several main points. The document should tell the story behind the application, explain its concept simply, address the target audience, and detail its goals. It should also contain a professional sketch of the visual aspect of the application through a flowchart showing exactly what is seen in each part of it. All of this is accompanied by text that will serve as an instruction manual for actual programmers, including guidelines and requirements, an explanation of all the controls on the screen, and any essential information.

What are the benefits of an app feature?

• Understandings and Contract Document: The specification is prepared by the professionals who build the app, and for the client it is essentially like a memorandum of understanding or work order document. In other words, the specification states exactly what the company building the app is committing to and what it will ultimately actually contain. This way, you can plan a budget wisely, understand what is required and what is less, and so on.
• Decision-making tool: The characterization allows us to make important decisions. What is worth investing in? Is it worth compromising to save time and get the app live quickly, and if so, what? What is considered a must-have in the app and what should not be given up, and so on.
• Instructions for developers: Apps are usually worked on by several professionals – programmers, graphic designers, sometimes copywriters, and so on. The specification is essentially their instruction manual.
• Economic tool: The characterization allows us to outline the cost of developing the app fairly accurately. Of course, there may be deviations here and there, but if done properly, it usually reflects reality well.
• An excellent product for presentation: The characterization is an excellent product for presentation, whether we want to present it to investors, partners, employees in the company, or anyone else.
• Financial savings: Intelligent and careful planning, as done in the specification, ultimately saves unplanned and unnecessary expenses.

What should you pay attention to after characterization?

After the characterization, it is very important to go through the document in depth and let other professionals go through it. If we pay attention to the failures that need attention even before the construction phase itself, we can save quite a bit of money and time in many cases. It is important to go through each stage and pay attention to the small details. Professional companies make sure to go through it with the client several times and usually submit more than one sketch.

What should you prepare for this document?

Before you begin preparing a characterization document, it is highly recommended to prepare any prior information you have about the business or entity behind it, what its goals are in general, and what the goals of the app are. Information such as branding processes, goals, and objectives of the organization are absolutely essential and will save valuable time in the process. If you don't have this information, it's time to get to work.

In conclusion

Application characterization is an important and essential part of the application building process. Here at WeDev, we offer a professional and comprehensive service that includes detailed and accurate characterization with close support for each client. If you are also about to build an application and want to do it in the best possible way, we invite you to contact our experts and receive professional and complete advice for the process.